Indecent Encounters (14 page)

Letting her tears fall for a while, she then fixed her face and straightened her shoulders. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself to face the result of a very bad economy, shifting taste in the fashion industry, and the longest conference call of her life.

She entered the office. Peter, her assistant manager, gave her encouraging thumbs up, although his expression was more than a little grim. He must be all-too aware, should Cora lose her job, he’d be next.

Senior staff understood how these things worked, but for the most part her team was clueless that the entire branches’ employment lay in her hands. All of their jobs depended on whether or not she could make national management understand that more funding had to flow for their branch to follow the new trends, and regain their place in the fashion market.

Cora’s branch had struggled as the most underfunded, but she held on where many mangers would have failed, by instigating a strict policy: work hard or leave. She didn’t mess around with ungrateful employees, which is how she became so unpopular with her team. If things went south today, even her enviable staff of diligent workers wouldn’t pull her ass out of the fire. With a final glance around a room of unsympathetic faces, Cora closed the conference room door behind her.

* * * *

Hours of fast talking and misdirection later, Cora walked out onto the floor, feeling sticky with sweat from the nightmarish meeting. A moment of awkward silence settled around the open space as everyone looked up. Their faces clearly showed their surprise that the stylish Miss Cole looked so rumpled.

“I was going to call a meeting, but I know how certain individuals like to gossip, so I’m just going to announce the good news here and now for you all.”

Immediate silence followed with curious stares. Peter looked like he was ready to faint. “Corporate is funding an entire overhaul of our website.”

Her announcement was met with a moment of complete disbelief, followed by jubilant pandemonium.

Cora quickly returned to her office and composed an email about how she would be working from home for the rest of the afternoon. She hit the send button and collapsed back in her chair. The release of that much stress made her feel like every bone in her body had liquefied.

During her conference call, the mail had been delivered, and she noticed a strange purple envelope on top of the pile. It seemed much too casual for inter-office mail, but occasionally someone would misaddress something, or a well-meaning office worker would abuse the mailboxes and slip a baby shower or birthday party invitation into the system. She was about to toss it, but stopped herself. Once in a while it was good for a manager to show a personal side, and considering the good news today, she tucked the letter into her purse to look at on her own time.

She packed up her briefcase and all but ran from the building. As she neared her new hybrid car, Cora realized with a pang of fear, that without her job the car would be the first thing her bank repossessed. At least for the current quarter she would be able to make her car payments and keep her overpriced roof over her head. After the trying day, what she needed was a hot bath, a glass of wine, and a good hard fuck to make it all better. The bath and wine was a cinch, but the fuck would have to be added to her wish list.

She got in her car, gripped the wheel, and drove out of the parking lot as if she’d stolen it.

Forty minutes later she walked in the door of her apartment, and Alfie, her three-legged cat, limped over for some attention. She had found him injured on her patio one summer night and took him inside to care for him until his stump healed. The cat had immediately adopted her and refused to leave the safety and comfort of her cozy apartment. He was all she had to come home to. Cora leaned down to scratch him behind his ear, and the purple envelope fell out of her purse onto the ceramic tile, startling the skittish cat. Screeching, Alfie rushed off as fast as his furry, disabled body could carry him.

“Scaredy cat,” she muttered, picking up the envelope. “All right, let’s see what kind of gift I’ll be buying.”

The moment she opened the envelope a man’s strong, musky cologne hit her. It wasn’t unpleasant, just very insistent. Deciding baby shower was probably off the list of potential parties, she unfolded the paper.

Dearest Cora,

I long for you. I want to feel your silky black hair between my fingers. I want to smell the apple scent of your shampoo as I press you against me. I don’t think you realize how beautiful you are, and I want to show you in a way that you will never forget.

I don’t want this letter to scare you, but I’m not going to play around with poetry. I know what I want, and I want you. Getting to know you will be wonderful, but imagining your soft red lips around my cock has me so hard right now, and what I want most is to feel the warm, wet wonder of your hot pussy as I slide inside you. I want to see your big, brown eyes looking at me when I make you come. I’m going to make you scream my name, Cora.

You are admired,

M

I can’t wait to see you come for him. Touch him, suck him. And Cora, I can’t wait to be inside you too,

R

Heat flushed her face. She put the letter on the hall table and went into the bathroom to splash cold water on her cheeks. She felt dirty. The fact that the letter was very obviously a group effort disturbed her. R and M had different handwriting. Someone at the company was watching her, clearly wanting her, and his friend wanted to play too. Should she go to the police with the letter?

She quickly decided against that course of action. The embarrassment of someone else reading the intimate words made her cringe. Besides, if she were to be honest with herself, the letter turned her on, and it wasn’t as though he had threatened her. She decided just to act as if she never received the letter. She would save it. If she discovered a suspect, or felt any sort of danger,
then
she would go to the police.

The letter was a surprise, and it made her feel desirable. She was wet and suddenly dying for an orgasm. Without a thought to anything else, she decided to get in the tub with a glass of wine and her vibrator.

She stripped off her clothing and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Carrying at least twenty pounds too many didn’t exactly make her feel beautiful. In her younger years she’d always felt attractive, but as time passed her self confidence had waned. Turning away from the reflection, she set the water to the perfect temperature, added a floral bubble bath and waited for the tub to fill. She closed her eyes, breathing in the beautiful and relaxing fragrance.

Cora had always been responsible and selective about whom she slept with. She never even had two boyfriends at the same time.
Who could R and M be?
They were obviously very good friends if both of their notes were in the same envelope. She tried to think of any serious bro-mances at the company, but no particular pair of friends stood out. And why would these two mystery guys think she would be into something so sexually deviant? If they were from the company they would be aware of her reputation as an icy bitch.

A loud noise, far too loud to be Alfie, made her pause. Cora grabbed her purple silk robe from the wall hook, whipped it over her shoulders, and quietly opened the bathroom door. She peeked around the corner.

Her apartment was all one level and she saw no one, only her cat. With an annoyed sigh, she decided that the letter from her orgy-loving secret admirer had to be the cause of her jumpy state.

Cora shrieked when the phone suddenly rang. Shaking her head in disbelief over her jumpy reaction, she headed to the hall table and picked up her cell phone.

“Hello.”

“Did you get my letter, Cora?”

Panic welled up.
Now
she felt threatened. Knowing the mystery man had her cell number went way beyond the norm. Obviously this wasn’t going to go away by ignoring it. Should she hang up on him or try to find out who he was? Calling on her inner icy bitch, she decided to play it calm and cool. She didn’t want him to know she was scared.

“Is this R or M?”

“M,” he replied, his voice soft and sexy. “R is sure you’ll freak out. He told me I’m an idiot for calling, but I just had to know, did you like it?”

“Why did you write the letter, why…me?”

“I’ve wanted you since the first moment I saw you. I want you a little more every time I smell your shampoo or perfume. I want more than sex from you, but I won’t lie, I mostly want sex.”

At least he was being brutally honest. Strangely, she found it somewhat refreshing. When she did take the time out of her busy schedule to date it always felt like she was playing some kind of confusing game. She liked that her stalker didn’t play games, but she didn’t recognize the voice and she needed to know who it was in case he was dangerous.

She walked into the living room and looked out her window fugitively. Was he out there somewhere staring at her window, looking for her?

“So you see me every day, but what about R? Do I know both of you? Have we ever spoken before?”

“We’ve spoken, but you’re always in such a hurry you look right through me. I’m sure you’ve seen R, but I don’t think you’ve ever spoken to him.”

“Um…sorry.”
Why am I apologizing to a stalker?

“I don’t work there, but my sister does. I stopped by to have lunch with her, and while I waited it was easy to slip the envelope right in your mailbox.”

“Where do you see me every day?”

“I’ll tell you, but first—you didn’t answer my question. Did you like the letter?”

Biting her lip, she paused before replying. What was wrong with her? She knew she should be terrified, that she should hang up and call the police, but Cora couldn’t help herself. Knowing two men wanted her that badly still turned her on. She told him the truth.

Knowing she might regret replying, she closed her eyes and debated on what her response should be. It felt like she was under some kind of spell. “Yes.” A pause followed and she wondered if he hung up. “Are you there?” she asked quietly, her eyes wide open now.

“I’m here, Cora.” His voice sounded strained. “God, I wish I hadn’t asked you that. I’m so damn jealous of that vibrator right now. You have no idea.”

His mention of jealous made her remember his mysterious friend. He was a puzzle and she wanted to solve him. “Why do you share everything with your friend?”

“We’ve always been close. One night, our first year of college, I came back to the room sooner than he had expected. He was with a girl and she offered for me to join them. R shrugged and said, ‘Why the hell not?’ and we’ve shared every girl who would let us ever since. I wanted to be completely honest in my letter. I want you, but I want to share you too.”

His words were turning her on, more than she dare admit. Casual sex wasn’t something that she did, but suddenly she felt adventurous. She had taken a risk today at work and won, maybe risk wasn’t always bad.

She was only slightly closer to solving the mystery of who he was, so she decided to keep him on the phone, but she wondered if it was simply an excuse to keep talking to him.

“I’ve never been with two men at the same time. How does it work?”

“We’d take turns finding every spot on your body that brings you pleasure. We’d take it moment by moment, letting sensation lead us all to a fantastic orgasm. I’d like to see you come for me first. R knows how I feel about you. I think he’s looking forward to seeing me with you.”

His words shouldn’t make her feel like they did. She should be horrified. She had never imagined she would be intrigued by something like what M was describing, and Cora didn’t trust her knees to hold her up anymore. Shaking from the excitement, she dropped back onto her couch.

“Who are you, M?”

“Are you excited, sweet Cora? Eager?”

Hating herself for it, she felt raw and bare. Emotional vulnerability made her uncomfortable. Still, she gave M an honest answer.

“Yes, I’ve never been so turned on before. I’ve never talked about sex over the phone either.”

“I like it, all these firsts. My cock is aching just talking to you. Do something for me? Touch yourself. Touch your pussy. Rub it for me.”

Cora had never been one to follow orders, but for M, she slipped her hand into the opening of her robe and felt her slick, wet heat. She held the phone between her cheek and shoulder and lay back, using her natural lubrication to rub small circles around her clit. The nub was so sensitive simply from talking to the mysterious Mr. M that she already felt herself building an orgasm. His soft, sinful voice encouraged her.

“Come for me, Cora. Please, I want to hear it.”

She kept rubbing, and after only a few minutes her soft mews of pleasure became a full-blown moan. The phone slipped and slid down to rest in her cleavage as the swirling rush of madness tingled through her core. She wondered briefly if M would be able to hear the thundering of her heart as she came.

Cora was embarrassed by how soft and innocent her voice sounded now, especially after the kind of sexual sounds she’d just made. Frustrated, she wished her boldness hadn’t fled after her explosive orgasm.