Irish Charm; St. Patrick's Day Romance Collection, page 7
She had been pretty healthy since her last chemo treatments had turned out well. It was why I had been able to take the job. Still, I just always worried.
She left, and I closed the door before asking Ashton, “What’s going on? This is all so crazy.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, swooping me up before sitting on the couch and setting me on his lap. “I am really sorry that I haven’t been treating you with the respect you deserve. I want you to know that, I know it’s very early and this is probably crazy, but I feel I’m falling in love with you.”
“Woah,” I said, surprised beyond belief.
What in the world had brought this on?
“I… I feel the same way,” I confessed.
“I know,” he said. “And I didn’t mean to treat you like you were my property.”
“I… liked that,” I admitted. “But I also like this. So, don’t stop.”
I laughed and he kissed me. It was tender and soothing. It felt different from the other times we had kissed, but both ways felt good.
“Okay, deal,” he said. “You can still be my office Pet, but I want you to be my personal…. girlfriend, too.”
“Sure,” I said, with a big smile I couldn’t hide. “What brought this on? Here I thought I might be losing my job, and you.”
“I know,” he said, “and I’m doubly sorry about Ben. Why didn’t you tell me he had hit on you?”
“Oh, that,” I said. “I didn’t think it would be much of a surprise. Douchey Boss was hitting on me even during that interview we had.”
“That’s true,” he said, looking thoughtful. “I didn’t realize it, but that is very true. I’m sorry I wasn’t paying enough attention to how that must have made you feel.”
I shrugged.
“Well, I was just glad he had stopped hitting on me, and also glad that you had started. You know I used to think of you as Hot Boss and him as Douchey Boss?”
He laughed.
“Now that is music to my ears,” he said. “I’m glad I was the one who was Hot Boss and he was the one who was Douchey Boss, though. And I think that on my long way over here, I have come up with a plan to be rid of him.”
“Oh, really?” I asked him, as he kissed me again. “What might that be?”
“You’ll have to thank Sloane,” he said. “She has been a big help in this. And Reese and McKenzie too.”
“Sloane?” I asked, shocked. “I saw her lurking outside my office door, but she had no interest in helping me fight off Douchey Boss.”
“I know,” he said. “She didn’t come out and say it, but I think she might have been trying to gather evidence for some kind of firm-wide sexual harassment case against him. But I don’t think that will be necessary now.”
“Oh, really?” I asked. “Why not?”
“I’ll explain it all to you soon,” he said. “But right now, I want to devour you before your mother gets back.”
“That sounds like a good plan to me,” I said.
Chapter 13 - Ashton
I was so glad to be reunited with my Pet, and now, my girlfriend. I couldn’t wait to tell her what all I had in store for us. But I wanted some of it to be a surprise. And I also had to make sure I could work it all out.
For now, all I wanted to do was taste her delicious skin. In no time, I had her laying on he couch, with her skirt hiked up and her panties pushed to the side. I didn’t want to waste any time since I knew her mom could be back at any minute. And I also couldn’t wait to get my hands- and my tongue- all over her.
I sucked on her sweet little clit and she wiggled around and ran her hands through my hair.
“Oh, my God, Ashton, that feels so good,” she squealed.
I loved that we didn’t have to be quiet. I loved that I was enjoying her body the way I had made her enjoy mine in the past. I loved her taste, her feel, her scent.
I played with her clit and her nipple while I pushed my tongue inside her pussy hole. Then I returned to teasing her clit with my tongue, tasting her wetness while I made her come.
“Ashton, Ashton, Ashton,” she called out.
I played with her ass hole while she came in my mouth. I sucked her juices out of her. Then I hurried to take off my pants and put on a condom so that I could fuck her and enjoy what I’d denied both of us the pleasure of doing earlier.
She wrapped her arms around me and scratched my back with her nails while I hoisted her onto my lap and plunged my cock into her wet, willing pussy. I kissed her and she didn’t even flinch.
I held onto her hips and her ass while I thrust in and out of her. I didn’t spank her this time, because she was being so good and so eager, and I was so absolutely in love with her.
When I looked down at my cock attacking her pussy, I was overcome with love and lust. I could barely hold back, as she bounced all over my cock and told me she was coming again.
I decided to let go and give into the feeling of unbridled release, since we had limited time, even though I wished this could go on forever.
I shot my cum into the condom inside her and wished that there was no barrier between us. Before long, I wanted to fuck her ass hole. And eventually, her raw, naked pussy. But for now, I enjoyed the feeling of letting loose inside her and I liked how she held onto me and bit my neck while we both came together.
We collapsed onto the couch for a minute and she said, “That was so amazing. I liked it even better than all the kinky stuff.”
She was quick to add, “But I like that too.”
“Ditto, and ditto,” I told her.
Then we both jumped up to put ourselves back together before her mom got back.
“Look, I’m going to work everything out at work and next week I’ll reveal everything,” I told her. “For now, just trust me and believe in me, okay?”
“Okay,” she agreed. “I can do that. And can I tell my mom about you? She’ll kill me when she finds out what I’ve been up to but it will make things better now that she’s met you and knows you care about me.”
“Sure,” I told her. “Just don’t let her convince you to do the smart thing and take things slow or break things off.”
“Of course I won’t,” she laughed.
Right then, her mom came back, tapping lightly on the door and then asking, after she opened it, “Are you kids done talking?”
“Yes, Mama,” Maria said.
Or something like that.
“Do you want to stay and eat?” her mother asked me. “I got some extra eggrolls. And we were in the middle of a riveting episode of La Reina del Sur.”
“Thank you so much, Ms. Herrera, but I’ll leave you two to your bonding time as I know I walked in unannounced. It was such a pleasure to meet you, though, and I look forward to seeing you again.”
“I do as well,” she said, as Maria beamed at me happily.
I meant what I said- I planned to spend a lot more time with Maria in the future, and I assumed that would mean time with her mom, too, which fine with me, as long as Maria and I could be together.
Chapter 14 - Maria
St. Patrick’s Day
I was hard at work at two o’clock on the afternoon of St. Patrick’s Day, when Sloane popped her head into my office.
“Can you do me a favor and join us in the main conference room?” she asked, in her typical professional, reserved style.
I smiled to myself, thinking about how I would have normally felt intimidated or offended, but I knew from what Ashton told me that Sloane had a heart of gold underneath her hard, cold exterior.
Reese, Eileen and Mandy had also told me – over lunch today, where I enjoyed fish and chips with them at Patty’s Pub – that that was just how Sloane was and that it had taken some getting used to on their parts as well.
“Okay, sure, thanks, Sloane,” I told her, nervous about what awaited me in the conference room.
I had a feeling it wasn’t anything bad, or Ashton would have found a way to tell me. But I still didn’t like not knowing what to expect.
As I walked into the conference room, I realized it was an office party, complete with a green St. Patrick’s Day cake. I walked up to the cake and saw that it said, “Congratulations, your luck paid off.”
I looked at Ashton and then at Reese, both of whom were smiling at me.
“What is this about?” I asked.
“Maria, we’ve got some very good news for you,” Kane announced. “McKenzie Technologies is pleased to offer you a promotion, to the position of partner.”
“Partner?” I asked, looking around in awe.
“Partner,” Ashton said.
“But… I just started,” I protested. “And I don’t have the kind of experience that…”
“Listen, Maria,” Kane said. “I spoke with the law firm clients and they were so impressed with the work you did for them. They signed on whole heartedly to an upgraded service plan after your presentation. And they said they wanted you personally to work with them.”
“Ben and I had been working with them for years, and they barely even know his name,” Ashton added. “You did more for them in a week than he had done in years.”
“So, we got rid of him,” Kane said. “For that, and other reasons.”
With that, Sloane winked at me.
I couldn’t believe it. I had no idea what all of this meant, but I figured it could only be good things. Ashton really had come up with a plan that worked out.
“We’ll meet with HR about your salary package,” Ashton said. “But it will come with a significant raise, and full benefits.”
I wanted to faint when I realized what this could mean for my mom. She would be able to get into the trial treatment. I could probably qualify for a loan with my new salary, and maybe I could even negotiate an advance.
“I’d also like to let everyone know that Maria is my girlfriend, and that in just as short of a time as it took for her to impress the clients, she has also won my heart and made me fall in love with her,” Ashton announced.
“Awww,” my new friends sighed, collectively.
HR, however, was not so happy. Colleen, the person who had filled out my intake forms with me, cleared her throat.
“Ashton?” she said. “This is not exactly kosher.”
“Sure, it is,” Ashton said. “I’ve heard the spiel many times. Now that Maria and I are equal partners, I’m not doing anything wrong by being with her. She’s not my subordinate.”
He looked at me with a stern glance that I knew meant, but she’s still my Pet.
My panties became drenched just thinking about all the things he could do to me, guilt-free now.
“Good point,” Colleen said, nodding, as if she was just realizing that he was right.
He certainly had thought things through.
As everyone gathered around to hug and congratulate me, the newest partner at McKenzie Tech, I still couldn’t believe it. My mom was going to be so impressed.
When I had told her about what had been going on with Ashton and me (obviously not every detail, but the gist of it), she hadn’t approved of me dating my boss so soon after getting a new job, but she had told me that she would pray to God that it would all work out. And so, we had been praying together, then until now, and it had obviously paid off.
Ave Maria, full of grace.
It had paid off big time. Now I was a partner here, for goodness sake. I made sure to thank Reese profusely as she came up and hugged me.
“It was all thanks to your lucky pendant,” I told her.
“And your lucky number 127,” she agreed. “Congratulations again. And Happy St. Patrick’s Day!”
“Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you, too, my friend who believes so much in luck,” I told her.
“I’m just glad to make a like-minded friend who doesn’t think I’m crazy for thinking that way,” she said. “Believe me, everyone gives me such a hard time. It was so nice to find someone who believes in luck almost as much as I do... or who at least doesn’t ridicule me for it. So, thank you, sincerely.”
“Oh, believe me, superstition could be my mother’s middle name, so I got it from her and I’m glad to be in good company with another like-minded person, too.”
Everyone began to eat cake and chat and mingle. While all eyes were finally off me and no one was paying attention, Ashton came up beside me.
“I told you I’d figure it all out,” he said.
“You sure did, Sir,” I told him, with a wink thrown in, along with an emphasis on the sir. “And I couldn’t imagine a happier ending.”
“I could,” he said, raising his eyebrows at me seductively.
“Well, that’s true.”
“Actually, there have been a couple things I’ve been wanting to do with you,” he said, in a low whisper.
“With me or to me?” I asked him.
“Both,” he said.
“Well, there’s no time like celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and my big promotion to do them,” I said. “Shall we meet in your office after this party?”
“I think I’d like to pick back up where it all started,” he said.
“My office, then?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he said. But then, after a second to reflect, he added, “Actually, I don’t want this to be just an office affair. Maybe we should go out and have a green beer first, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?”
“Sounds good to me,” I said, feeling happy and carefree.
“But first, this is your party, and we’re going to celebrate your promotion. I brought a special guest of honor.”
He walked over and opened the door and just then my mother entered the room, with a big smile and an even bigger hug to bestow on me. Everyone said they were happy to meet her, and that they were so proud of all the work I had done for the company already.
“Oh, I know. I’m so proud of you, mija,” she said, looking at me with pure pride radiating from her eyes.
Sloane brought her a piece of cake, and everyone told her how nice it was that she could stop by and how much they enjoyed having me at McKenzie Tech. Even Colleen from the Human Resources department offered her congratulations.
“Mama, I couldn’t have done any of this without your love and support,” I told her, and that was the truth. “I have good news for you. Not only are we going to be able to pay for your past medical treatment and your upcoming trial treatment, but I’m also going to arrange for you to be able to see Tia Juanita for your birthday next month!”
“Really?” she asked, with tears flooding her eyes.
“Really,” I told her. “I’m going to call her and see to it that she is flown out here so she can celebrate it with you.”
“And she can celebrate your big promotion,” Mama added.
“Yeah, that too,” I said, smiling.
“This is all such great news to have happen to us,” she said. “I guess our prayers worked.”
“They sure did, Mama,” I told her.
I looked at my new friends, and of course at Ashton, who was winking at me, and thought about all the fun things we would do together soon in my office- and all the fun things ahead of us with whatever this relationship held down the road. And I then I thought to myself:
It must have been that prayer I prayed to Saint Patrick that really did the trick.
THE END
Under His Charm
Quarantined with My Boss on St. Patrick’s Day
Love Under Lockdown, Book 26
A series of standalone quarantine romance books.
Copyright © 2021 Jamie Knight Romance.
All rights reserved.
Jamie Knight –
Your Dirty Little Secret Romance Author
Chapter One
It raged like an albino volcano. The bubbles raced each other to the tippy top, threatening to spill over the side like so much white lava. It was one of the downsides to the use of water-based antacids, timing it just right to avoid a soggy tragedy.
I hadn’t even been drinking, which only compounded things. I actually could barely remember I’d downed a bit of the hard stuff. Either in terms of beverages or men.
Work had taken over increasingly large portions of my life. I’d always been dedicated, but the switch to remote-only work really threw me for a loop.
But after a bit, the ritual had become like second nature. A comfort in a universe where nothing seemed certain, even if the only order to be found was that we made for ourselves. If nothing else we, that is humans, had gotten fantastic at it over the past few centuries. When all that fell away, reloading routine and predictability with tasks that had no structure around them, not even a schedule, I started to panic.
But then my workaholic nature took over and my whole existence came to be about productivity. Not only getting things done but done well, and in record time. I saw them more as a challenge. A Mt. Everest of paperwork to climb before anyone else.
It was possible, I had to admit, that if I had a less important or high-profile job, I might not be so stressed. Not only did a lot of people rely on me and what I did, everyone knew it too. It wasn’t always like that, or anything close to my ambition.
I’d started out in the mail-room, pushing my cart between the floors and through the corridors of City Hall, helping the city function in what way I could. 18 when I’d started, I was still young enough to not be cynical about the whole system. A fate which never befell me, even after I’d discovered the harsh truth of the world.
There was little that could shake my faith, both in the system and the master I served. Ryan Owens, the new mayor who, even near the end of his first term in office, was as popular as when he was first campaigning prior to his landslide victory.
The election that year boasted a 90 percent turnout, a historic 80 percent voting for Owens, several of the other candidates receiving support in the double-digits. Including the Conservative incumbent who was captured stomping his own campaign poster. An apt metaphor for the kicking Owens had given him at the polls.
