Ground Floor: Toys and Games (6 page)

He kissed her forehead and relieved her of her bundle. It would be easy to follow her into the shower for a repeat performance of last night’s antics, but he was aware she might still be a little sore and needed time to recover.

When Jen came back out of the bathroom wrapped in his robe, it was to a pile of freshly pressed clothes. “Thanks for these. I phoned mum but Kelly had already covered for me, so everything’s good at home. That just leaves work.”

“I hear the boss is a pussy cat. Besides, you’ll have to go commando today because the washing machine’s on the blink, so if he gives you any grief just give him a flash.” Jamie grinned and made a grab for the bottom of her robe.

“I don’t think he needs any encouragement, thank you.” Jen swatted him away with the back of her hand and disappeared back into the bathroom, thwarting his attempt to steal another peek at her naked form.

Jen rubbed some toothpaste around her mouth and gargled with mouthwash. Once she’d brushed her hair and put her uniform on, no one would know she’d spent the night getting jiggy with her boss. Except Kelly, of course. But this thing had been her whole idea in the first place so she could hardly give her a lecture on the subject.

Last night had been fun. No—more than that, fucking fantastic. Unfortunately, one-night stands didn’t come with a handbook. This morning, she felt awkward now that Jamie had seen her naked and she had to face him at work. Would they just part ways now as though nothing ever happened? She didn’t think she could when she had such vivid, erotic memories tied to him. He’d told her he didn’t want a girlfriend so she’d just have to follow his lead, gage his mood.

She wasn’t sure she was ready for a boyfriend either, but she wouldn’t say no to more of last night. Not only had Jamie awakened a sensual side she hadn’t known existed, but he’d reminded her she was more than a dutiful daughter, sister, wife or carer. She was a woman. A woman who now had needs. And he wanted to walk away? That wasn’t fair when she reveled being in his company so much.

Jen squirmed, very aware she was knickerless beneath her skirt. The sight of him this morning standing naked behind the ironing board was enough to make any hot-blooded woman cream her panties. If she was wearing any.
Oh Christ!
How was she going to make it through her working days now when she was wet just thinking about him? She splashed some cold water around her face and this time she headed for the kitchen.

“Your turn,” she called into the bedroom, determined not to catch another eyeful.

“Okay.” Jamie was standing at the kitchen worktop butt naked, buttering toast and pouring a cup of tea.

“We don’t want to be late.”
Put some clothes on for goodness sake!

“We don’t want you fainting from hunger either. Eat this.” He walked toward her, his cock swinging freely between his legs.

“Excuse me?”

“Tea and toast, breakfast of champions. Now sit down and eat while I go put some clothes on. If you keep staring at me like that we’ll never get out of here this morning.” He handed her the cup and plate with a wink.

Just what she’d feared. One night of passion and she’d turned into some sort of pervert.

Chapter Eight

Jen was sure all eyes were on her when she stepped through Kelsey’s doors. She’d insisted they enter at different times so she scurried in while Jamie strolled in some time later.

Kelly lay in wait. “I want
all
the details.”

Jen didn’t know if she was ready for the inquisition when she was still trying to process the events herself. “I took your advice. Let’s leave it at that.”

“Nuh-uh! You owe me. Christ, I need to get my kicks somewhere. I haven’t got laid in months.” Her over-sharing sister leaned on the shop counter waiting for more.

“Too much information, sis. Look, I admit we slept together, but I really don’t want to go into details here.” Jen looked around the department waiting for someone to jump out and accuse her of being a slut.

“Fine, but I expect a full account when we get home. Unless you and young Mr Kelsey have another liaison planned for this evening?” Over these past few days, Jen started to see how irritating her sister could be. It was no wonder she was still single.

“No, I’m not expecting to spend another night in Jamie’s company. So, can we drop the subject now?” An unexpected surge of sadness washed over her. She should’ve known walking away from Jamie would’ve proven harder than she’d thought when she’d never been able to bring herself to leave Lee’s side.

“Ms White, can I see you in my office please?” Stealth walker extraordinaire Jamie snuck up behind her.

She’d forgotten about the morning rounds and hadn’t expected to have to face him so soon. Nor did she anticipate seeing him in such a foul mood when she turned around.

“Is there something wrong?” In her few days here she’d never seen him look so angry. The notes in his hand were scrunched so tightly she doubted he’d ever be able to read them again.

“We have things to discuss.” At the stern tone of his voice Kelly scuttled away to tidy an invisible mess at the far end of the shop, and Jen followed him with lead in her heels.

What if he couldn’t stand to work with her now that he’d
had
her? She’d never bothered to find out to what had happened to his past conquests. Hired and fired in one week, that wouldn’t look good on her meager CV. And what would she put as her reason for leaving? Shagging the boss’ son and having the audacity to remind him of it simply by doing her job?

He jabbed the button for the elevator and they waited without saying a word. Even when they were alone inside the lift he didn’t speak. She couldn’t stand not knowing.

“Have I done something wrong? I’ll stay out of your way I promise. We’ll pretend it never happened.” She needed this job.

He stared stoically at the doors, refusing to put her out of her misery. Only when they stepped out into the corridor did he acknowledge her, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders. “Is that what you want? Tell me and we’ll end this here and now.”

“I thought that was what you wanted. You made it clear you didn’t want a girlfriend. What am I supposed to think, or do? This is all new to me.” She refused to break under the strain of her confusion. She’d had enough of being an emotional punch bag to last a lifetime. All she wanted now was some clear direction.

Jamie pulled her into his office and pushed her up against the closed door. He savaged her mouth with a kiss that left Jen in no doubt that he still wanted her. She sagged against him and let him claim her swollen lips.

He reached under her skirt and reminded her she was still commando by dipping his fingers into the pool of her arousal. Legs trembling, she struggled to stay upright, especially when he moved to crouch at her feet and stick his head between her legs. In actions she deemed more intimate than those they’d shared previously, he used his mouth to continue pleasuring her. He licked a path along her slit, pausing only to suck on her fleshy hood.

With his hands on her hips he held her at his mercy whilst he plunged his tongue relentlessly into her pussy. Overwhelmed by the whirling sensation around her clit sending her into a frenzy Jen put her hand over her mouth to muffle the screams. The pressure inside her built until her body refused to contain it anymore. She came in one sudden, liquid burst that drained her and left her like a limp ragdoll slumped over Jamie’s hunched form.

When he stood up, her juices glistened on his top lip and made Jen squirm all over again. “I think I need to sit down.”

Jamie helped her to a seat, and perched his backside on the corner of his desk. “I don’t want a girlfriend but I do know that I want you, Jen. When I heard you tell Kelly we wouldn’t see each other again…I don’t know…I lost it.”

He ran his hand through his blond hair. “I don’t want to end this before it’s begun and I sure as shit can’t forget it’s happened. No promises, no rules, let’s just see where this takes us.”

Still trying to come down from her sexual high, Jen took a moment to understand what he was saying. “You want us to go on seeing each other? And still work together?”

“I think we’re grown up enough to handle that, don’t you? Well, if we can keep our hands off each other that is.” He wiped away the traces of her climax from his mouth and started another fizz of excitement coursing through her veins.

“Yes, Mr Kelsey. Now if that’s all you needed me for, we have a lot of organizing to do in the toy department. Some hot shot manager keeps giving me extra work to do.” She got to her feet and Jamie pulled her into his arms for a kiss. She could taste her arousal on his tongue. Next time she wanted to do the same for him.

“Right, get back to work before I throw you over this desk and have my wicked way with you again.” He sent her off with a slap on the backside but the banter couldn’t quite erase all her doubts. At some point he would grow tired of her and she didn’t know where that would leave her in the future. Hopefully, still in a job and with a better bedroom repertoire than the next girl, but was that enough?

Jen headed back to her department more confused than ever. This was what she wanted wasn’t it? A bit of fun without commitment. A relationship based entirely on sex that was never in danger of replacing what she had with Lee.

She was moving on with her life like so many people had advised her to do
‘Lee would want you to be happy’,
‘You can’t stay single forever’.
So why did she still feel like something was missing?

Chapter Nine

Jamie called in to see his father later that afternoon and keep him up to date on everything he had planned for the bank holidays. When he walked into the main office he was surprised to see the old man had nodded off behind the desk. It was so unlike him. Whether it was due to sleepless nights or ill health, both were grounds for concern.

Jamie gave a discreet cough to waken his father without making a huge fuss of finding him asleep.

“Just resting my eyes,” he muttered and immediately set to work organising the books on his desk.

Jamie wouldn’t even dare suggesting he go home early because he knew it would send him into a rage. He would take it as a personal slight against his competency and not a simple concern from his worried son.

“I just wanted to let you know I’ve arranged an in-store egg hunt along with those promotions we discussed in the toy department. And we’re doing a leaflet drop in the locale.” He left the relevant pamphlets on the desk for his father’s approval.

John Kelsey peered at the brightly colored pages over his bi-focals, never hinting one way or the other what he thought of his son’s efforts. “I hope you haven’t wasted our entire budget printing these. You know they’ll be wrapping next week’s fish and chips.”

Jamie refused to rise to the put-down. “I got a good deal at the printers, so you don’t have to worry, and I’ve agreed to do an article for the local paper in exchange for some free advertising.” This week ahead could make or break Jamie’s future in the store and he was going all out to make sure he delivered on his promise to his father.

“I hope we don’t end up with a load of mucky kids rampaging through the store and leaving the place a mess at the end of it all. Kelsey’s has a reputation to maintain, you know, and Charles isn’t exactly on board with the idea either.” The pamphlets were tossed back onto the desk and Jamie knew it would take cold hard cash to impress his father.

“I know. I’ll stay on hand to make sure that doesn’t happen, but I’m sure everything will be fine.” He tried to convince himself too. This little promotion was never going to change the store’s fortunes overnight but if he were able to prove a point to his father, and Foster, there was a chance he’d be allowed to implement more of his ideas. One small victory over their traditional methods could lead to a whole new era in Kelsey’s.

Every meeting with his father left him emotionally drained. No matter how hard he tried, he never seemed to make any ground with him. When he left the old man, there was only one person who came to mind who was capable of lifting his spirits. And a whole lot more besides.

He knocked on the shop counter to summon Jen. “Are you ready to go?”

“I’d love to, but I need to go home and get some things.” She turned out the lights one by one, while Kelly appeared with their bags and coats.

“We’ll swing by there first and get whatever you need.” He wouldn’t give her up without a fight tonight.

“Can I scrounge a lift? I can’t wait to see mum’s face when you turn up at the front door with your mystery man in tow.” If Kelly was trying to spoil their evening, she was doing a bad job. It only made Jamie more determined to get Jen away from home as fast as he could. After all, they needed to continue her education as soon as possible.

* * * *

Jen would never live this down. She bundled her little carry-all into the boot of Jamie’s car, having packed the bare essentials to see her through another night away from home. Oh Jamie had charmed her mother with his manners and good looks, but ultimately they all knew she was leaving to have sex.

She got into the front seat and buried her head in her hands. “That was so cringey.”

They set off, with her mother waving her off at the front gate. Like she was saying ‘Go have sexy times with the attractive young man, daughter.’

He laughed. “Why? She just wants to see you happy.”

At some point Jen would have to explain why her mum saw him as some sort of savior rescuing her youngest child from a life of celibacy. She wasn’t one of those weird mothers who wanted to marry her off to the most eligible bachelor. To her, a red hot affair with the boss was probably preferable to Jen spending the rest of her days in mourning.

“It’s like taking an ad out in the paper announcing I’ve finally lost my virginity. Some things should remain private, that’s all.” But she’d never kept secrets from her mother. She’d needed someone to confide in when she agreed to marry Lee.

“It’s done now. So you can chill out. Or start swatting up for your next lesson.” He put his foot down on the accelerator, apparently as antsy as she was to get back to his place.