Page 43 of Over My Dead Boss
“Hm.” Phoenix thinks long and hard, obviously having something in mind.
“It’s ok, you don’t have to tell me.” I repeat his own words, bend down, and give him a gentle kiss. “But if you want to talk about it, I’ll listen.”
“There is something that I very much cherish. I was maybe six or seven or eight. It was a normal school day, a Friday, and I was sitting in algebra, which I hated, when suddenly my dad came in. He talked to my teacher, and I was afraid that I had done something wrong, or that something had happened to mom. I still remember him putting his hand on my shoulder while walking me out and saying,You’re not busy today, are you?I shook my head, still not sure what was happening. We got into his limousine, which took us to—” Phoenix eyes wander down my neck and finally rest on my collarbone. “You know you have very nice collarbones.”
“OHMYGOD. Tell me what happened!”
26
“Right.” Phoenix looks a little bewildered, laying underneath me. “As you may already know, I was a bit of a weird kid. And at that time, I really loved classical music. This was before my Baywatch and grunge period, obviously. My dad, knowing this, had booked the entire opera house, the Symphony Orchestra andtheman himself — Luciano Pavarotti. They played and performed for over two hours. Just for the two of us. I still remember, my dad must have been worried I might get bored, because he had his people prepare popcorn, candy, coke, the whole shebang, but I didn’t touch any of it. I was too worried the sound of eating popcorn or chips might interfere with my listening to the performance. And I guess that’s why I am still very fond of classical music.”
“That’s a really nice memory.”
“Oh, but it gets better. After chatting with Luciano and the musicians, we also went to watch a movie later that day. I can’t even remember which one because I was still so swept up in Luciano’s voice, but, come next Monday, I remembered just enough to spoiler the movie for the kid from school who would always bully me.” Phoenix cocks his chin a little, the most adorable satisfied expression on his face.
“No way.Youwere bullied? I don’t believe it.”
“You have seen the pictures of me in Nana’s house, haven’t you?”
I think about the parting of his hair, the acne, the oversized clothes and can see what he is referring to. “Yeah, alright. I see your point. Kids can be cruel.”
Phoenix guides my head down to his chest, and I lay flat on him, listening closely to the beat of his heart. It feels natural laying here, soothing, like we have done this at least a thousand times already. Soon, our heartbeats have synchronized.
“I’d like to request some Grumpy Time,” Phoenix says after a while, his tight hug preventing me from getting up. “I am feeling quite grumpy,” he complains and bucks his hips a little, letting me feel how hard he is underneath me.
“Oh,” I respond and look up at him. The fact that he gets this hard just from me laying there makes me wet like nothing else. I grin. “You’re gonna have to release me so we can do something about that. As your assistant/editor/bodyguard/seamstress/personal stylist and—” I hold in, not knowing how to continue and wish I had thought this through before opening my stupid mouth.
What am I to him?His hook-up? Live-in escort? Person with whom he might see himself bicker even after his book is written?
“And?” He asks when letting go of me.
“Convenient condom-containership consort?” I stumble over my own words in a poor attempt to distract us both from my puzzling, needy thoughts and the can of worms I might have opened up with them. “Speaking of which… where is the box? It wasn’t empty yet, was it?”
Phoenix tilts his head to the side before pointing towards the foot of his oversized bed. “Are you ok?” he asks once I get the condoms and hop back on top of him.
I wiggle my butt on his lap, hoping to lure his blood down there and away from his brain. “Actually, I have something to grump about as well.”
Phoenix’s eyes wander back up to mine after watching me move on top of him. “Yes, of course. What is it?”
“I am quite grumpy about you still not being inside of me.”
“We ought to do something about that, shouldn’t we?” His hands run along my side and up my back and, with one swift motion, the clasps of my bra are undone. A cheeky smile washes over Phoenix’s face at the sight of it. I lean down and kiss him before moving to his neck, his chest and his impeccable abs, finally removing his underwear.
Gently, I massage and kiss his balls before taking him in my mouth, making him moan with what sounds like equal amounts of pain and pleasure. “Too rough?” I ask. “Want me to go easy on you?”
He shakes his head, sliding on a condom while I take my panties off as well. “It’s just a little sore.” He laughs. “He’s been getting a lot of action recently, but apparently that’s still not enough.”
I sit on top again and slowly lower myself onto him. It’s incredible how easy it is for him to enter me. Just at the thought of him anywhere near me, I am ready to go. Our eyes meet just as I take him fully and bend down to kiss those magnificent lips of his. They are plump and soft and as if they were specifically made for mine. I move slowly, trying not to cause him any pain while enjoying his hands leisurely exploring my body. I adore his gentle touch, the moans in my mouth when we kiss, the slow blink of his dark eyes when I move away from him for a second, longing for more, for me to be closer again. Over the last couple of days, we’ve had wild sex, rough sex, horny sex, primal sex. Sex that I never thought possible, but we haven’t had this yet. The way he looks at me, the way he wants me despite having to endure pain, the way he kisses me; it feels more intimate than anything we have done so far. The feeling is overwhelming and makes me long for more.
Soon after, I reach my climax with a little help from Phoenix’s hand. As soon as I am done, he allows himself to come as well, shooting his load inside me, and I really wish I could feel all of it without a condom. Exhausted, I collapse onto him and listen to his heartbeat again. Now quicker than before, but still in sync with mine.
I wonder what he is thinking, whether he has had thoughts about us as well. He must have.
“Should we get cleaned up?” he finally says and slaps my butt gently.
Or maybe not.Either way, it’s no use to think about, really. We both know that this is only temporary. We finish our work, enjoy whatever this is for as long as possible, and then go separate ways. And that’s ok.
That night, my sleep is rudely interrupted, not by actual nightmares, but by the physical manifestation of one. With squinting eyes, I can barely make out Isabella’s name on the display of my phone, which is ringing on the nightstand next to me. I must have accidentally switched off silent mode earlier when texting with Sienna. Phoenix sleeps through the noise without issue, but I am sitting straight up in bed. I grab the hunky man’s butt to make absolutely sure this isn’t another nightmare. It’s not, it’s another drunk dial. I rush to the bathroom and take the call, expecting to have to order more food, a colony of penguins for one of her parties, or a dungeon so she can whip some poor soul to release some of her anger.
