Jenny scanned the office and noticed the same picture scattered throughout the office. It seemed Kelly had left one on every desk. She had no idea how Kelly had gotten such an intimate shot of the three of them, but it ripped at her heart to have everyone looking at it – at her. She tore the picture into pieces and tossed them in the trash, trying not to show the panic creeping into her heart.
“Miss Cole, come into my office,” Mr. Thomas commanded.
Jenny got up on unsteady feet and walked to his corner office. She could feel a myriad of judgmental stares piercing her back.
“Sit,” he ordered, directing her to a chair across from his desk when she shut the door. “We are a conservative company, Miss Cole. The public expects that we conduct ourselves in a professional manner at all times. Even outside this office.” He scowled harshly. “We do not invite scandal.”
“I understand, but…” Jenny began.
“No! This is not a discussion. You have proven yourself unworthy of our clients’ trust. You are terminated as of this moment. Please collect your things and go. We will deal with the details later.”
The stern look on his face shamed her. She stood up, needing to grab the back of the chair for support. She turned from him and headed towards the door. “You disgust me,” he growled under his breath. The way he said it made her feel filthy and unclean.
Even though she tried to remain courageous, tears fell as she returned to her desk and blindly gathered a few things, cradling them to her chest. Jenny looked ahead of her, concentrating on the door in her attempt to leave without further incident.
A notoriously late employee met Jenny at the door and held it open for her. His smile faltered when he saw her tears. She couldn’t take any more and ran to her car, slamming it shut before screaming. “Fuck you! Fuck you, Keeeeelllllly!”
Jenny leaned her head back and forced herself to breathe. She’d just lost her job... Her reputation as a broker was compromised. How could she recover from this?
I can’t…
She called Dan, but then couldn’t bring herself to tell him what happened. “Never mind, Dan. There is something I’ve got to do.” She hung up and started the car, determined to face her enemy head on. If Kelly thought she was allowed to embarrass Jenny at her work, then it was only fair to return the favor. She consciously kept to the speed limit, not wanting to risk another encounter with the police.
The entire drive Jenny imagined how she would cut Kelly down in front of her coworkers, making her feel the same level of humiliation Jenny felt. There was a sense of exhilaration at the thought of revenge.
When she pulled into the parking lot she was shocked to see Dan there. What the hell?
He walked up to the car and motioned her to unroll the window. Jenny did so reluctantly. “I had a feeling this is where you were headed.”
“What? She called you to gloat?” Jenny spat.
“No, there was something in your voice…” Dan opened the door and pulled her out of the car, enfolding her in a tight embrace. “What happened, Baby? Tell me.”
Jenny growled, “The bitch littered my office with photos of the three of us. I lost my job, Dan!”
He squeezed her tighter. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine.”
“It was fucking awful and embarrassing!” She felt her anger building. “You can’t imagine because it didn’t happen to you. Everyone in the office saw it. I was fired on the spot and made to feel like the scum of the earth. I have never felt so low in my life!”
Dan remained silent, which pissed her off. “My reputation is shot, Dan. How the hell am I going to recover from this? My professional life is ruined.” She struggled to get out of his arms. “You said this would be worth the consequences, but look at me! I have crushed Ryan’s heart, tarnished my reputation and lost my job. How is love worth this? It’s not!”
He lifted her chin and looked her in the eye. “Fine. Don’t hold back. Tell me how you feel.”
“I am so fucking angry right now I could explode! I hurt so badly in here,” she cried, pounding her chest, “because I ripped Rye’s heart out. I want to die from shame. I felt like a whore today.” She looked at Dan accusingly. “I have never felt that way in my life.”
He let go of her. “What are you trying to say, Jenny?”
“Maybe we aren’t worth this. Maybe I’ve made the biggest mistake of my life.”
His gaze was unwavering. “Do you really believe that?”
Dan’s face was unreadable as he waited for her answer. She’d lost everything, but looking into his dark brown eyes one fact remained clear - losing Dan overshadowed everything else. “No,” she said miserably.
He cupped her cheek and searched her eyes. “I thought I almost lost you just now.”
Jenny glanced at Kelly’s office building. “She came close to beating me.”
“But she didn’t and she won’t,” he said gruffly. He pulled her to him and pressed her cheek into his chest. “Birthing pains, Baby. We are almost there.”
She closed her eyes and sighed, “Almost there…”
Dan insisted on taking her car, leaving his in the parking lot. He drove her to a swanky hotel. She wondered what his plans were, because she felt physically and emotionally spent. He asked her to undress and then followed suit. “Lay on your stomach with your legs spread slightly open, Jenny.”
“I’m not in the mood, Dan.”
“Yes, you are.” He crawled onto her and straddled her ass. Instead of sex, he gave a deep massage. “Relax and let my hands love you.”
She completely melted into the bed as his fingers made love to her skin. After he was done with the massage, Dan turned her over and lay beside her, playing gently with her hair. Jenny shuddered in pleasure as tingling chills traveled down her spine.
She opened her eyes and stared at Dan, realizing it was time to return the favor. “Lie back. Your woman wants to love you the same way.”
Dan looked surprised but leaned back and closed his eyes, smiling to himself.
Jenny grazed the toned muscles of his chest with her fingertips. His coarse blond hair contrasted with his smooth muscles. She twirled her finger in a patch of chest hair. “You are a handsome man. I have always thought so… from this manly chest hair,” her finger moved to his torso as she said, “to that flat stomach with a cute innie.” His stomach muscles twitched when she lightly circled his bellybutton. “I even love…” her fingers trailed downward and she felt him tense, but she continued down his hairy leg to his toes. “These skinny toes.” She bent over and kissed his big toe. On a whim, she encased his toe with her lips and sucked lightly.
“You wicked girl.”
Her lips made a popping sound when she released the appendage. “I am playing unfair.” She pulled her body on top of his and lay on him, naked skin against naked skin.
Dan wrapped his arms around her saying, “I think I know how to solve our problems.”
She lifted her head, surprised at the serious look on his face. “Oh yeah?”
He brushed the hair from her eyes. “I think we should get married now.”
She asked wearily, “When you say now, what do you mean?”
“Two weeks at the latest.”
Jenny shook her head. “What, do you want to go to Vegas?”
He chuckled and her whole body bounced with his laughter. “No, Baby. Let’s get married in the mountains next to the cabin. I don’t need a big wedding, do you?”
She propped herself up on his chest with her arms folded before answering. “Big no...but it’s winter, Dan. It’ll be freezing up there. I happen to know from personal experience.”
He grinned and tweaked her nose. “You can dress in furs to keep warm, Baby.”
“I detest furs, Dan!”
He laughed. “Fine no fur. A nice long coat that follows the beauty of your curves.” His hands grazed her body, landing on her shapely ass. “What do you think?”
“Are you talking about an outdoor wedding?” she ask
ed incredulously.
“Yes, on the pond. It is completely frozen and won’t thaw until spring.”
Jenny took a few seconds to let the thought sink in. A wedding on frozen water, near the cabin where it all began. It felt complete, a full circle. “I think it sounds perfect.”
He smiled. “Once we are married, Kelly will have to give up and Ryan will be able to move on. It’s this limbo that is killing us.”
She looked at him despondently. “But I was hoping that Rye would be at our wedding, Dan. There is no way he would come around in two weeks’ time.”
He pulled her down and kissed her forehead. “You will have to give up on that idea, Jenny. Ryan is hurting too much to give us a gift like that.”
“I know,” she whispered.
Her heart began to beat wildly when she thought, We’re getting married in two weeks! “We’d better call our families to get things rolling.” She crawled off Dan and fished the cell phone from her purse.
“What? No sex?” Dan complained.
“Nope, trying to pull off a wedding nobody wants is not an easy task. Get cracking, Dan. Tell Mama that her little boy is marrying the indecent Indian next Saturday.”
He shook his head with a grin. “Something tells me my mother has finally met her match.”
Jenny phoned her parents and was disappointed to hear that her mom was out shopping. It meant she had to share the news with her father and she already knew his response. Despite the fact he married an Italian girl, he’d always hoped she would find a nice Cherokee boy to settle down with. In fact, his whole family had been pinning their hopes on that pipe dream.
“Jenny, why the rush? I understand you’ve known Dan for years, but this isn’t right.”
“Doda…” she said sweetly knowing he loved when she called him that, “I love him as much as you love Mama.”
“But child, our people…”
“Love doesn’t see color, Doda. You know that better than anyone.”
His voiced cracked with emotion. “No one will come, Jenny. Not from my side and certainly not from your mother’s.”
She laughed into the phone. “I know that! After all, I’ve never met Mama’s parents. I just need you and Mama there. Nobody else matters.”
“Are you sure this is what you want?”
“I have never been surer in my life.” She looked over at Dan, who was having an intense call. “This is the man I am meant to spend my life with.”
There was a pregnant pause before he answered. “It won’t be easy, Jenny. Trust me, your mother and I have been through it.”
“I saw the strength it took and I am just as strong. Dan and I will survive the disdain. We complement each other, Doda, just like you and Mama.” She smiled at her fiancé, who had a sour look on his face. Must be talking to his mother…
“We will be there,” her father said in his deep guttural tone - the tone that always gave her confidence as a child.
“Thank you, Doda. Be sure to pack plenty of warm clothes. The ceremony is going to be held on a pond near Dan’s family cabin.”
“You’ll hear no complaints from me. Nature is the only fitting church.”
She put the phone back in her purse, blushing as she realized she’d talked to her father in the nude, just like Dan was doing to his mother. Really, neither of them had any decency.
Why not take it up a notch?
Jenny walked over to Dan and knelt down at his feet. He was shaking his head no when she opened her mouth. “Mother, you don’t have to worry about it, you don’t have to do a thi…,” he grunted.
Jenny enveloped the head of his shaft with her mouth and wiggled her tongue around the ridge.
Dan stumbled slightly. “Ah, I was saying that we will take care of ev…”
She caressed his balls lightly as she began to suck.
“What’s wrong?” he grunted. “Nothing, Mother. What I meant to say is we’ll take care of everything. All that is required of you is to attend. Oh, and can you call Marcuuuusss…” His voice rose in pitch as Jenny swallowed the fullness of his shaft down her throat.
He dropped the cell phone and gathered her hair in his hand, helping to guide her gently. It was the first time he’d taken control and it made her quiver. He groaned quietly as she loved him with her throat.
Jenny could hear his mother’s muted cries on the phone. “Dan! Dan, is everything okay? Damn it, Dan, where are you?” Jenny pulled out, took a deep breath and slid his shaft back into her tight throat. He shuddered, letting her know he was close. Jenny lightly caressed his balls again and that simple touch caused a chain reaction. She felt them tighten up as his cock pulsated in her throat, his seed flowing into her. Such a sexy exchange.
He pulled out and bent down to kiss her cheek before picking up the phone. “It appears there’s a mouse in the apartment. I tried to catch it, but the bugger got away. Yeah, I don’t think an exterminator is necessary.” He looked down at Jenny and winked. “I think a simple mousetrap will suffice.”
His mother went on for another minute before Dan interrupted. “So call Marcus and we will be seeing you at the cabin next Saturday.” He hung up before she could protest further, then he shook his finger at her.
“Jenny, that was very naughty.”
She looked up at him and smiled coyly. “I couldn’t help myself. You were naked and all. Kind of begging for it, if you ask me.”
He picked her up and flopped her on the bed before crushing her with his weight. “I think I have created a monster. One that swallows men whole.”
She kissed his chin. “You have and now you will have to live with the consequences.” Her tone became serious when she asked, “Your mom is obviously not happy, but how does your dad feel?”
“My father is surprised, but agreeable. Really, he is not foolish enough to think he can dictate my life. My mother… well, she still has some learning to do.” Dan brushed his hair back out of his eyes and her heart skipped a beat. “What about your parents?”
“My mom was out, so I only talked to my dad. To be honest, he is worried about our mixed marriage but they will be here. He was hoping I would marry within my race. He doesn’t realize that people don’t care about mixed marriages anymore, just because he and Mama suffered for it. Thankfully, he has no idea how complicated our situation really is. That will be the challenging part for us. The way we started is not fairy tale material.”
“Well, it is for romance novels.”
Jenny rolled her eyes and snorted, “Very funny.”
“Lighten up, Baby. Sure we will get a few judgmental stares in the beginning, but when people see how perfect we are together they will forget our past. How we started will become a memory and those that hated us will grow to envy us.”
She nestled in his arms. “You really think so?”
“Not a doubt in my mind.” He lifted himself off her and sat on the bed. “Now, put those hands on the headboard. I think some payback is in order.”
Jenny smiled as she placed her hands behind her, but she squeaked when he took her thighs and pushed her feet up to the headboard next to her hands. She found herself completely helpless and that’s when his tongue touched her clit in the most intimate way.
“No, Dan. Stop!”
“I don’t think so,” he murmured between her thighs.
“I can barely breathe!”
“Then stop talking.” His tongue swirled around her outer folds and brushed her sensitive clit teasingly. It was gentle and sweet, so Jenny relaxed… until he began the relentless flicking of his tongue. She tried to squirm, but movement wasn’t possible. She then resorted to whimpering, but he just chuckled.
“Seriously, I can’t breathe, Dan. I think I am going to faint.”
“Still talking…”
He gave her long, hard cat licks. They sent jolts of fire to her groin each time he lifted his tongue. “Dan…”
“Give in, Baby.”
He continued his unyielding offensive, causing her l
egs to shake uncontrollably. She started panting as the heat in her loins turned to a constant burn.
“I can’t!”
“Give in to it…”
Jenny closed her eyes and forced herself to stop fighting the burning, tingling sensation consuming her. “Ah…aah…” she whimpered as it blurred her senses and her clit began to contract on his tongue.
He stopped licking and pressed his tongue against her clit so she could ride the wave without distraction. When her orgasm finally ebbed he released her legs and she took a deep breath.
“That wasn’t fair,” she complained while rubbing his blonde hair appreciatively.
He winked and lay back down beside her. “All’s fair in love, Baby.”
Romancing the Details
Dan took Friday off to help Jenny look for a dress. “You know, it really sucks that Kelly would have been the perfect maid of honor. She’s so into fashion and parties.”
“You could still ask her if you want.”
Jenny elbowed him in the ribs. “Yeah, right. Instead of a maid of honor, I am stuck with you and no one to stand beside me at my wedding.”
“Isn’t there anyone else?”
“I don’t have any other close girlfriends. And unlike you, I don’t have a sibling I can use.”
“I wasn’t planning on asking Marcus to be my best man anyway. I hate asymmetry.”
Jenny frowned when they pulled up to the dress shop. “This is not right, Dan. You’re not supposed to see the dress before the wedding. It’s against the rules.”
He raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “When have we played by the rules?” Dan kissed the top of her head. “I personally never understood why the guy was banned from seeing the wedding dress. Heck, it’s supposed to wrap the bride up in a pretty bow for the groom. Why shouldn’t he have a say in how his present is dressed?”
She needled a finger in between his ribs. “I am not a present! We’re equal partners.”
“As such, it only makes sense that you and I pick out your dress and my tux together.”
Jenny acquiesced with a grin. “Well, when you put it that way, it makes sense.”