The Ex Games (The Ex Games #1)(16)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“So why don’t I start first, and then the lovely lady to my left will continue.” He smiled down at me graciously and I pretended to smile back at him. “My name is Brandon Hastings, and I’m in my early 40s. This is the third company I’ve run and it likely won’t be the last. I enjoy gourmet cooking—I know, I know, it’s not believable, right?” He laughed. “But I took a class with an old girlfriend and I haven’t been able to shake the habit, or her.” He laughed again and I could feel myself blushing. “Let’s see, I currently live by myself in New York City, though that may be changing soon.” He gave me a look and I stared at him, wondering what his last sentence meant. “You’re next.”

“Okay, thanks.” I stood up and took a deep breath. “Hello everyone, my name is Katie, Katie Raymond. I’m 25 and a graduate of Columbia and NYU. I live in New York as well, but I’m from Florida. As chance would have it, I also took a cooking class with an ex-boyfriend, but I rarely find time to cook. I guess he got all the skills.” I made a face and everyone laughed, except for Brandon. “Let’s see.” I said warming up. “I’ve only worked at Marathon Corp for about a month but I love it so far, so I hope that never changes. Oh, I’m in love with French movies, even though I don’t speak French.”

“Maybe that’s something someone taught you to love?” Brandon spoke lightly, and I smiled as I nodded at him.

“Yes, someone I loved introduced me to French movies.” I stared at him as I spoke and sat down. I continued to stare at him even when the man next to me started talking. Brandon’s eyes searched mine for a moment before he sighed and turned away. I felt the resolve building up in my body: I wasn’t going to let him make me feel bad for what had happened. I had been young, I’d made a mistake. He couldn’t hold it against me forever. The introductions seemed to take forever, and I sat back in my chair with a fake smile on my face as I pretended to listen to what everyone was saying. I tried not to notice as Brandon’s chair moved closer to mine, but there was no way to ignore the feel of his fingers as they ran up and down my leg.

“I’ve missed you.” He leaned over and whispered in my ear. I pretended to ignore his touch and his voice and kept my face straight ahead. He pulled away from me, but his fingers continued to draw lines on my leg. I tried to shift them away from him, but my movement gave him more access than I would have liked and his fingers were able to work their way up thigh, higher than I would have liked.

“Stop it.” I finally turned my head and whispered at him.

“Stop what?” He gave me a questioning smile as his finger ran all the way up my thigh and then lightly across my panties.

“You know what.” I gasped and clenched my legs. That was a mistake, because now I had trapped his hand right there. He immediately took it to his advantage and rubbed in between my legs softly. I could feel my panties growing wet and I reached down and pulled his hand out.

“That’s not appropriate.” I hissed at him and he smiled.

“You didn’t seem to mind before.”

“That was seven years ago.”

“Been counting, have we?” He raised an eyebrow and then grabbed my hand and placed it on his crotch. “You still make me hard.” He left my hand there and I squeezed his c**k without even thinking. It felt thick and hard and I shifted in my seat as I thought about how much pleasure it had given me. “If you want, I’ll let you go under the table and suck it.” He smiled sweetly at me and I withdrew my hand quickly.

“You’re an ass**le.” I mouthed at him.

“You made me that way.” I thought he hissed back, but I wasn’t sure if I had heard him correctly. I could have dropped on my knees and thanked God when it was break time. If I had to sit there for one more minute, I may have done something I was going to regret. My head was spinning and my heart was pounding and worst of all, I was horny as hell. I hated myself for feeling turned on by what he had done and for having daydreams of giving him a blowjob under the table as I sat there.

“Get it together.” I hissed at myself as I jumped up and ran out of the room and went to the Ladies. I washed my face, reapplied my makeup and just stared at my reflection. “You can do this, Katie.” I repeated over and over to myself. “You only have to get through two days with him. That’s it. Two days.” I sighed and took a deep breath and exited the bathroom. I groaned out loud as I saw Brandon standing there.

“Get lost, did you?”

“No.”

“I’m glad you didn’t fall in.”

“So am I.” I tried to walk past him and he grabbed my arms.

“You never called.”

“What” I blinked at him.

“You never called me, after that day. You never came to pick up your stuff and you never called.”

“I was waiting for you to call.” I said softly and stared at him. “You never called me either.”

“I’m going to be working in the office with you.” He changed the subject abruptly and I nodded.

“Okay.”

“I hope it’s not going to be difficult.” He ran his hands through his hair. “It’s not a big office, we’ll likely see each other a lot.”

“I’m fine. It’ll be fine.” I lied as my body screamed at me.

“Good.” He stepped towards me and pressed his body lightly against mine. I stared up into his eyes without backing down. I wasn’t going to let him intimidate me. He took another step forward, and involuntarily I stepped back and hit the wall. He pushed up against me and I could feel his hardness against me, as his breath tickled my ear. “You feel warm.”

“So do you.” I stared into his eyes, not daring to breathe.

“I want to touch you.” His fingers ran up my shirt. “I want to taste you again.”

My body trembled under his touch, but I didn’t move or say a word.

“I told you once that I would possess your body.” He whispered in my ear. “I told you that I owned you. Do you remember that?’

“Yes.” I squeaked out.

“Well, I want to take what’s mine.” His fingers squeezed my left breast as his mouth descended on mine roughly. His tongue slipped into my mouth and my back arched into him as I tasted his sweetness once again. My hands ran up his back to his hair and I caressed his silky tresses as we kissed. We both paused as we heard footsteps, and he pulled me into the women’s bathroom quickly.