Page 24 of Beyond Expectations

“Thank you again for taking me to her.”

The slight shyness in her tone took me off-guard.

“There is no need to thank me,” I retorted.

The slight furrow to her brow made me regret my choice of words. There was a long silence, which made my guilt feel even worse.

“I’m sorry to hear that your client’s husband has passed away.”

There was another pause, but I could sense the silence was affecting her, too. I was about to open my mouth again when she turned and rested her hand on my arm.

“I just feel so hopeless.”

She bit her bottom lip to stop the slight tremble, her brows furrowed, and a look of complete sadness washed over her face.

“Raya Cole is such a lovely, caring lady. She and her husband, Isaac, had been through so much together. She was the apple of his eye. I remember I used to joke, saying how they didn’t make men like him anymore. He was old-fashioned. Whether it was pulling out the seat for her, holding open doors, watching the games shows that he couldn’t stand but she loved, or writing her love notes every day, simply telling her how much he loved her.

They did everything together. He even tried to persuade her to accept your offer on their property, they have the cafe and residence above. It was always her dream to have her place. She is one of the best cooks you’ll ever come across and coming from the south, you know her food is delicious.”

The smile on her face told me everything she said was true. And if it were under any other circumstance, I’d take this chance to take her there for food.

I also felt a pang of guilt, knowing my company was in the midst of an attempted takeover, and although I know it wasn’t a hostile one, nor was there anything personal behind it. It wasn’t as if we were kicking these people to the curb; it was business—but for the first time, it didn’t quite feel right, and I couldn’t quite shake the feeling.

Tentatively, I placed my hand on her cheek, using the pad of my thumb to wipe away the stray tear that ran down her face.

With eyes that previously lit with fire, now all I could see was sadness.

Without breaking contact, she lifted the hand on my arm, placed it on my knee, and with the softest touch of her lips, gently brushed against mine.

Her kiss was feather soft, and I willed myself not to allow my desire to take over.

I kissed her back, not with the same yearning I had in her office, but cautiously, not wanting to ruin the moment or let her believe I was taking advantage of her in this situation.

Slowly, she deepened the kiss, one hand softly rubbing up and down my thigh, the other laced in my hair, almost as if she were holding me in place.

Adrenaline ran thick and fast through my veins. It wasn’t the Manhattan heat making my body start to sweat. It was her.

She thrust her lush tits against my chest.

I could feel her pulse quicken.

I pulled her onto my lap as she hiked up her skirt and straddled me. She began to grind on my cock, lost in her senses.

Provocatively, she took my bottom lip between her teeth and lightly bit down.

My tongue greedily devoured her mouth, drinking her in.

My brazen hands grabbed her ass, urging her to keep rubbing herself against me. Her back arched to better accept me. I was allowing my erection to cushion against her panties.

Wild and fierce passion pushed me on. She clutched fistfuls of my shirt, gently pulling it out of my pants.

My hand traced up her rib cage, finding her breasts. Without trepidation, my fingers began to work the buttons of her blouse.

Russell’s voice through the intercom hit me like a bucket of ice water.

“Mr. Chambers, we are here.”

Despite Serena’s caramel complexion, her cheeks flushed to a deep rose hue.

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