5 comments/ 20448 views/ 3 favorites Shaft Construction Ch. 01-02 By: KarinDiSeduzione INTRODUCTION: This story is being written (This is only the first 2 chapters) as a challenge from my boyfriend. He introduced me to the world of erotica when we first got together 4 years ago. He shared with me a story, and after reading it, I thought to myself, "Self, you could do this." And so I did. I have several other stories on Literotica. If you get a chance, please take a gander at them also. Some of my stories are entirely nonfiction--i.e. they recount with great detail encounters that the BF and I have had. Others are pure fiction. And some are a mixture of both--fictional places, but some of the erotic encounters are based in fact. This story, as I mentioned previously was written as a challenge. I asked the BF to give me the basic characters, and I would build a story around them. His idea was boss and secretary. So from there I expanded it to boss and administrative assistant (you know we women have to break those glass ceilings), and while there is a lot of erotic activity occurring in the story, it is truly a love story as well. I hope you enjoy. * Chapter One Toni was in a panic. She was running late for work and there was a project status meeting this morning. She was ready for it. She had all the project reports organized—and thanks to the great working relationship she had with her boss, Mel, their combined excellent organizational skills, the ability to motivate the crews and the way Mel had with the vendors, all of the projects were on time and on budget. The Board of Shaft Construction would be pleased. It had already been a very profitable first quarter. If these results were a predictor, the remaining 3 quarters were going to be fantastic. "Damn traffic!" As she bore down on her car's horn. Finally, the car ahead of her that had just been sitting at the green light moved ahead. She was moving again. She was so glad to pull into her parking space. It was nice to have her own space after all the years she had worked for Shaft rather than have to walk from the lower 40 with the rest of the office staff. Best of all, her space was located right next to Mel. Toni was in love with Mel. She had done a really bang up job of keeping it from him. Cold as ice. All business. But in her heart of hearts, she was madly, passionately in love with Mel Milnor. But he never seemed to notice her other than as his AA. Strictly business. The projects of Shaft seemed to be his only passion. She knew he had been married in the past and now divorced and that he had children and even a few grandchildren she thought, but not much more than that. So, how, reader, do you think she could possibly have fallen in love with this extremely focused, seemingly uninvolved with the world outside of construction, executive? Well, read on, perhaps the answer will become clear. Toni has been Mel's AA for about 3 years. When she first met him in the interview process, the way he looked at her made her weak in the knees—almost as if he had seen into the innermost secret places in her soul. His handshake sent electric tingles into her spine. That all sounds a bit scary, but it intrigued Toni. She determined to land this job and proceeded to carry on the best interview of her life. She, of course, got the job—a fantastic salary, a bonus, the coveted parking spot she had been wanting ever since she came to work at Shaft, along with the promise of a company car in the next couple of years. She and Mel worked very closely together. As his assistant, she paid attention in minute detail to learn everything she could possibly learn to make herself indispensible to him, not only as a good career move, but it allowed her to spend the bulk of her day with him—loving him even though he had no idea of her feelings. Day by day, she learned all the ins and outs of project management from the bids to get the project thru the subcontracting on to fruition of a completed building, mall, house, or whatever the project was. Shaft construction handled it all—big to small, and they were staffed with the right people to match the project. It was such a well-run company and had an amazing reputation. The staff were all well satisfied and rarely was there turnover. Over time, Toni learned her job and much of Mel's so well, that he very seldom had to ask her for anything—she had anticipated what was required and had it ready for him—many times even before he thought to ask for it. Oh, they were a good team, and she knew it. Even better, he knew it. Of course, all the time that she had been silently loving him, he had been in love with her as well. But apart from his unwritten rule of never mixing business with pleasure, he never once made any intimation that he had feelings for her other than appreciation of her as the super efficient AA that she truly was. After all, she presented herself as the ultimate ice queen—interested only in business. But, Mel loved Toni. When he wasn't working, he was thinking about her. He wanted to know her away from the work place, but how could he break his rule? He was truly conflicted on that point. He had never ever become involved with a coworker on a romantic level. In fact, since his divorce, he had really focused only on work and hadn't thought about becoming romantically involved with anyone—at least not until he had met Toni 3 years ago. Now, when he wasn't working, she was all he could think about. When he was at home in bed at night, he thought about her. He could close his eyes and see her. Toni was a tall buxom brunette. She had curves. She wore glasses—and he had noticed that she was a bit vain about that. She had 2 pairs—one for distance when she was driving or out on a project site with him, but when she was doing close work or working on the computer, she had readers. Sometimes she would forget which pair she had on—and would get flustered a bit when she couldn't see what she was working on. She also would put a pair on top of her head and forget that they were there. This amused him. He was turned on by this. It was the one crack in her ice queen persona. It was times like this when her feminine tendencies would emerge—if only for a minute or two. He would smile and enjoy these fleeting glimpses of the very feminine Toni. Now, that is not to say, that Toni did not present herself in a feminine way. She did—but it was very professional. Her suits were always impeccable. Her hair was done just so and her makeup was always perfect. The shoes she wore in the office were stylish 2 inch stilettos. Mel loved to watch her walk. She had great legs and a sway to her hips that made him long to touch her. On the days that they had to do site inspections, she was just at home there as well. She wore tailored jeans, cotton shirt and tailored jacket along with steel toed work boots and a hard hat. This look turned Mel on too. Mel was already in the office when Toni arrived out of breath. "Toni—why are you rushing? We still have 10 minutes before the board meeting." "Oh I'm running much later than I'm comfortable with. You know on board meeting days, I like to be here at least an hour early." Toni said. Mel laughed and said, "Toni, Toni, Toni—you know you don't have to. You always have everything all ready at least 2 days before the meeting, and even then, you go over everything at least 5 more times." "Well, it's your example I follow." Toni smiled at him. She gathered up the report packets, and he carried the laptop for the power point presentation. Together they ran the meeting like a well-oiled machine. The board members were most thoroughly impressed. After the long meeting, they were both happily tired. It had been very positive and very fulfilling to be able to present such good results and such a good bottom line to the board. Mel was riding high on that feeling and then did something that he never thought he would do. "Toni, that was such a good meeting this morning. Would you like to go to lunch with me to celebrate?" For once in her life, Toni was stunned into speechlessness. She just stared, wide-eyed at Mel. She opened her mouth to try to answer him, but nothing would come out. "Uh oh," Mel thought. "I've done it now. I've overstepped my bounds, and she is going to sue me for sexual harassment. Oh my God, she looks like a deer caught in headlights!" Toni, finally found her voice. "Well of course, I'll have lunch with you. It was a good meeting. We deserve to celebrate." Mel breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll tell the receptionist that we will be out of the office while you finish up here. Meet you in the parking lot in 5 minutes." Toni's heart was racing a hundred miles an hour. Finally, she was going to have the opportunity to sit across from him at a table without business between them. Perhaps she could get to know him a little better. It was something she had been dreaming of for a long time. But first, she had to get her tell-tale heart and her breathing under control before she made a fool of herself in front of this man that she so desired to have in her life for more than just a professional relationship. Mel's hands shook as he tried to get the keys into the ignition. How had he lost control like that? What had possessed him? Why couldn't he be satisfied with just seeing her every day at work? He knew why. It had been building from the first day he met her. He wanted to be with her as her friend and lover. He wanted to know what she looked like when she first woke in the morning. He wanted to watch her sleep. He wanted to stroke her hair. He wanted to know her innermost thoughts. He wanted to know what she had been like as a little girl, what she had been like in high school, college. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to sit across from her at breakfast. Hell, he would even wash dishes with her if it meant he could be next to her, hear her voice, breathe in her scent. But, most of all, he wanted her to be the last thing he saw at night and the first thing he saw when he woke up in the morning. He wanted to fall asleep with her in his arms. He wanted to know the heights of passion with her. He had to get hold of himself. He had to calm down. He felt he was already on shaky ground with her. He would have to proceed very carefully from here. He didn't want to lose the tenuous place he had in her life (at least he thought it was tenuous—but you know better, reader, don't you?). Toni had taken a deep breath, calmed her racing heart, and prepared herself for a business luncheon with her boss. She had to maintain her professional persona—put on the ice queen mask. As much as she was in love with Mel—she knew in her heart it could never be. (Reader, it sounds like these two need to have their heads knocked together doesn't it?) She headed to the parking lot towards her car fully expecting to drive herself to lunch. Mel had other ideas, however. He was standing by the car, waiting for her at the entrance of the building, motor running, air conditioning on, and his own heart racing as quickly as the motor of his Jag. Ever the gallant gentleman with manners of a bygone era (or that of having been raised by parents who raised their boys to always be gentlemen—especially where ladies were concerned), he opened the passenger door for her, waited til she was settled and closed the door. Toni didn't quite know what to make of it, but decided to "go with the flow." After Mel settled behind the wheel, he said, "We are going to take the rest of the afternoon off as a reward." "We are?" Her eyebrows raised in expression of surprise. "We are," he stated matter of factly. "I told Alyce that we would be out all afternoon, and to reschedule our appointments for tomorrow and next week. There's nothing really pressing that was on the schedule this afternoon anyway." "Okay. You're the boss. Where shall we go for lunch?" Toni asked. "Well, there is a country inn about 50 miles from here. It's called The Ridge. I've been there once, a long time ago. It's a really pretty place. It is set high up on the top of a hill and has spectacular views, not to mention spectacular food." Toni was a little nervous at the prospect of going so far out of town alone with him. She wasn't sure she could maintain her composure. But she smiled, and told him it sounded great. Mel turned his satellite radio on. It was already set to his favorite jazz station—smooth, mellow, romantic. He could tell that she was nervous, but wasn't quite sure why. He was the one who had butterflies in his stomach—the one who was worried about crossing that line. They chatted—mostly about work, upcoming projects, ways to improve processes, and so on. They were so attuned to each other that they finished each other's sentences— and didn't even think about the significance of that. Soon, they were at The Ridge. The Ridge—now that is an amazing place. It had been a mid 1800s mansion at one time. The handmade brick façade, large floor to ceiling windows, wrap around verandah with cozy seating arrangements of swings and rocking chairs was almost too much to take in at once. Lovingly restored, it was like stepping back in time. The large hand-carved oak doors with lead crystal glass from top to bottom and highly polished brass doorknobs were the teleportals to an earlier, elegant time. The foyer was furnished with beautifully restored period furniture. In the center of the foyer was an amazing crystal chandelier. The light reflecting in the prisms danced all around the room. The smells of country cooking pervaded. Their stomachs growled, reminding them both that it had been a long time since their last meal. "A reservation for 2 in the name of Milnor," Mel told the hostess. Toni looked at him quizzically. "I called ahead while you were still in the office," he offered in explanation. "Ahh yes," said the hostess. "Your table is ready per your instructions. Follow me." The hostess led them through the dining room, through a side door, out onto the verandah. "What is going on?" asked Toni. "You'll see," said Mel. They continued on across the verandah, down the wide steps to the side yard, into the rose garden, past a magnificent fountain and to an amazingly beautiful gazebo that was draped with sheer curtains that were designed to let the light and breeze in, but discourage insects. In the gazebo, there was only one table and it was set for two with fine white bone china, silver flatware, and linen tablecloth and napkins. There were crystal goblets as well. Chilling in a champagne cooler, was a bottle wrapped in a linen napkin. The hostess said, "Your waiter will be Jacques. He'll be with you in a moment." Toni was still trying to find her voice. For once, she had been rendered speechless. Mel smiled to himself. Perhaps this was going to be okay after all. Jacques appeared bearing a tray laden with a pair of delectable-looking shrimp cocktails. First, he served Toni and then Mel. "Thank you Jacques" said Mel. "We will be ready for the salad shortly." Jacques nodded and retreated from the gazebo. "We don't get to order from a menu?" queried Toni. "Well, normally yes, but I ordered a special meal when I made the reservations," smiled Mel. "Oh, I see." Toni was more perplexed than annoyed. "Shall we have some champagne with our shrimp?" "I normally don't drink, but I suppose a little won't hurt anything." He filled two flutes from the bottle and handed one to Toni. "A toast!" He said. "To what?" "To us!!" That really flustered Toni, but she maintained her composure (He could only mean in their professional capacity, right?), she clinked glasses with him and smiling broadly said, "To us." She took a sip, and her eyes widened. "This isn't champagne!" "No. I played a little trick on you. I knew you didn't drink, and I don't either. It's sparkling white grape juice." She smiled at him. "A wonderful choice. Thank you!" By this time, Jacques was clearing the shrimp cocktail remains away and swiftly, efficiently serving the salads. They were absolutely wonderful. Somehow, he even knew that she didn't like tomatoes as they were conspicuously absent from her salad. She had no idea how he could know this. They passed the time in pleasant conversation—again mostly about work. He gave her the history lesson on The Ridge. It was quite interesting. During the Civil War, it had been a stop on the Underground Railroad. The quilt that had been used as a sign that it was a safe place was on display in the parlor of the mansion. Rumors abounded that it was haunted as well, but the ghosts were purported to be nice, wanting to make guests feel safe and at home. The Ridge was steeped in history. Toni was transfixed by the conversation. This was the most animated she had seen Mel about anything other than work. She glanced at her watch, "Oh, it is already 4 o'clock. We had better go don't you think." Mel really didn't want to go. He was enjoying her company so much. He reached across the table and covered her hand with his. "Thank you Toni for coming out with me this afternoon!" The electric tingle at his touch startled her. "Oh, Mel, I really enjoyed it, very much!" "There is a play at The Ridge Playhouse in a couple of hours. Would you like to stay and see it? They are performing, A Midsummer Night's Dream." "Are you sure? It's an awfully long drive back." "Tomorrow is Saturday, you can sleep in." "I'd love to." "In the meantime, we have a couple of hours to kill. There is a horse and buggy ride that goes around the lake. Let's do that." They walked from the gazebo down to the lake. Needless to say, Toni's shoes were not meant to be walking in the soft earth, and definitely not down a slight downhill grade. Her heel got caught on a small tree root not visible in the grass. She stumbled and stepped out of her shoe. Mel caught her before she fell. He had his arms around her. Her hands were on his chest as she tried to regain her balance. (Difficult to do on one foot while trying not to get her stockinged foot dirty). They gazed into each other's eyes—and almost into each other's souls. She licked her lips nervously. He leaned down to take possession of those luscious lips as she tilted her head back and parted her lips to receive his kiss. The world melted away. If someone were watching, it was the perfect movie kiss—deep, long, passionate with the "kick." He held her tightly. Her arms wound around his neck. The kiss seemed to go on forever. Three years of pent up passion that neither knew the other one had harbored spilled into that kiss. His tongue teased hers—probing, pulling back and probing again. She responded with as much passion as he. Finally, she broke the kiss and pushed back mindless now of her absent shoe. "What happened? Why?" "Toni, I'm sorry if I've scared you or hurt you. I have strong feelings for you. I never ever meant to let them show because of work. That's a rule that I have never broken until now." "What do you mean feelings? Have I led you on in any way?" "Strong feelings Toni. I want to know you outside of work. And no, you've never led me on in any way. In fact, I think that was one of the things that made you even more attractive to me. You've always been so focused on business. "I know that this really goes against the grain for you Toni, and for me too, but I really would like to get to know you—not the super AA that you are—but as a woman outside of work—if you want to that is. If you want to go back to the office now and forget this ever happened we can do that. Right now, it's your choice. I'm skittish about this myself because it is so out of character for me, but I really have a good feeling about where this could take us." Shaft Construction Ch. 01-02 "Mel. I don't want to mislead you." His face fell. "No. You misunderstand. I have feelings for you as well. I have since the first day I met you. When you interviewed me, you smiled, looked directly into my eyes, and shook my hand. There was an electric current that passed between us. I was already a good AA, but I strived to become your right hand man so to speak. Because of all that hard work, I have been able to spend most of my waking hours with you for the past three years. Your reputation preceded you. I knew you never mixed business with pleasure, so I contented myself just to be your AA. I never had any other expectations than that." He laughed out loud. "Toni, look at how much time we have wasted because of my rules." "No, Mel. The time wasn't wasted. It has given us a long time to get to know each other." She smiled at him. "Kiss me again. I just want to make sure I'm not dreaming." He pulled her close and kissed her deeply, passionately. The tingling sensation caused by his touch reached all of her zones—she had a quickening feeling in her groin and her nipples were hard nubs. Mel was having his own issues. His erection was straining against his pants. He pulled back. His face was flushed. "I want you Toni. I want to make love to you, but it has to be right. I don't just want to drag you off to bed before we have time to really take this in and make sure it is what we both want." (Gentleman, ain't he?) "I want you too, but you are right, we have much to think about. Once we take that step, there's no going back, and there could be repercussions." Mel held her hand while she leans down to disengage the stuck shoe from the soft dirt. Toni smiled to herself as she did so—"You sweet shoe—if you hadn't come off, causing me to stumble, I wonder if he would ever have kissed me." Her heart was beating so fast, she thought it would jump right out of her chest. He continued to hold her hand as they leisurely strolled to the road around the lake. A horse drawn buggy arrived just as they reached it. Mel helped her up into the carriage, and then paid the driver the fee and some extra. "Go really slow," he told him. He settled into the seat beside her. She nestled into his shoulder with his arm around her as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do—as if they had always done it. Neither spoke. Both were lost in their own thoughts—excited, scared all at the same time. He looked down at her. "So beautiful," he thought. He was still amazed to realize that she also had feelings for him. She felt him looking at her. She turned her face up to him and smiled a sweet smile with lips parted just a bit. He couldn't resist. He leaned down and kissed her sweetly, softly, gently invading that delectable orifice with his tongue. He wanted to taste her. She kissed back with equal passion. There was an electricity arcing between them. If this ride had been taking place in the dark, reader, you would have seen the sparks dancing between and around them. He pulled her closer, and her arms had managed to find their way around his neck as they kissed more and more deeply. His hands were exploring her curves, pulling her tighter to him, wanting their bodies to fit together like a puzzle. In his explorations, one of his hands found a breast and lightly grazed over her nipple thru her clothes. She gave a sharp intake of breath at the tingle she felt, but continued kissing him as if there was no one else on the planet besides themselves. He slowly, but deliberately disengaged himself from her sensuous, marvelous lips. He looked down at her and smiled. "I don't think there is any going back to the way things were. Do you?" "No Mel—I don't. What are we going to do?" "I think there is only one thing to do. But before we do this, we need to talk. I don't sleep with just anyone. In fact it has been much longer than I care to remember since I have been intimate with anyone. I take this step seriously. I need to know that you do too. I do not want this to be a fling. If we are going to be together, it must be just you and me—no one else." She smiled at him, her eyes glowing and melting his heart, "I take this seriously too. My goodness, I am not one to sleep around either. When I give myself, it is to commitment, not just casual sex. So, Mel, we are alike in many ways." He leaned in to kiss her again. He allowed his hands to roam her body again, and she did not protest. He moved his hand down her side, caressing her hip, grazing her thigh and to her knee. Gently, he parted her legs, and slowly, so tantalizingly slowly moved and caressed his way to her secret grotto. He was pleasantly surprised to realize that she was wearing very sexy thigh high stockings held in place by garters and that her panties were just a scanty scrap of fabric that he moved easily out of his way as his fingers sought their target. As this journey was occurring, Toni held her breath—excited beyond measure, but terrified as well. "We are truly past the point of no return," she thought just as his fingers parted her dewlips, and touched the moist sweetness. He gently traced his fingers along each side and then slowly, deliberately, gently moved his index finger higher and higher, seemingly a millimeter at a time until he touched her clitoris. It was swollen with her excitement and her sweet juices covered his fingers. Her intake of breath and rocking of her hips as he massaged that magical love bud let him know that he was doing it right. (Remember reader—this is taking place in broad daylight in an open carriage and the driver only a few feet away from them). He massaged her clitoris more intently. Her breathing was becoming more shallow as her pleasure intensified. She was beginning to moan. Mel claimed Toni's mouth with his own as he kissed her deeply while continuing to excite her swollen love bud. He held her head with his other hand to keep her mouth engaged with his as she rode the waves of the orgasm his touch was producing. The gush of her sweet cum coated his fingers. He lightened his touch in her innermost secret place until her breathing had calmed. He pulled back and looked at her and smiled. "Did you enjoy that, love? She looked up at him. Her face was glowing, flushed. Her eyes were bright. Her lips had that "just been kissed hard" look. "Oh Mel, it was amazing. I can't describe the pleasure. It was sunlight, thunder, lightning, a sweet spring breeze all at once." She sat up and readjusted herself, and then realized what they had just done. "Oh Mel, what if someone saw us?" He grinned, "I'm sure that anyone who saw us would wish it was themselves." He brought his fingers that had just provided her with the most amazing sensations to his lips and licked them. "Toni—the taste of you is one of the things that I have dreamed of for a long time, an absolutely treat, feminine musk of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg. If I could taste you every day for the rest of my life, I would need no further nourishment." Toni blushed at that, but emboldened by the high of the moment, she leaned in and kissed him, tasting her own juices comingled with the sweet taste of him. She probed with her smaller tongue darting in and out of his mouth, teasing him, tantalizing him. He responded in kind, holding her close as the world around them melts away. "Ahem!" Startled, they broke their kiss, and realized that the carriage had stopped, and the driver was smiling at them. Toni's face flushed bright red. Mel thanked the driver nonchalantly and helped Toni from the carriage. By this time, the sun has started to set, and there was a coolness that has descended at The Ridge. They walk hand in hand back to the main house.   Chapter Two By the time they arrived to the veranda of the main house of The Ridge, it was about 7 o'clock. They had time to sit in the rockers and enjoy a glass of iced tea before going to the play. Neither one talked very much. Both were immersed in his/her own thoughts about what had transpired during the carriage ride, and both Mel and Toni were wondering what would happen next. How would today affect their work? How would it affect their lives outside of work? Mel was certain of what he wanted, and he was determined to get it. And Toni, she knew what she wanted, but was afraid she wanted it too much. She was lost deep in thought. "Toni... Toni." She startled out of her reverie and looked up at him, "Yes, did you say something?" "Yes Toni, it's time to walk to the Playhouse." She stood up and stepped into his arms for a long luxuriant kiss. "Okay, I'm ready." Hand in hand, they walked from the main house to the barn along a flagstone pathway flanked on either side by a garden of wildflowers in every color. The barn was one that had been refurbished. It was huge and painted the traditional red and trimmed in white. It apparently was also part of the project that preserves traditional quilt block patterns by having a design painted on the side. Toni's mother was an avid quilter. Because of that, she knew the names of hundreds of quilt blocks. This one was West Virginny Moonshine, and in keeping with the traditional colors of West Virginia University, it was painted blue and gold. She smiled when she saw it. In fact, she had a quilt at home featuring the same block. It had to be a good omen. As they reached the door, they were greeted by the concierge who had met them earlier when they arrived for lunch. "Everything is ready, just as you requested Mr. Milnor." Toni looked at Mel with a quizzical expression. He smiled at her, "It's a surprise." He led her in and up the stairs to the right of the door. They entered the balcony. She followed him to the center of the first row. The house lights were up. They were the only audience in the whole theater. Now, she was really confused. "What's going on? Where are all the other people?" she asked. "Well, Toni, darling, that is the surprise. I bought out all the seats for tonight." "What?!? When? How? and even more important, why?" "Well, to your first question, I bought out all the seats for tonight's performance. Secondly and thirdly, when we were sitting on the verandah, you dozed off, so I took the opportunity to speak to the concierge, and paid for it with my credit card. Finally, I want this evening to be amazing and special for you." "Mel—this is so extravagant. I know you make good money, but this is much, much too much." "That is nothing you need to concern yourself with. I can more than afford it, and there's nothing you can do to talk me out of it," he smiled at her. (Reader, is this man a gentleman gangster in disguise?) Toni's mind was awhirl with thoughts that were disconnected. She was unable to make any sense of it at all, but decided (for once in her life) to just go with the flow and enjoy the evening with this very intriguing man that she thought she knew so well—but was beginning to understand that she really didn't know him at all. The house lights came down, and the narrator's voice was heard. The curtain opened. The play had begun. Although this was a regional playhouse, with local and semi-professional talent, the play was executed very well. The costumes and sets rivaled anything she had seen previously. She was so involved in the dialogue and the goings on onstage, she was surprised when the curtain closed for intermission and the houselights came up. They stood and made their way downstairs for some refreshments and to stretch their legs. They browsed the lobby and perused the photographs of famous actresses and actors who had played at the Ridge before they were famous. There were actually quite a few. She was surprised. "Are you enjoying yourself darling?" "Oh yes, Mel, very much. It has been a lovely, lovely day all the way around." The warning bell toned. It was time to return to their seats. The remainder of the play was just as enjoyable as had been the first half. The cast made no impression that they were playing for an audience of only two as Mel and Toni applauded their performance. In fact, they did three curtain calls. It really has been a lovely day, thought Toni as they were walking from the playhouse back to the Ridge. The walk back was just as lovely. The pathway was lighted with very strategically placed uplights among the plants, reflecting the color of the flowers even in the dark. Now that it was late in the evening, and the hustle and bustle of the daylight hours was gone, Toni could hear water as if a fountain was close by. The sound was very relaxing. They walked hand in hand, simply enjoying being with each other. "Toni, my dear, it is late, and I don't want this evening to end yet. It is Friday and we do not have to be at work tomorrow, would you do me the honor of staying at the Ridge tonight?" "Mel, I don't know. So much has happened today, I need some time to think about things." "My darling, I wasn't asking you to spend the night with me. I will get us separate rooms. There will be an adjoining door, but it will stay locked at your discretion." "I don't have any clothes to change into." She said. "Don't worry about that. It will be ok. It's been a long day, and we are both tired." Mel replied. "Ok, you are right. I am very tired." "It's settled then." He motioned to the concierge. He spoke a few words to her. She nodded, left and returned less than one minute later with 2 keys. "Darling, let's have a small supper before we go to our rooms. They went to the dining room, and were led to a small table by the fireplace, which had a very small fire in it—mostly for effect as the evening was just a bit cool, not cold. The waiter didn't take their orders, but brought a plate of chicken salad sandwiches on croissants, and 2 tall glasses of milk. "Don't tell me—you arranged this too, right? "Yes, I did. I know for a fact that you love chicken salad sandwiches from Ms. Ramie's Tea House as that is what you eat at your desk quite often when you work through lunch. These are not Ms Ramie's, but I'm sure that they are quite good." "They are very good." They continued their conversation even after the meal was finished. Toni was surprised how comfortable she had become with him in just these few short hours they had spent together. The concierge approached their table. "Your rooms are ready Mr. Milnor—225 and 227, right up those stairs and all the way to the end of the hall on the left. Here are your key cards." "Thank you," said Mel as he tipped the concierge. Mel turned his gaze to Toni. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt his eyes piercing through to the heart of her. "Shall we go?" She nodded. He reached for her hand and they left the dining room and headed toward the stairs. They were surreptitiously glancing at each other, trying to gauge each other's thoughts. "Your room is 227, Toni. You'll find everything you need has been delivered to your room." She looked at him quizzically. "There is a door between the rooms," he went on. "I'll be right next door if you need me." He pulled her close and kissed her deeply. "We'll take this at your pace—whatever you are ready for whenever you are ready for it. I don't want to pressure you at all." He opened her door and handed her the key. He kissed her again. "Good night Toni. Sweet dreams!" With that he turned and walked to his own room, opened the door and disappeared. He didn't even glance back at her. (Reader, he was trembling inside. It was all he could do to keep from sweeping her off her feet, carrying her to the bed and ravishing her. But remember, Mel is a true gentleman—and true gentlemen never, ever force themselves upon a woman). Toni was left standing with her mouth open in surprise. It took her a moment to recover her senses. Then she turned and walked into the room, closing and latching the door behind her. She gazed at the beautiful room before her. The lights were on, soft, elegant lighting showing the room to its best advantage. In the center of the room was an enormous four-poster bed. The coverlet looked to be an antique quilt appliquéd with various flowers. She recalled from her quilt books and magazines, that this was a Boston Album quilt. Not many have survived from the mid 1800s. It was in perfect condition, and the colors were still brilliant even after more than 100 years of use. The novelty of such a wonderful quilt find only held her attention for but a moment, for stacked high in the middle of the enormous four-poster, was a large stack of boutique boxes—shiny black and white and tied with silver ribbons. She stepped closer to the bed and saw that there was a tag on each one that bore her name and signed, "XO XO XO, Mel." (Well reader, even though our Toni is during the day, a cold-as-ice, top-notch administrative assistant to our leading man, Mel; she is still a woman. While her intention is to refuse the gifts, she still is curious about the contents of those beautiful boxes, but her ethics outweigh her curiosity.) Toni maintains her resolve. She knocks on the door joining the rooms. "I'm here Toni. The lock is on your side." She leans close to the door, and says, "Mel, I can't accept these gifts." "Of course you can!" "No," she says firmly, "I can't. You've spent an absolute fortune on me today, that you really shouldn't have. I don't want you to go into debt for just one evening." "Your worry isn't necessary. I just want to see you happy." "I don't need things to make me happy. What has made me happy today is that we are finally revealing our true feelings for each other." "I'm glad to hear you say that," Mel replies through the door. "Mel?" "Yes Toni." "I don't want you to think badly of me, but I really don't want this night to end yet." "Darling, I could never think badly of you. Do you want to open the door?" "Yes, I believe I do," she replies a bit nervously. She turns the latch. It clicks. She turns the highly polished brass doorknob and pulls the door open. Mel is standing there with a wide smile. He opens his arms and she walks into them. As he enfolds her in his embrace, all her trepidation seems to fly out of her mind and heart. They pull back and look into each other's eyes. His seemed to burn right through to her soul. She parted her lips and he leaned in to claim them. Their tongues tangoed in a frenzied rhythm as their hands explored each other, grasping for buttons, zippers, belts. They undressed each other, drinking in the scent of the other, growing more and more aroused. Finally, all clothing discarded in a haphazard circle on the floor around them, they were skin to skin. Taking her hand, and never taking his eyes off her, he led her to the bed. She settled herself into the center of the bed amidst the mountain of pillows. "I want to explore your body. I want to tantalize your senses and bring you to heights you've never experienced before," Mel said huskily to her. "I want you to give yourself to me completely. I want you to trust me completely. But you will be in control at all times. Tell me what you like, what you don't like. I want to please you. I want you to cum as you've never cum before. Can you trust me to please you?" "Yes, Mel, I trust you." "This is our first time together, but I want your senses to be heightened to the nth degree. I want to blindfold you, so you won't know where the next touch will be. I promise your orgasms will be intense because you've been temporarily deprived of one of your senses." "That makes me a little nervous," she replied. "You are in charge. The blindfold is a silk scarf that I will just loosely place around your head. Your hands will be free. You can take it off anytime you want. Also, love, remember tell me when I do something you like as well when it is something you don't like." Shaft Construction Ch. 01-02 "Okay," she agreed. He climbed onto the bed next to her, and gently placed a silk scarf to cover just her eyes. He left her there for a moment. He turned on some soft music and lit some scented candles—sandalwood. She trembled in anticipation. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She wasn't quite sure how she felt. The adrenalin was rushing through her system—stimulating her "fight or flight" impulse, but she resisted. She breathed deeply, in through her nose and out through her mouth—deep cleansing, calming breaths. She shuddered and gasped, "OHmmmm!" There was a light feathery sensation from the center of her chest and down her abdomen, and then it was gone. Then, again. "Ohhhhmmmmmm!" she moaned. A second later, the same light, feathery sensation down both of her sides. She was beginning to feel a tingle and a wetness between her legs. The feathery thing brushed across her breasts, teasing her nipples. She gasped again in pleasure. Still Mel said not a word. He was gazing at her, watching her expression as he teased her with a peacock feather. He smiled. She was enjoying his ministrations. He moved to the foot of the bed. He gently spread her legs. He leaned down and began placing light kisses on her ankles, just grazing her skin with his lips and occasionally with the tip of his tongue. Slowly, ever so slowly, he bathed each leg with those light butterfly kisses working his way up to her knees and her thighs. With each kiss, Toni moaned with pleasure. The suspense of when and where he would touch her next had her senses on edge. Her heart was racing at a staccato beat. The waiting was agonized ecstasy. She felt his fingers on her pussy, spreading the lips. She could feel his warm breath. Then she felt his tongue teasing at her grotto entrance. His tongue swooped from there up her left dewlip. The sensation was cool and wet and oh so very nice. He moved to her right dewlip and repeated. Again, the sensation was cool and very, very nice. She moaned in pleasure. He spread her lips wider and moved his tongue toward her clitoris. But he didn't touch it. He teased all around it. She was becoming breathless and began slightly rocking her pelvis as if her pussy were begging him to please kiss her love bud. Mel smiled to himself. He was pleased with her arousal. He breathed in her scent, savored the musky sweet spiciness of her nectar. He rewarded her with a direct approach to her clitoris. He focused his attention on that sweet spot. He flattened his tongue on her clit and began licking gently. She moaned again in pleasure. "Oh Mel!!! That feels so good." Spurred on, he redoubled his efforts, and brought his tongue to a point and stroked her clit with swift strong strokes. He could feel her bud swell and expose itself to him from the clitoral hood. She was moaning more loudly now. Toni felt as if the world had turned upside down. The pleasure she was feeling was so intense, it was beyond description. It was as if her clitoris was electrified with sensation and that sensation was wired to every part of her body. She felt pleasure electricity in her pussy, her tits and a sweet burning over her arse cheeks and down the backs of her legs and her toes that for some reason were curled tight. She was grasping the headboard to keep herself from flying off the bed from the pleasure. At this point, she vocalized her pleasure as an orgasm exploded from deep inside her. Mel could feel her legs tremble as she climaxed. He lapped up her cum as if it were the most wonderful dessert he had ever tasted. Toni's breath was coming in ragged gasps as she struggled to regain her composure. (Reader—do you think he should let her go after just one orgasm? No, I didn't think so either.) Her orgasm had Mel wanting to give her more. He pulled his head away from her love grotto so he could get a glimpse of the pleasure reflected in her expression. She was smiling. Her breathing was evening out, but still she moaned and her body would tremble with aftershocks of pleasure. He rested his head on her thigh, and gently rubbed her other thigh to let her know he was still there and was enjoying the slow decrescendo of her orgasms. When she had rested for a few moments, he touched her clitoris with his finger and slowly circled it. She moaned and jerked at his touch. He slipped his finger inside her, and crooked his index finger in the "come here" motion while moving it deeply in and out of her cum-slicked pussy. As he continued to do that, he positioned the thumb of the same hand on her love button and massaged it to erectness. Toni's breath was coming shallow and ragged again, as the pleasure shocks shot throughout her body. Her nipples were engorged and red. The skin of her neck and chest was flushed with a bright red love rash. It seemed that the epicenter of the universe was in her pelvis as her lover intensified his attentions. She could almost believe that the beginning and end of time were happening to her all at once so intense was the explosion of pleasure convulsing through her body. Again, she vocalized the intensity of her orgasm while her body responded with the convulsive tremors as her cum came down and saturated Mel's hand. "That's my girl!" murmured Mel. Not one to rest on his laurels, he immediately began licking her again with a gentle enthusiasm that caused Toni to reach the pinnacles of ecstasy once again. He flicked her already engorged clitoris with gentle firm pressure flattening his tongue to languidly slide over it. Then again, he brought his tongue to a point and lightly and quickly flicked over this pleasure point until Toni was nearly screaming with intense pleasure. With one hand grasping the headboard until her knuckles were white, she reached with her other hand to touch Mel's head as he continued to take his pleasure sustenance from her juicy, quivering quim. She reached her climax with a scream and another gush of her sweet, spicy flavored cum and a final buck of her hips such that Mel's mouth and nose were entrenched in her Venusian temple. Mel gently took her swollen clitoris into his mouth and sucked it hard one last time and pulled away from it. There was an audible smooching sound as it slipped from between his lips. He withdrew from between her luscious thighs and stood back to watch her glow and quiver in the aftermath of the pleasure assault on her body and her senses. Her breathing was becoming more regular. She made sweet purring sighs as she allowed herself to bask in what she had just experienced. She had not taken off her blindfold. She managed to muster the strength to reach up and pull it off and as she opened her eyes and they adjusted to the candlelight in the room, she could see that Mel was standing at the foot of the bed watching her. The grin on his face was much the same as the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. He was mightily pleased with himself and yet in awe that he had been able to be the instrument of such pleasure to her. Toni smiled up at him. "Oh baby, I have no words to describe how I feel. It was amazing, and that doesn't even begin to cover it." "I'm glad darling to be able to give you such pleasure. Now you lie right there. I doubt you can stand anyway right now," he laughed. Mel went to the exquisitely appointed bathroom and ran some warm water in the basin. He got a wash cloth wet and soaped it up with the hypoallergenic soap that he had ordered specifically for this bathroom. He soaked another cloth with clear water and he got a dry towel. He brought these items back to the bedroom, and with gentleness he washed her pussy with the soapy cloth and then rinsed the soap away with the other cloth. Then very gently, he patted her beauteous pussy dry with the soft towel. She moaned with each touch. He put the washcloths and towel back in the bathroom, and came to join her on the bed. He looked at that sweet pussy and could not resist giving that wondrous clit of hers just one more kiss. He pulled her dewlips apart and licked that sweet little rosebud once and kissed it again. She moaned, "Mmmmmmmmm." He moved around to the right side of the bed and climbed in with her. She turned to face him. They kissed, deeply, soul touchingly, sweetly, tenderly and embracing each other tightly. Her body was so relaxed in his arms. He knew instinctively that Toni was about to fall asleep. She reached to touch his cock, and although he wanted that more than anything, he wanted her to be rested before they pursued anymore pleasures; so, he gently took her hand and placed it on his chest and whispered, "Sleep now love. We've got all the time in the world." She snuggled in closer to him and before she even realized it, she had drifted off into a pleasant, comfortable, definitely wonderful sleep in the arms of the man she was so much in love with. Mel held her as she slept. He breathed in the scent of her. He stroked her silky hair and smiled as she sighed in her sleep.