“I’m fine. It’ll pass.”
“It’s going to fight the whole way down,” I warned him with a laugh.
He groaned, still looking like he was suffering. “Don’t I know it. Anyway, I was just finishing up with some maintenance issues forwarded by the manager at the yard. The maintenance team wants new cars. I’m weighing the cost and trying to see if I can justify the expense. I’ll send you the file with the new specs. I’d like to get your opinion. The newer cars are lighter—not by much, but some. The potential fuel savings might make it worth it.”
“I will definitely take a look,” I told him. I appreciated that he valued my opinion. “I have been getting a lot of calls and information lately on some new company that has just expanded their operations and will need to increase their shipping. It might be worth looking into. Plus, it will give us another selling point. Customers like the idea of shiny and new.”
He chuckled before grasping his chest. He lowered his hand and let out a breath. “You’re right. What brings you by?” His voice sounded strained.
I studied him closely. He looked miserable. I had eaten one of the breakfast burritos exactly one time. I didn’t understand how Ben could eat the things. It damn near killed me. I pushed away my worry and focused on the work. “I wanted to let you know I think I’ve landed a new account. I have a meeting set up, but it’s just going to be signing paperwork. I convinced him to switch over to us for his cross-country shipping needs.”
He winced, his hand going back to his chest. “Good to know,” he grunted.
“Ben, are you okay?” I asked, growing more concerned by the second. The man looked bad—ashen. I didn’t know what ashen was, but that was the word that came to mind as I took in his gray pallor. It seemed like more than just a spicy burrito rearing its ugly head.
He grunted before standing up, still clutching his chest. “I—”
“Ben?” I jumped up as well.
He slumped forward before falling to the floor.
“Ben!” I shouted and ran around the desk.
He was on the floor, his hand over his chest as he gasped for air. I knelt beside him, not knowing how to help him but wanting to offer some kind of comfort.
“Help!” I shouted, praying his secretary heard me. “Help! Hold on, Ben. Hold on. I’ll get you an ambulance.”
He was gasping, his lips turning a pale blue. I lifted his head, resting it on my thighs with my hand over his on his chest. The door opened and I looked up over the desk.
“What’s happening?” his secretary asked, her eyes wide with fear.
“Call nine one one! I think he’s having a heart attack!”
Her mouth dropped open. “Oh my god,” she exclaimed and rushed back out of the office.
“Hold on, Ben. Just hang in there. You’re going to be fine.”
The hand that had been slightly curled relaxed under my own and slowly slid off his chest. I watched as his mouth parted, his features relaxing. I shook my head in disbelief.
“No, no, no,” I whispered. “Ben, wait. Don’t you dare do this. Just hang on.”
I held the man I had come to love like a father as he slipped away. I cursed myself for not learning CPR.
I chanted over and over in my head and occasionally aloud, “Hold on, please, please, please, hold on.”
Chapter 2
Cora
A soft moan escaped my lips as his rough hand squeezed my breast. My nipples were overly sensitive. The scrape of the pad of his thumb left me aching and begging for more. I reached up, threading my fingers through his hair, and pulled his mouth to my breast. I encouraged him to suck harder by pushing my fingers against his scalp.
Another moan, this time much louder as I opened my legs for him. I was wet and aching for his touch. His large hand spread out, rubbing over my skin as he slid down my belly. He skipped right over the aching apex between my legs and massaged my thigh.
“Please,” I shamelessly begged. “I need you inside me.”
He didn’t answer me with words. Instead, he trailed his fingertips up my thigh and then oh so slowly slid between my legs. I gasped, the first light touch of his fingertips sending shockwaves through my body. His mouth covered my nipple, sucking it between his teeth. The forceful sucking on my nipple was a stark contradiction to the butterfly touch between my legs.
I arched my back, pressing my wet center against his fingers, begging for more. The man was teasing me. He wouldn’t give me what I craved.
My hands slid down his back, my nails dragging little trails down his flesh. I felt primal. The need was driving me to the breaking point. I didn’t know what that breaking point was, but I was close. I could feel an orgasm building.
My toes curled, and my skin erupted into a series of goosebumps that ebbed and flowed over my body. Every sense was tuned into him and what he was doing to my body. His hard body pressed against my side. His hairy leg was wrapped around mine, tugging my legs open wider. I writhed on the bed, the scruff of his body hair teasing me until I was on the brink.
“Now, dammit,” I moaned. “I don’t want to wait any longer.”
“Shh.” His voice was raspy and sexy.
“But—”
His mouth covered mine, his tongue slashing against my lips before pushing into my mouth. I pushed back, our tongues dueling. I was going to erupt. He had not penetrated my body and I was going to have a violent orgasm. I wasn’t embarrassed. I knew he would give me multiple orgasms. Why not let myself go?
I reached down, grabbing his firm ass in my hand and squeezing. I tried to pull him over me. His heavy cock was pressed against my thigh. I just needed to move him a few inches and I would get what I was craving so desperately. I shifted under him, trying to slide my body under his.
His mouth slid over my jaw, sucking on the flesh at the corner of my neck and shoulder. His fingertips raked over my clit, driving me higher. I arched again, begging for more. One finger probed at my entrance before finally pushing inside me. I cried out, taking him inside me deeper and deeper.
“More,” I begged. “Please.”
He pushed in a second finger. I felt electrified. Every touch felt like fire. It felt like a million delicious pinpricks washed over my body. I was so close, but I couldn’t fall over that edge. I was crazy with need. My head rolled back and forth on the mattress. My hands rubbed up and down his muscular back. It was sensory overload. I couldn’t focus long enough to reach the explosion that was hovering just out of reach.
“Damn, you’re so wet,” he whispered.
“In me,” I gasped. “I need you inside me. Let me feel you move inside me.”
“Are you ready?” he asked in a husky voice.
“Yes!” I cried out. It was what I had been begging for. “Yes!”
“I don’t know,” he teased. “Can you handle this?”
I groaned. “I can.”
He crawled over me, his large body dwarfing mine. My hands pressed against his chest. The strength of him was intoxicating. I wanted to feel all that hard strength inside me. I wanted to ride him until I couldn’t see straight anymore.
His steel shaft probed at my entrance. I held my breath, waiting for the moment our bodies joined together. I didn’t move. It was all him. I was giving him all control.