We pull up to the underground garage and James smoothly swings in his black BMW. He already has a marked spot, so no one questions him. I can’t help shaking because I know something in my life is about to be altered. I might have been tarnished before, but I’m convinced a certain kind of ruin is coming my way now.
“Casey, stop what you’re doing.” James cups my face with his warm hands. I didn’t realize how cold I felt until that moment.
“James, I can’t do this. I can’t go in there with you.” I start struggling to get my seatbelt off because it’s suffocating me. I’m jamming my hand against the door handle, slapping my palm on the glass window in frustration, trying to get it open, when I hear the lock engage. “Damn it! Let me out!”
“No.” James utters the single word, letting me struggle until weariness and the realization I’m not going anywhere without him takes over. I hate it. I need it, which makes me hate it more.
Tearful words break my silent lips, “James, let me go.”
“Casey, settle down.” James is reaching for me, while I’m pushing him away. The control I am desperately fighting for is gone, too.
“I’m not a child. Don’t tell me to settle down.” Anger fuels me now. A raging destructive anger that wants to lash out, cut, and escape from all the humiliation of the last twenty-four hours.
“Then stop acting like one and listen to me.” He shakes me enough to get my attention. “We are going to go in there together and we are going to tell the truth.” Snorting earns me another gentle shake and a very annoyed look. “We are going to provide a united front, and you’re going to let me do all the talking.”
“The hell I am.” Swatting James’ hands away from me, I hug myself, sinking deeper into the seat, wanting to disappear and pretend none of this happened. Not the last twenty-fours, not the sex tape, not the altercation with my neighbor… maybe not even James.
“You’re a stubborn ass sometimes.” I barely make out the words and I don’t have a chance to lash out because he clicks the lock on the door and walks around to my side of the car. Determined steps carry him forward. He opens my door and hauls me out, the strength of his hold unbreakable. I need to feel something solid to keep myself from shattering.
He pushes me against the side of the car, his arms pinning me. The sleek metal of the car is cold as he bends me back and my knees shake, wanting to melt into the ground and slip away. “James…” My eyes dart back and forth, not wanting to look into his. Caramel flecked dark eyes capture mine in his laser stare and the alpha James I briefly met in my apartment that first night… the night he fucked me so thoroughly, so deeply, it terrified me because I knew he was never letting me go… is back. I have to focus on catching my breath because he steals it from me with a mouthwatering kiss that only fuels my need for him, confusing me. James doesn’t play fair and I guess he never has. I’m only learning this now when I feel splayed open for the world to rip apart.
Lips fuse together and tongues duel for control. His is much longer and strokes my mouth deeper, circling back and tracing my teeth. A hand captures my face and forces my neck back, compelling my mouth to open farther. He kisses and nips at my lips, my face, and the sensitive hollow of my neck.
“I would take you right now, but I don’t think you understand the gravity of our situation. So all you’re going to get is a taste of what’s to come.” James keeps me pinned against the car, his fingers tangling in my hair, fisting in his grasp. The pain borders on the edge of pleasure, but he reminds me who is in control and it’s never been me. His other hand travels down; grabbing my leg and pulling my knee up, sliding back down towards my aching center. A single finger plays against the geometrical shapes on my stockings, tracing the chevrons in excruciatingly alternating patterns before flicking my clit through the thin membrane of nylon.
“Oh, god. What you do to me, James.” I claw at his arms for solace as he continues to flick my clit. I feel wetter than I’ve ever been for this man.
“Nothing gives me greater pleasure than feeling your sweet lips suck me in deep, or squeezing me inside your honeyed center. I bet you taste just as good… sweeter than sugar, better than a glazed candy treat.” I’m biting my tongue to keep from wailing with pleasure when he pushes against me, the sharpness of his short nail pressing my swollen button. I’m ready to explode when he teases me further. “Shall we find out, sweetheart?” I feel the nylon give, a tiny little stretch that pops, tearing it open just enough for his finger to slip through and another pair of stockings bite the dust.
“P-please, J-James.” He’s got me begging all over again, and the cold of the car against my back is matched by the heat of our fused bodies. The stockings are no match for his determination to have me and I feel him use a second finger to pop and tear the fabric open a little more. I’m pulsing, my own heat washing over me.
“I love you, Casey, but I need you to trust me more than I need your love right now. Can you do that?” James leans his forehead to mine, clammy perspiration coating our faces, our hot breath mingling. The word “love” shocks me. It doesn’t exactly kill the mood, but everything is too new and damaged right now for me to go there. I can’t speak so I just nod. It’s all he needs. I feel his fingers push through and stroke me deeply in fluid thrusts. I’m so wet, so hot, so fucking turned on by everything that is James. The orgasm is quick and doubles me over with its force. He continues his relentless pace, deeply fingering me, curling his fingers towards that spot that gets me going harder, panting with need, he sucks on my neck, despite my attempts to cover it with my dress.
“You are mine. I protect what’s mine.” He’s chanting, and I’m crying out my release to the dark underbelly of the parking garage. He holds me up when he finishes, slipping sticky fingers from my still hungry body, wiping the excess against my inner thighs, taking his time to stroke me into a calmer state of mind.
I look down as a single tear falls from my cheek into a puddle of water and swirling gasoline, mixing together it becomes something as beautiful as it is dirty. The light above reflects half of it into a rainbow explosion of colors leaving the rest dark and unseen like my relationship with James. It scares me to wonder if I’m the rainbow in the dark or the dark drowning the sunshine.
24
James
Casey is breathing a lovely staccato of irregular breaths, and knowing I made her come that hard against the car has turned me into a raging asshole caveman. I love her. While I’m sure the critics all have their opinions on how fast and how hard I’ve fallen, I can’t help feeling what I do. Eighteen months of pretending we were pr
ofessional when all I wanted to do was lay her on my desk, on my car, wherever the fuck I could and slam into her consumed me. Smiling, I make her look at me, hoping like hell she’ll trust me to fix this… fix us.
“James, you’re making us late.” Leave it to Casey to turn into Ms. Cole and get all business on me.
A gentle push in the direction of the elevator propels us to move forward. When the elevator dings and the doors open, we step in and I grab her hand. “What’s going to happen?” she asks and I go right for the honest answer.
“Complaints have been filed against the station, and the FCC is threatening to impose sanctions and fines.”
“That’s not everything, right?”
I pull her against my chest for comfort, both hers and mine. “No. The board of directors is making suggestions and I have to hear them out at a meeting on Monday. It doesn’t mean I’m going to follow any of the suggestion those dimwits make but I still have to show up.”
The elevator ride is short and we’re ushered into one of the conference rooms.
“So nice of you to join us, James, Miss Cole.” Elroy sticks his hand out to shake Casey’s, and she tentatively looks at me.