Charlotte DuPont’s wet, rose colored lips parted as she threw her head back, taking the back of her husband’s neck in a tight grip as she grinded against him, the sounds of their lovemaking reverberating in her ears.  Slowly, her cloudy green eyes fluttered shut and she rode him hard, fast, her creamy skin growing red from her neck to her center as her orgasm built.  “Oh, Dean, baby don’t stop, don’t—“  Her breath left her as she came, throwing her head so far back she could feel her blonde locks brushing against her ass which she swirled desperately, hungry for release.

                Dean took in the sight of his wife making it on top of him, thinking he’d never seen anything more beautiful—that he’d never need anything else in the world—but to see the woman he loved most on top of him, blushed deep crimson, coming.   Tears touched his eyes and he brought his hand to her dirty blond locks, clutching them as tightly as her pussy was clutching his dick, grinding his teeth as he struggled to hold out.  He never came until she did—never had—but some nights were harder than others.  “Look at me.”  He whispered, licking a trail from her throat to the tip of her chin, “Look at me, Char…”

                Charlotte cried out as she came, rocking against him, unable to move or breath, let alone look him in the eye.  Tremors held her body captive, only intensifying when she felt him coming inside her, crying out himself before falling back onto the bed, bringing her with him. 

                Charlotte’s naked body collapsed on top of his, both breathing heavily.   She fell asleep right away, as she always did. Dean stayed awake, as he always did.  Holding her as tightly as he could.

                Holding her desperately.

--

                “I hate it.”  The frustration behind Dean DuPont’s voice rang all the way from his seat the end of the boardroom table to the front of the room where Kai Washington stood with the presentation she’d been working on since the beginning of the year spread across the large screen behind her.   Dean’s words were so laced with anger and hatred that she felt like they’d reached clear across that table and wrapped themselves around her neck, chocking her.  Silencing her.  Dean’s electric blue eyes were blazing with impatience and utterly unapologetic.  “What else?” He demanded, shaking his head.

                Kai looked back at the power point presentation behind her, her slightly tilted dark brown eyes dashing desperately across it in an attempt to think straight.  She’d been working on this Nike pitch for the last three months and was so sure that Dean would love it that she hadn’t come up with anything else.  With wide eyes she turned back to the boardroom table where Dean, her boss, and the President and CEO of Nike headquarters were staring back at her.  Her dark brown skin grew dewy with sweat and only became more moist with each passing second.

                “What else, Kai?” Dean’s voice rose.

                Kai’s blood pressure rose, her knees had taken on a steady shake and with every passing second her brain became more and more blurry.  Looking at Dean’s chiseled jaw, perfectly smoothed dirty-blond hair, flawless suit and impatient eyes brought back every terrible memory she had of him—and there were many.   He’d made her life hell from the moment she’d walked through the doors of his advertising agency.  Some days he was so hard on her that she’d honestly wondered why he’d given her the job in the first place.  Regardless of how he treated her, Kai still had the utmost respect for him.  At 31 years old he was already the CEO of a wildly successful ad agency, one he’s started at the ripe age of twenty-two with not a dollar in his pocket.  She respected him, she wanted to be him.  The fact that she hadn’t had a plan B was a mistake of colossal proportions.  Looking into his irritated eyes at that moment she realized that it was a mistake that she would never be able to forgive herself for.

                At the moment, it seemed like he was thinking the same thing, “You don’t have anything else.”  He concluded blankly.

                Tears touched Kai’s eyes, and she held her breath to keep them from falling.  Don’t cry, she demanded of herself, don’t you dare cry.  “No.”  She breathed.

                Dean didn’t miss a beat, “Get out.”

                Kai took her first deep breath, tears brimming over her eyes.

                Dean wasn’t blind to her tears. “I said get the hell out.”

--

                “Hey baby!”  Charlotte called across the massive Hoboken loft that she and Dean had shared for the past five years.  She smiled over a pot of steaming spaghetti sauce as he closed the sliding metal door and dropped his suitcase on the floor next to it.  “You look tired.”

                He began making his way toward her, something he always seemed to do without even thinking, while running a hand back and forth through his hair to break the polished look he was forced to maintain for work.

                Charlotte took in his newly tussled hair, her eyes following him as he stepped into the open kitchen that overlooked the entire loft.  “Rough day?”  She asked looking up and over her shoulder at him, still mixing the spaghetti.

                Dean didn’t respond to that, either, as he came up behind her and tucked his nose into her hair, breathing deeply.  The smell of her wafted into his nose, filling his senses as he took one deep breath, then another.  His eye slowly shut as he took both of her hips in his large hands, pulling her back so her ass pressed firmly against his hardness.  His breathing became thicker, longer.  He swallowed and began a slow grind.

                “Are you going to talk to me tonight or…?”  Charlotte smiled softly as she continued to slowly mix the spaghetti.

                Without a word, Dean slid his hands under the oversized t-shirt she wore, taking the waistband of her jogging shorts and pulling them down below her plump ass.  His breath grew ragged and he frantically undid his belt and pants, releasing himself as he slid his hands into Charlotte’s hot center and pulled her closer to him.

                “Ouch.”  Charlotte hissed, pulled softly away from him, “Dean, baby.”  She wasn’t wet, not nearly ready for him, and just the force behind his fingers sent a sharp pain through her.

                Dean immediately stopped, never wanting to hurt her.  He removed his hands from her center and held her stomach, “Have me, Char.”  He whispered, “Please have me.”

                “I’m cooking, Dean. You can’t just come in here and not speak to me and expect a quick fuck whenever you want.”

                “Jesus, here I was thinking that I was coming home to my wife.  God forbid I want to have sex with my wife after a hard day at work.”

                Charlotte slammed down the spoon she’d been using the mix the spaghetti and turned to him, “Don’t do that.  Don’t act like I’m a terrible wife to you.  You know some married men are lucky if their wives have sex with them once a month.  We fuck at least five days out of the week, what’s the problem?”

                “The problem is that you know exactly how many times a week we’re having sex.  The problem is that you’re counting.  Clearly it’s something that’s become a chore to you and not something that you enjoy.”  Dean re-zipped his slacks, “I don’t know how many times we fuck a week because I just want you when I want you.  I want you constantly… and I’m not sorry.  I’m not sorry that I want you.”

                Charlotte was leaning back against the counter behind her, gripping it.

                “It’s different, baby.”  His eyes searched hers, “Two years ago I couldn’t even make it past the front door before you had your lips around my dick.”  A sweet smile spread over his face and he reached up to sweep his thumb along the soft blush that was spreading across her milky cheeks, “What changed? What is it?”

                Charlotte shook her head.

                “Do you just…”  He looked away from her, then looked back, “Do you not enjoy it anymore or…”  The words were so hard for him to say that he had to stop talking.

                “Of course I do.”  She admonished, frowning.

                “Then what? Huh?  I touch you and you can’t get wet.  I feel like every time I put my hands on you, you can’t even… you can’t…” He laughed softly, “I don’t even know what to say.”

Charlotte’s fingers scraped against the granite counter.

 “When we first got married you couldn’t keep your hands off me.  And now... You’re just different.  Or maybe I’m different?”  He frowned in confusion, covering his heart with his hand.

                “You’re not different.  You’re the same man I married.  The same man I’ve loved all these years.”

                “It’s clear the something has changed, Char, and we can tiptoe around it for the rest of our lives until we both get so resentful that we can’t stand the sight of each other or we can do something about it now.  I don’t want to have sex with you if—I mean of course I want to have sex you—and I always will, but… I don’t want it if you don’t want it, too.”

                “I just want something different!”  She beamed, immediately regretting the words she just spewed when she saw Dean’s face drop.  She crossed the kitchen and immediately wrapped her arms around his waist.  “What I meant was… I want something different, with you.”

                “With me?”

                “Something that we can both do… together.”

                “Like what, Char?”  Dean’s face broke into a shaky smile, “Chains?  Whips?  I’m down for pretty much anything that doesn’t involve a strap-on wrapped around your waist.”

                Charlotte swallowed hard, “You’re going to think I’m crazy.”

                Dean took her chin and made her look at him.  “You are my wife.  There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.  Nothing.”

                “Nothing except a strap on.” She smirked.

                “Everybody has a limit, alright?”  He grinned softly.

                “Okay…”  Charlotte’s eyes fell to the floor, then she looked back up at him, “But if I tell you…”

                Dean caressed her face gently, suddenly massively turned on and wanting nothing more than to be inside of her.

                “If I tell you, you absolutely cannot judge me.”

                “Never.”  He whispered, his lust filled eyes falling desperately to her plush, pink lips.

                “Sometimes when you’re eating me… Tasting me…”

                “Mmm hmm.”  He nodded.

                “Sometimes I close my eyes and…”  She took a breath, “I think about Kai.”

                Dean froze.

                Charlotte’s breath had grown heavy, “And when I come… it’s so, so hard... Harder than I have in a long, long time.”

                “Kai?”  Dean beamed, pulling away from her.

                But Charlotte held onto him, “You swore you wouldn’t judge.”

                “I’m not--I’m not judging you.  The thought of being with another woman turns my wife on—what man wouldn’t be thrilled? But… Kai?”

                “I see the way you look at her, Dean.”

His eyes came alive with shock, “The way I look at her?”

Charlotte had to stifle a chuckle.  “You may not know it, but I do.  I know you.  I see you… and it’s not just her.  It’s women of color in general--”

“I’ve never been with a black woman before and you know that.”

“But that doesn’t mean that you don’t fantasize—“

“Fantasy and reality are two very different things.”

“So you admit that you fantasize about black women?”

“When did I say that?”

“Okay, fine.  At least admit that you’ve fantasized about Kai.”

“Never.”

“You’re a liar.”  Charlotte crossed her arms, “Or you’re just so utterly lacking in any sort of self-awareness that you can’t even tell when you’re dying to see a woman naked.”

“That’s because the only woman I want naked is you.”  He said, simply, dipping his hands into his slacks with a shrug, “All I want is you.”

“You have me.  I’m giving you the opportunity to partake in something more.”

“No you’re giving yourself the opportunity.”  Dean corrected, “You will not make this my idea.  This is your idea.”  His eyes pierced hers.  “And if you’ve ever caught me looking at Kai in a certain way it was probably because I was so baffled at how a single human being could manage to fuck up so royally on so many different occasions that I’m unable to peel my eyes away.  It’s bewilderment at her absolute incompetence if anything.”

“If she’s so incompetent why is she still employed at your company? Why did you give her, a lowly intern, a Nike pitch?” Charlotte asked conversationally.  She quickly swooped a noodle out of the boiling pot next to her and popped it in her mouth, tilting her head at him.

Dean shook his head rapidly, as if trying to shake himself awake from this nightmare of a conversation.  He wasn’t sure what was worse… this conversation or the fact that he couldn’t find a logical answer to either of the questions she’d just asked him.

Charlotte pressed on, “You’re telling me you don’t find her attractive in the least?”

“Yes, she’s attractive.  Obviously she is… but so are a lot of the women that I work with.  That doesn’t change the fact that they are women that I work with.  I can already see the massive lawsuit coming because my wife wants to roll around with an intern!”

“Don’t act like you would turn down the opportunity if it presented itself—what warm blooded man wouldn’t?  She’s so beautiful.  And thinking about watching you fuck her, letting her fuck me.”  Charlotte sighed longingly, “God…”

                “Watching me fuck her?  Are you--“ Dean ran both of his hands though his hair while taking a healthy step away from her.  Just as soon as he was stepping away from her, he was charging forward, struggling to control himself as he took in her beautiful face. “You’d watch me sleep with another woman? That’s what you want?”

Charlotte’s eyes dashed across his face, back and forth, but she bit her lip to keep from responding.

“She an intern, Char.  No.”  Dean shook his head, “No, I’m sorry.  I… I’ll do anything for you, baby.  If you want to experiment I’m all for it but… anyone but Kai… anyone else…”

                Charlotte touched her heart, willing herself to stay calm, “Okay.”  She whispered, nodding as she slowly backed away from him, “Okay, just forget I said anything, at all.  Just forget it.”

                Dean was speechless as he watched her hurry out of the kitchen.

--

                Kai stared at the blank screen of her computer, the same screen she’d been staring at for the better part of the hour, rattling the pencil between her fingers furiously on her desk.  The sound of her phone ringing made her jump clear out of her seat and the second her butt was back in the chair she snatched up the phone before it even had a chance to ring twice.

                “Kai Washington.”  She answered frantically.

                “Good morning, Kai, it’s James.”

                Kai’s stomach fell.  It was the inevitable call.  The call she knew would come.  The call she’d been waiting for since the moment she’d woken up that morning.  “Good morning, James.”

                “Dean wants to see you in his office.”  James said, with a considerable amount of pity in his voice.  He was Dean’s assistant of over five years and he knew what had happened with the Nike pitch the day before.  In fact, Kai was sure that the entire office knew by now.  The fact that they were all pretending not to listen to the conversation she was having right now was glaringly obvious as her eyes darted across all of the desks scattered around her.

                “I know.”  She sighed. “I’m on my way.”

                “See you then.” James disconnected the call without another word.

                Kai stood slowly from her chair and began the slow walk of shame to Dean’s office, all of her coworkers watching her as if it was the last time they’d see her.

--

                Kai opened the door to Dean’s office and hesitated in the doorway when she saw he was on the phone.  Pulling an apologetic face she gave a soft knock.

                Dean look up from his phone call and waved her in.  He watched as she crossed the threshold into his office and clasped her hands in front of her body.  He could see them shaking from his desk.  “Close the door.”  He instructed, watching her do this as he finished his phone call.   Hanging up the phone, he took in the sight of her in her steel grey skirt suit and sky high heels.  The red toenails peeking out from the peep-toes was shiny, flawless.  Very girly.  He rose his eyes to hers, wondering why she was standing so far away.  “Sit down.”         

                Kai hurried to the two chairs situated in front of his desk and plopped down in the closest one to the door while jamming her eyes shut.  Why was he delaying the inevitable?  Her mind swam.  She’d have to move out of her apartment in the city, for sure.  Maybe that Starbucks around the corner would hire her part-time until she could find another job.  Graduate school would definitely have to be put on hold until she found steady employment.   

                “I’m just going to make this quick—“

                Kai stared into her lap where her hands were clasped tightly, “Please, yes.  Let’s.”  She agreed, “Just rip it off.  Band Aid style.”

                “The reason I called you in here is because my wife and I have a… business proposal for you.  I’ve asked her to prepare dinner at our loft in Hoboken as I feel it would be more appropriate to discuss it outside of the office.”

                Kai’s head shot up, her eyes meeting Dean’s.

                Kai stared.

                He stared back.

                “So… wait…”  Kai was extremely confused, “So… am I not fired?”

                Dean’s face remained stoic, “No.”

                “No I’m not fired, or no I’m not… not fired?” 

                It took everything Dean had to keep calm as he took in her desperate face, “No, you’re not fired.”  He clarified.

                “Seriously?” Kai beamed.

                He raised his eyebrows.

                “I mean, thank you.  I’m thrilled that I still have my job—I love this job but…”  Her eyes were moving at a frantic pace. How the hell was she not fired?! Was this real life?  She resisted the urge to pinch herself.

                “Stop thinking.” Dean admonished, seeing the distress behind her eyes, “I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”

                Kai’s considered the smirk that was coming alive on his usually serious face.  Was he honestly making jokes?  She was stunned that Dean even knew what a joke was.

                Dean took in the shocked but appreciate look on Kai’s face and his mind raced back over all the times that Kai and Charlotte had interacted in the year since he’d hired Kai as an unpaid intern.  From casual meetings at cooperate parties to Charlotte’s many visits to the office to the random run-ins  they’d had outside of the office he realized that they had interacted so much more than he’d originally realized.

The signs had always been there, and now that he’d had time to think about it, Dean couldn’t imagine how he’d missed all of them for so long.  One specific run-in had stuck out in is mind since his blowout with Charlotte in the kitchen.  Months ago they’d been out for a quick run at Whole Foods and happened to run into Kai in the produce section.  Dean didn’t think much of it at the time but he did remember Charlotte asking him to grab the last of their groceries so she could stay and talk to Kai.  On the walk home Charlotte had pulled him into a secluded alleyway and given him the best blowjob of his life.  It was so amazing that he’d been reduced to dropping their grocery bags on the ground so he could return the favor and finish the job.  He’d always wondered what had gotten into Charlotte that day, and now he knew. 

His breathing grew heavy as his eyes travelled Kai’s body from across the desk and his mind continued to race. Even the way Charlotte kissed Kai goodbye--not quite on the cheek but not on the lips either.  It was something dangerously in between, something that lingered.  How had he never seen it?

                “I see the way you look at her.”  Dean remembered Charlotte’s words from the night before.  He wasn’t aware that he looked at Kai at all, except when she was screwing something up—which was quite often.  How the hell did he look at her with anything other than annoyance and distain?  He wasn’t even sure why he’d kept her around for as long as he had because she really did work his last nerve almost every day in that office.              

He was still furious over her disastrous pitch to the Nike exec the day before—one that he had managed to save on his own by the skin of his teeth—that it was all he could do not to reach across that desk and ring her neck.  It wasn’t the first big mistake Kai had made, but it was the first one that was a terminable one.  Watching her at the moment, he realized she’d only survived here for as long as she had because he saw something in her, had from the moment he’d interviewed her, which was why he’d given her chance after chance.   This time, though, the only thing that had saved Kai’s neck was Charlotte.

His eyes fell to the dangerously low dip in the baby blue blouse Kai wore under her business suit.  A tiny hint of a black and white lace bra peeked out, seizing Dean’s attention.

                “So…” Kai sensed that her boss was off in another world, and this was verified when the sound of her voice made him snap his eyes back to hers—back to reality.

                “So tonight. Seven pm. That’s all.”  He opened a file on his desk.

                Kai moved to the edge of her seat, “But—“

                “James with email you the address.”

                “Um—“

                “That’s all.”  He looked up from where he was in the middle of turning a page on his brief, his blue eyes catching hers.

                Kai’s heart stopped, “Okay.” She sputtered, standing halfway up from her chair while clutching the handles.  She held Dean’s gaze for a moment longer, freezing for a moment before standing up tall, “Okay, thank you.  Have a—have a good day?”  She realized her salutation sounded more like a question than a statement, “Okay goodbye.”  She finally spat before turning away from him and speed walking to the door.  She tripped on the way out and had the grab the door to hold herself steady.  Unable to bring herself to turn around and see if Dean saw her stumble, she continued to exit with as much grace as she could manage, closing the door behind her without looking back.

                “Jesus.”  Dean whispered.  If it were any other day under any other circumstance, Kai would have been fired. 

                But there was nothing Dean wouldn’t do for Charlotte.

                Nothing.