Tymber Dalton - Contractual Obligation

They ate pizza in the living room that night in front of the TV. They talked about themselves and about Doug. By the time they bid each other goodnight and headed for their separate bedrooms, Tate had the beginning seeds of an idea just crazy enough to possibly work.

First things first, he’d have to learn the job and get Harper to trust him.

Crazy didn’t begin to describe the next several weeks of Tate’s life. With no secrets between them, Tate and Harper became fast friends. Tate was glad he didn’t have to explain their deal to Gorden, because Harper told the man in no uncertain terms that the topic of discussion was totally off the table.

Permanently.

He’d met Harrison Wells a few times and liked him. He didn’t have any doubt the odd sideways glances the man gave him had to do more with trying to figure out what Harper’s game was than anything personal against him.

After hours, Tate and Harper spent a lot of time talking. Aside from a few business social functions, they usually ate in every night in front of the TV, working as Harper did her best to help Tate get up to speed.

His initial opinion had been right, that Harper was self-insulated. Worse, she was lonely and now doubting her judgment in the wake of Doug’s secret being exposed. He could tell she wanted to open up more to him, but now she felt gun-shy.

Despite not having any contact with Doug, Tate gave him the benefit of the doubt about his actions when he found out the full extent of Sarah’s medical bills. He knew darn well what Doug’s dad made in salary, and that even with insurance, the expenses on the family would have been crushing.

He couldn’t imagine Doug doing anything but taking the job to help them out. All he had to do was convince Harper that Doug’s keeping him a secret wasn’t her fault.

Gorden, however, proved himself a constant source of friction. Tate liked the man, but found himself butting heads with him at every turn, so much so Harper frequently had to step in and referee. One afternoon Harper was out of the office at a doctor’s appointment when Tate and Gorden got into it.

Tate knew damn well Gorden felt loyal to Doug, and Harper hadn’t enlightened him about the reason for Tate’s arrival and apparent taking over of Doug’s place in her affections. Finally, when Gorden nearly caused him to miss an important meeting with one of their suppliers, Tate called him out on it later in Gorden’s office.

“Look, I know you don’t like me,” Tate said, “but quit trying to dick me over, dude. You’re trying to make me look bad.”

Gorden scowled at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Tate could only say so much without breaking Harper’s confidence, something he refused to do. Doug had to deal with Gorden while he was overseas, and Gorden wasn’t happy about being forced to maintain the illusion with Tate. “You know exactly what the hell I’m talking about. We are on the same side. Team Harper. I know you like Doug and think I’m some sort of douche, but put the passive-aggressive bullshit to rest, would you? You don’t know what’s going on.”

“You don’t know her the way I know her.”

“Yeah? Well, maybe I know some things you don’t know. Did you ever think about that? So maybe you should just keep your opinions to yourself and do your fucking job and let me do mine.”

Tate fought the urge to slam the door behind him when he stormed out. His loyalty was to Harper. As he started for his office, he pulled up short.

I love her.

Fuck!

He did. He’d fallen in love with her. The fact that Gorden wasn’t happy with her over the Doug situation only made Tate feel even more protective of her.

Crap. Now what the hell am I supposed to do?

* * *

They ate in that night as they usually did. Later, they sat on the couch and watched TV. Well, Tate was watching TV with Harper’s feet in his lap, while Harper was reading her Kindle. She’d never given Doug a look at hers, a little embarrassed to admit some of the content.

“Whatcha’ reading?” Tate asked.

She hoped her face didn’t turn red. “A book.”

Before she could stop him, he pulled the Kindle out of her hand. “Ooh, look at this.”

She tried to reach for it, but he held it out of reach. “Give it back,” she protested.

“Not before I find out a few of Harper’s favorite authors.” He managed to hold her off as he scrolled through it. “And look at some of these titles.” He eyed her. “Naughty little girl.”

A wave of heat washed through her, surprising her when it pooled between her legs and started her clit throbbing. The way he’d said it reminded her so much of how Doug used to take charge in bed. She grabbed her beer and finished it, heading for the kitchen since she knew trying to get the Kindle away from Tate until he finished was useless. “You want another?” She held up her empty beer bottle.

“Sure.” He laughed. “Look at these authors. I’ve heard of some of them. Cooper McKenzie, Sophie Oak, Stormy Glenn.” He grinned as she brought him another beer, his third. “You are a wicked little girl.” He finally handed the Kindle back.

“Okay, so I like erotica. A girl’s got to get her fun somewhere.”

“That’s not just erotica, sweet stuff. That’s just downright pervy. I think I luuurrrve you. I’ve read a couple of books by some of those authors. Guy on guy, guy on guy with a girl. Two guys on a girl. Oooh, dirty.” He grinned.

Harper knew she shouldn’t have had the second beer, because she had a low tolerance for alcohol and the first one already had her tipsy, but she was beyond the give-a-fuck stage. She’d had another argument with Gorden that afternoon after returning from her doctor appointment. She suspected Tate and Gorden had another run-in, but neither man would admit it if they had.

Time for a new subject. “Since you’re so interested in talking about sex, how was Doug in the sack when you two were together?” she asked Tate after she put her Kindle on the coffee table.

Tate’s lopsided smile was more than enough to tell her his third beer had also pushed him over the edge of sobriety. “Fucking great. Hope he didn’t disappoint you.” A frown flashed across his face. “Is this an inappropriate conversation for me to have with my boss?”

“Nope. I think we’ve already crossed that threshold. Doesn’t bother me if it doesn’t bother you.” She took another swig of her beer. “The boy could give great head.”

Tate belched and held up his bottle in a salute. “Amen, sister!” He took another drink. “He could suck cock like nobody’s business.” Tate grinned. “Then again, he had a great teacher.”

“Who?”

“Me.” He giggled. “I was his first guy.”

“So how are you at giving a girl head?”

He shrugged. “Been a while, but the couple of girls I was with didn’t complain. Why, are you asking?”

“If you’re offering.” What the hell am I doing? I’m drunk!

“Why the hell not. Serves him right for leaving me and lying to you. You deserve better than that.” He set his beer bottle down on the coffee table and moved over to sit next to her on the couch. “We gonna do something we’re gonna regret in the morning?”

She laughed as she also put her beer down. “I sure as fuck hope so. Since we already have Doug in common, we might as well become friends with bennies.” She fell into Tate’s arms, softly moaning as he kissed her. “You kiss good,” she whispered when she came up for air. She felt a little guilty for what they were about to do.

Then again, Doug had lied to her and hurt Tate. She’d deal with the fallout later. For now, all she wanted was for Tate to make her forget.

And make amends to him for the pain she’d caused him. “You kiss really good,” she added.

“So do you,” he said. “Does this mean what I think it means, or am I really, really drunk?”

“I think we’re both drunk, but this means I want you to fuck my brains out. I want to see if I can give you head better than he did.”

He grinned “Fuckin’ A! I haven’t gotten laid since he left. Do you have any idea how horny I am?” He pushed her down and stretched his body out over hers. He felt different than Doug, a little shorter and lighter in build, but his warm weight pressing her into the cushions was a welcomed comfort. So he wasn’t Doug.

She didn’t care.

For tonight, she’d pretend he was the love of her life, and he could pretend she was whoever the fuck he wanted in his arms.

For tonight, she wanted her heart to hurt a little less.

Okay, a lot less.

She threaded her fingers through his hair and welcomed it when his tongue pressed for entrance between her lips. They kissed for what felt like forever as she felt her panties grow damper by the second.

He kissed his way down her jaw, to her throat, nibbling and gently biting until he reached the neck of her T-shirt. He pulled it to the side and nuzzled the crook of her neck. She hooked a leg around his, trying to rub against him as her clit began to throb.

“You horny, sweetie?” he rumbled into her ear before nibbling on her earlobe.

“Uh-huh!”

“You want me to take care of that for you?”

“Please!”

He pulled his shirt off, then pulled hers off, too. Warm skin against warm skin, he kissed her again, the blond curls on his chest rubbing against her nipples. He sucked on her nipples and worked his way south to her shorts.

“I’m going to make you scream, baby,” he promised as he slid them down her hips.

“Yes!”

He didn’t remove his shorts. Instead, he pushed her legs apart, draping them over his shoulders as he burrowed between her thighs. When his lips found and parted her labia, she grabbed him by the hair and didn’t want to let go.

He had a different technique than Doug. She couldn’t explain the difference, but he eagerly circled her clit with his tongue, flicking at it and driving her to the brink of madness. “Do it,” she begged. “Please!”

“Do what?”

“You shit, make me come!”

He stopped and sat up. “Ask me nicely, you dirty little girl.” The mischievous grin on his face turned any resistance she might have had to melted butter.

“What?”

“I saw the kind of stuff you had on your Kindle.” He slipped two fingers into her now soaking wet cunt and slowly thrust. “You’re no prim and proper lady. You’re a kinky little girl who wants me to fuck the shit out of her.”

She swallowed hard, no longer able to speak. She eagerly nodded.

He pulled his fingers out of her and crawled up her body. He kissed her, then pressed his fingers into her mouth. “Can you come by being fucked, baby?” he asked in a tone somewhere between amused at her eager sucking and sounding like he was two seconds from blowing his own load. He pulled his fingers from her mouth and grabbed her chin.

She felt her face heat. “Sometimes,” she softly admitted. “Doug was the first man to ever get me over like that.”

“Oh, we can’t have that,” he said in that same amused tone. “I can’t have him outdoing me.” He stood and grabbed her hand, pulling her up to her feet. “Let’s go.” He gave her a gentle shove to move her in front of him, and slapped her ass on the way. “I have a little something to prove.”

They resumed their tryst in her bedroom. He shed his shorts, and she was pleased to find not only did he go commando, but that his cock was nearly as long as Doug’s, and a little thicker around. Without any formality, he pushed her down onto the bed and resumed his position between her legs. His tongue found her clit again with pinpoint accuracy, and it wasn’t long before he had her coming.

He looked up. “Did he ever fuck this sweet ass of yours?”

Her head popped up. “What?”

“Your ass. Did. He. Fuck. It?”

She knew she was blushing. It felt like her face had suddenly gone supernova hot. She shook her head.

“Have you ever been fucked there?”

She shook her head again.

His smile broadened. “Oh, baby girl, we are sooo going to take care of that.” He sat up and pointed at her. “Do not move. I’ll be right back.” He bolted off the bed. She heard him down the hall, rummaging around in his room before he came running back and dropped something onto the bed. Then he disappeared into her bathroom and came back with a couple of towels.

“Up,” he said. She complied, and he spread the towels out under her before he pointed back to the bed.