Fifty Shades Of Black: An Erotic Romance (8 page)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

     In the morning they drove to work separately, not
his choice but Cherilyn was already gone when Marcus stepped out to the parking lot. When he arrived at the office, there was a definite chill in the air, emotionally speaking.

     Cherry almost felt sorry for him because of the worried look on his face. She didn’t think she needed to apologize for anything, but wasn’t
really sure how to get their relationship back on track.

      “Coffee?” Marc
us offered.

     “No, thanks.” She wanted so desperately to ask him if he’d eaten, if he needed anything, and how he felt.  But she knew he would hate that. He was right, he was a grown man and had taken care of himself all these years.  Still, a person could be concerned about him, couldn’t they? 
The silence became awkward.

    
“I’m sorry,” Marcus blurted out.

     Cherry cocked her head to one side and smirked, “Sorry for what?”

     Marcus ran a hand over his face. “I’m not even sure anymore, but it seemed a good place to start.” He smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was a diabetic. I have no reason not to trust you.”

    
“Marcus, I think both of us should have been a little more open.” She hesitated, “Do you remember I told you that my mother died when I was in college?”

     “Yes,” Marc
us nodded.

    
“What I didn’t tell you is she died right in front of me. She had a seizure, there was no warning, it just happened and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I called 911, but it was too late. Later in the hospital they told me she’d had a brain tumor which probably caused the seizure. The doctor said she would have died soon anyway; that it was better that she went quick. Can you believe he said that to me?”

     Marc
us touched her arm and gave her a sympathetic look.

    
Cherilyn took a deep breath, trying to center herself, “Anyway, yesterday when you were on the floor, shaking and it happened so sudden, so out of the blue.” She started crying, “I didn’t know what was happening to you - ”

     “
Oh, honey, I’m so sorry-” Marcus started but never got to finish whatever it was he was going to say because Mr. Daycroft and several of the higher up managers within the company walked in. Marcus let go of her arm and Cherilyn wiped the tears away quickly.

     “Marcus, Cherilyn,” Mr. Daycroft said, “We wanted to come on down here and see how you two are getting along.”

    
Marcus gave her a look she would have called accusatory if it weren’t for the abject fear in his face. And she could tell he was wondering if Tashida spoke about their relationship and more importantly about his diabetes.

     That was exactly what Marcus was thinking: Had his relationship with her cost him his job?  “Did you?” He whispered.

     “I didn’t say anything.”

     “Tashida?”

     “I don’t think she would.”

     Mr. Daycroft
said he wanted to check out the new office to see how things were coming along.  Once Marcus showed him and the other managers around and they reviewed the progress that had been made, Mr. Daycroft seemed happy with the outcome. It became obvious they had not heard about any relationship, nor about Marcus’ diabetes. Still, between the comments Marcus made last night and this morning, Cherilyn wondered how much trust he had in her and their relationship.

     Mr. Daycroft sat them both down and explained how pleased he was with the job they had done and how he needed a good man like Marcus to head up this office. He offered Marcus the head of the southern division position, a
promotion and a permanent job in Myrtle Beach. Cherry was thrilled for Marcus.  Mr. Daycroft then turned his attention to Cherilyn and offered her Marcus’ job back in Pittsburgh.

     Cherry was stunned and thrilled and worried all at once. The job offer was exciting and surprising but she found herself unable to look at Marc
us.  As she discovered last night he apparently thought she might have been after his job all this time.  Would he now think that he was right all along?  And, to accept the job would mean they would be separated.

     “Think it over,” Mr. Daycroft said
. After a few more hours, he and the other bosses decided to take advantage of the opportunity to play golf. Once they were gone, a quiet settled like a low fog over the office.

     “Stay with me.”

     Cherilyn looked up sharply. His plea shocked her. “And what then, Marcus?  Quit my job, turn down a great promotion and have no money while you get a big raise and move up the corporate ladder? How about you quit your job and come back to Pittsburgh with me?” She could see in his eyes that he wouldn’t even consider the possibility. She didn’t really expect him to quit, but wished his feelings for her would have made him falter a bit, think about it for even a few moments. It hurt that his aspirations in business were more important than his relationship with her. “Do you still think I was after your job?”

     He paused, and that alone was enough for Cherry. She
shook her head, she couldn’t stand it that after all the time they had spent together he would still doubt her. It was the absolute last straw. She left work and went back to her condo. Later in the day, after she had a long phone conversation with Mr. Daycroft, she accepted the position in Pittsburgh and made flight arrangements. She waited all the rest of that day and night for Marcus to come to her, but he didn’t. Each of them slept alone in their own individual condos for only the second time since they arrived in Myrtle Beach.  

     In the morning she was gone.

     Marcus was having another morning full of
couldn’ts.  He couldn’t believe Cherry took off without saying goodbye. He couldn’t believe she decided to accept the position and left him that easily. And he couldn’t believe he felt this bad already and didn’t know how to fix it. 

     Marc
us had spoken with Mr. Daycroft and the other managers in person before they left for the return flight to Pittsburgh. He formally accepted the position offered to him and tried to appear upbeat and enthusiastic.

          The drive to Summerville,
Marcus told himself, was just for a quick visit home and to have time to clear his head, but really it was to ask his mother’s advice. He felt more than a little childish not being able to handle his own love life.  But this was important, Cherry, he was beginning to realize, was essential to him.

     Camille Black was not one to sugarcoat anything. “You’re being a fool, boy.”

     “I know.” Marcus looked miserable.

     “So what are you going to do about it?”

     “What
can I do?”

     Camille looked highly insulted, like the answer was obvious and she shouldn’t have to say it.

     “What am I supposed to do?” Marcus got loud, “She’s the one who left, she took the job.  I’m offered a job here.”

     “You know
,” Camille’s voice grew quiet, “when you were little I wondered sometimes if I was being too hard on you. I made you learn how to give yourself insulin shots, not because I wanted you to grow up to be tough, but to be strong. Because I wanted you to believe that you could do anything, that you were no different from anybody else.”

     “What are you getting at, Mom?”

     “You have the same ability as anybody else to fall in love. You don’t need to put up a wall. You can let someone in. You can let someone take care of you. It’s okay.”

     Marcus studied the ground. “But she’s already gone. What
do you expect me to do now?”

     “I expect you to engage your brain.” His mother spoke
slowly, “If the world was going to end tomorrow and you could choose only one - Cherilyn or the job, which would it be? And if you have to think longer than three seconds, then she’s not the one for you.”

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

Back in Pittsburgh Cherilyn took over Marcus’ office. With a heart full of pain and regret she boxed up his personal belongings and put all her things into his desk, then two workmen came and removed her old desk. The room was all hers now. But the promotion, unfortunately, somehow felt tainted, she should have been ecstatic having achieved this level of success, with a raise and getting her own office, but losing Marcus, having him think she connived to get his job left her sad.

     I
t was more than a bit odd now being the boss of Edna Daines. Though, to her credit, Edna was polite and professional. It was Edna who let her know that Marcus had accepted the position in South Carolina, Cherilyn had been back in Pittsburgh nearly a week and Marcus had not called or texted her in all that time.

     Her days now were taken up with dull meetings. 
She had already regretted choosing the job on more than one occasion.  A fancy office would not keep her warm at night, yet giving up all her dreams and aspirations for a man who would place her second to his job seemed ridiculous.  Still, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

     Tash
ida knocked and entered.  She looked animated, “Keke’s getting married.  Guess another wild, single ladies weekend in Vegas isn’t a good idea.”

     Cher
ilyn laughed, “I’m happy for Keke. She deserves every happiness. How are things with Tad?”

     Tash acted coy
, “We talk, he wants me to come back down there for a longer vacation or maybe he’ll come visit me here. If he does come up, would it be okay if he stays at the apartment?”

     “
Certainly.” Cherilyn paused, “But, if I can give a bit of advice from someone who’s blown it, go after love and hang onto it with both hands.”  She glanced at the clock, with a tinge of annoyance in her voice said, “Time for another meeting.”

     Tash eyed her curiously, “You are happy about your promotion aren’t you?”

     “Yes, yes, of course.” She conceded, but her flat demeanor said otherwise.

    
An hour and a half into a meeting about earnings statistics left Cherilyn ready to fall asleep.  But she bolted upright and nearly fell out of her seat, her heart racing in her chest when Marcus Black strode right in with a determined air.

     “Mr. Daycroft,” Marcus said. “I’m sorry to interrupt
but I have something important to say. First, I appreciate, more than I can express, all the opportunities you have given me. The job here in Pittsburg, then the chance to open the new office in Myrtle Beach, and being made head of that division was all I had ever hoped for. But,” he paused looking at Cherilyn. “Due to personal reasons, I must decline the offer. I am tendering my resignation - effective today.”

     “Mr. Black, isn’t this something we can work out?” Mr. Daycroft looked at him in concern, “Is it an illness, do you need a leave of absence?”

     All the excitement and good feelings Cherilyn felt when he walked in the door drained out of her. Marcus no doubt would think she had said something about his diabetes.

     “Mr. Daycroft, I am not in need of any medical attention. I am in love with a phenomenal woman, and she lives right here, in Pittsburgh. I cannot be apart from her- in fact
- ” Marcus paused and looked directly at Cherilyn.     “I’ll follow this woman anywhere.”

     Cherry stood up abruptly leaving the room, with Marcus close behind her. 
The whole office was suddenly full of people curiously peeking around their cubicles to watch.

    
Once they were in her office with the door closed, Cherilyn whirled around to face him, “Do you really mean it?”

     “Yes.”

    “Marcus, I didn’t expect you to quit Myrtle Beach and I never wanted to take your job.” Cherilyn nervously rubbed her hands together.

    
“I know you weren’t after my job, Marcus moved closer and took her hand gently caressing it. “You earned this promotion.”

     “But it doesn’t feel right. I’ve put you out of a job.”

     “You haven’t. I made a choice.”

     William Daycroft entered the office. Cherry and Marc
us stopped talking and stepped away from each other.

     “Well Marc
us, Miss Johnson - this is a surprise.” William had his usual leering grin on his face. “I didn’t know our Cherry here was giving it away to everyone in the company.”

     Marcus stepped forward and punched William
right in the face. He landed with a thud, out cold.

     Mr. Daycroft entered and Cher
ilyn felt her whole body tense, she thought this couldn’t have gone any worse, and now certainly we’re both fired.

     Marcus
held onto his sore hand and had a panicked look on his face, “I’m so sorry, sir.”

     Mr. Daycroft put his hands on his hips and surveyed his nephew
lying on the floor, “That’s okay, I’ve wanted to punch him myself a few times.”

    Marcus appeared resigned.  “
This is all my fault; none of this is her fault. I know this relationship comes as a surprise, but I’ll bow out. Please keep Cherilyn on.”

    
Mr. Daycroft cocked his head to one side. “I knew you two were in a relationship.”

 
   “You knew?” Cherry was shocked.

     Mr. Daycroft chuckled, “Do you think anything ever gets by Edna Daines?”

     “When did she tell you?”

     “Right after Marcus attended the conference in Las
Vegas.” 

     Cherilyn sat down stunned. Edna had figured it out so early on, and they thought no one had noticed.

     “Miss Johnson you were scheduled for a promotion anyway but knowing you were in a relationship we decided to place you and Marcus even closer together to see what would happen. And we kept close tabs. Both of you handled it well. Then we decided to open a branch in Myrtle Beach, the golf is just too good to resist. I decided to up the ante as it were and gave it to you two to see what would happen.” He paused looking from one to the other, “I have to say you restore my faith in the good nature of people. You think after all that has happened in the past we wouldn’t keep a tight hold on everything?”

     He
paused, but it was obviously a rhetorical question. “Not only are you both model employees, more importantly nothing financial has gone amiss. And you especially Marcus had access to monies but not one cent is unaccounted for. Now, company policy does, yes, frown on interoffice relationships, but if you both act professional and continue to do good work, I’d like to keep you both on. And if you must be together, the question is - where? Both of you here or in Myrtle beach?”

     Marc
us and Cherry looked at each other. “Myrtle beach,” they said simultaneously. It was the perfect choice, they both loved the weather there and it was close to Marcus’ family.

     “That’s settled then. We’ll have no more talk of quitting.”

     William’s eyes fluttered open to see his uncle’s stern face above him.

    
Mr. Daycroft grimaced. “C’mon nephew - let’s go have a
private
talk in my office.”

     Once they were alone, Marcus said, “Let’s go to your place.” She could tell his intention by the look in his eyes.

     “We have to finish the day,” Cher
ilyn whispered, looking around at the other employees who were scrambling to get back to work after watching everything that had just happened.

     “There’s already enough gossip a little more won’t hurt you, besides you don’t work in this office anymore, anyway.  Tell Mrs. Daines you’re making arrangements to move to Myrtle Beach permanently. She can have everything here boxed and sent down there.”

     Marcus and Cherry only made it as far as her car in the parking garage before they began passionately kissing. “We should go before we are anymore compromised,” Cherry said a little breathless.

     Marc
us, kissing her neck, reluctantly agreed. “Don’t want to make the boss regret his decision.”

     “And we don’t want to run into anyone especially not Edna Daines.”

     Marcus smiled, “Aw, I don’t know I’m gonna miss her, she’s a hot little number.”

     “Marc
us, stop!” Cherry giggled.

     Lying in Cherilyn’s bed both of them naked, Marcus thought her eyes were the kind a man could drown in. He ran a finger down the bridge of her nose and softly caressed her cheek. Her lips curled up ever so slightly, a smile that conveyed a hundred secrets and he wanted to uncover every one of them. His body responded to hers in a way he had never experienced before, a heat, a kismet, a blending of souls. An energy, a need to possess tempered with a desire to make every experience with her last, but with unparalleled quality.

     His hand trailed her chest and melded to her breast, squeezing
, holding, manipulating eliciting a response from her. She shifted into him and moved her hand down his front to grasp him. He sucked in a breath and continued staring into her eyes. His woman. His life.

     Her hand moved around to his backside caressing and pulling him closer to her. She kissed him sweet and tenderly, her lips a joy. He loved the feel of her fingertips teasing up and down his back.
His skin was on fire.

     He kissed the
side of her neck enjoying the scent of her. His hands roamed her body making her gasp. He enveloped her breast with his mouth. One hand he entwined with hers, his other hand circled her smooth behind. He moved over to taste the other breast. He loved her breasts, the shape, the feel of them, he enjoyed using his mouth to suck and lick and hands to touch and squeeze. He could stay there forever and die a happy man.

     The curve of her waist and belly button was a curiosity, the way she giggled if he even lightly touched her there. Knowing her body intimately he tongued her belly
button delighting in the giggle that rippled across her lower abdomen. When he rubbed his hand between her legs she quivered. It gave him great satisfaction to be able to elicit such a reaction in her.

     Marc
us moved her leg and caressed the inside of her thigh. He kissed the skin there, an especially soft, tender skin and almost by reflex she moved her other thigh outward. He kissed the inside of that leg also. When he touched the tip of his tongue to her clitoris she arched her back and her breathing became rapid. He continued softly tonguing for several moments, then ran his tongue down and into her, then placed a finger there moving slowly in and out of her. When he pressed his lips to her clit and sucked, her body stiffened and she gripped the sheets moaning. Marcus held onto her as she moved and bucked against him and her loud cries filled the bedroom. Keeping his fingers moving and lips tight to her until he knew by her collapse onto the bed that she had orgasmed.

     He tried not to get a big ego but it filled him with pride to be able to pleasure her so much.

    She took a ragged breath- “Baby.”

     Marcus smirked, “Yes?”

     “What you do to me - you do so fine.”

     He laughed, “I think women should be worshipped.”

     “Well, amen to that.”

     He gave her a moment to recover, then turned her slightly, so she was lying on her stomach because he loved looking at her ass. It was perfect. He used both hands to massage it.  It was so soft and just the right amount of fat.

     “I love this tush,” Marcus rubbed and squeezed, “it’s the best tushy I’ve ever seen in my life. Honey, you’ve got one fine ass.” She turned her head back to him, laughing, but when he slid his hand between her legs she drew in a quick breath, her eyes becoming heavy-lidded.

     She moved up on
to all fours and backed up to the edge of the bed. He stood. This view, this angle was overwhelmingly stimulating to him. He entered her, moving slowly, the feeling of having her aroused, warm, vagina surrounding his cock was intoxicating. The eroticness of his most sensitive part moving into and out of her most precious part, just these two connecting, nothing else touching, so heightened the awareness of the sensations he experienced. With deliberate gyrations he held onto her hips. She moved back and forth with him in perfect unison. He loved watching himself moving in and out of her. He went slowly at first, trying to sustain it, but quickly giving way to pumping rapidly, he just couldn’t help himself, it just felt so damn good. The exquisite pressure of pushing in each time, an unqualified pleasure beyond anything he had ever experienced in this lifetime. Their bodies moving together creating a combustible friction, her head arched, crying out, her breasts swaying back and forth. She continued moaning, the sounds arousing him further, he pulled her hips to him rhythmically pumping over and over culminating in a frantic pulsating intense release.

     The two
of them collapsed onto the bed.

     Cherry moved into the crook of his arm, her body warm against him, keeping a hand on his chest.