Authors: Julie Farrell
Eleanor’s heart twisted like a meat-grinder, as she smiled nervously at the receptionist in the small foyer of the recording studio.
“Good evening, Marilyn,” she said. “Er… how are you?”
“Alright, Ellie. Didn’t see you here this morning – you got that job you wanted?”
“Yep. Yes, I did.”
“How’s it going?”
She winced. “Well, I spent my day working on a hot new story, which I then deleted after a crisis of conscience, and now I’m clueless about where I’m going or what I want to do with my life.”
Marilyn gazed at her with kind eyes. “These are the days when I’m glad to be sitting here on reception, making small talk with rockstars.”
Eleanor chuckled. “Yeah, the simpler life sounds appealing to me right now, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out.” She gestured to the stairs. “Is it okay to go up?”
“Sure. But everyone’s gone home for the day. Well, other than Joseph...” Marilyn winked at her. “He’s up there all alone.”
“Oh… oh good. Well, I’ve come to interview him actually, so that’s good.”
Eleanor rushed up the stairs, willing her trembling knees not to give way. She knew she shouldn’t be here, but technically Matthew had told her to interview the band, so she was just doing what he’d asked.
She halted at the top of the stairs and gazed through the soundproof glass into the control room. Joseph
was
in there all alone, just as the receptionist had said. He was working late, sitting in front of the mixing desk with his headphones on – looking very pro. Eleanor knew he’d currently be going back over what the sound engineer had done today and removing the bits he didn’t like. Matthew would find out tomorrow and he’d be furious. It was a game the two of them played daily. The trouble was, Joseph seemed to enjoy it much more than Matthew.
She stood outside glass door and watched, not wanting to disturb him. He was so handsome. She totally understood why all those young women loved him so much. But for some reason he’d decided that he liked
her
. She knew it wasn’t going anywhere beyond sex – he was a rock-god, for goodness sake. And she was engaged. It could never develop into a relationship. Matthew was an asshole, and Eleanor knew she needed to break up with him. But that didn’t mean she should get involved with Joseph. That delightful young man who was sitting there so studiously right now was one massive potential heartache. And she couldn’t stand the thought of the inevitable agony.
So she needed to be strong and tell him that their relationship from now on would be purely professional.
She crept inside the glass door and loitered, as he remained engrossed in the music. She cleared her throat. His body tensed, ready to fight this late-night intruder. He turned slowly in the leather swivel chair, with his handsome face set to an expression of tough resilience. Then, as his gaze fell on her, his demeanour softened with affectionate surprise.
He grinned, remaining ever supercool. “Good evening, Ellie.”
“Hi. Working late?”
“Yeah… I never seem to stop.”
“Especially when you’re changing things you’re not supposed to be?”
He chuckled, making his face light up. “Busted… Did you have a nice day? It started well, right? Waking up in each other’s arms like that.”
“Yeah... But, Joseph, last night was a mistake.”
He raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Oh really? You came all the way here to tell me that?”
“Would you prefer it if I’d called?”
His expression fell serious. “No, definitely not… don’t leave any messages on my phone okay?”
“Why?”
Joseph stood up and halted in front of her. She half-hoped he might kiss her, but instead he said, “I think my phone’s been tapped.”
“What?”
“Yeah. Your new boss – Gerald Stinger.” Joseph grabbed the newspaper and showed her the gossip column.
She skim-read it. “So? There’s nothing too bad in there – apart from his crimes against grammar. But I hardly think playing poker and having a crush on a woman is much to worry about.”
“No, it’s not the content – it’s how he discovered it. I left a message for my brother last night saying those exact things. And as for the woman…” He smirked. “You know that’s
you
, right?”
Eleanor’s heart thumped with passionate terror. Joseph had been talking to his brother about
her
? Oh god! She forced herself to harden against him. “You didn’t mention my name, did you?”
“No. Aren’t you surprised that your boss has been accessing my voicemails?”
“Well… not really. He’s pretty ruthless.”
“But it’s an invasion of my privacy.”
“Have you told the cops?”
Joseph threw her a doubtful look. “I’m sure the NYPD have got better things to do than worry about my phone being tapped. I’ll just change my number.”
“Do you want me to find out more about this?”
“Do you think he’d tell you? You’re his intern, right?”
“Yeah, but maybe I can subtly investigate.” She chuckled cynically. “Wouldn’t it be funny if my dream to be an investigative journalist ended up with me investigating my new employers!”
Joseph grinned. “That would be ironic….” He gazed at her and smiled. “It’s great to see you. So you’ve come back for round two, huh?”
She stopped herself from smirking. “Actually, Matthew sent me here.”
“Matthew? Why?”
“He asked me over dinner how my interview with you was going. I told him I hadn’t started, and he told me to jump to it. I guessed you’d be here.”
He squeezed her shoulder, sending molten heat deep between her thighs. “Well,” he said, “your opening question could be ‘Joseph, will you bend me over the mixing desk and give me the most mind-blowing orgasm I’ve ever had?’”
Arousal whooshed through her body. “Joseph, I meant what I said about us not getting involved.”
He caressed her face. She tensed up but didn’t try to stop him. Her breathing sped up and her body washed with lust. She willed herself to calm down, but his touch turned her into a trembling pool of passion.
He kissed her on the lips, making her heart thrash with desire. “Didn’t you think it was the best sex you’ve ever had?”
A smile crept over her face. “Yes it was… But I can’t do this with you. We have different priorities. I can’t be a groupie. I want to concentrate on my career.”
He pulled her close, wrapping her up in his strong sculpted arms. “Ellie, I don’t want you to be a groupie. I want to get to know you properly – to date you. You captivate me.”
Eleanor opened her mouth to offer more excuses, but he kissed her hard, so she sank into his arms, allowing herself to fall into him. The kiss increased in passion and he eased his tongue into her mouth – he tasted so manly and hot, and she wanted to succumb. But she was suddenly struck with a flash of their future – sharing him with thousands of other women. How would he ever be faithful to her? She’d had enough of cheating men with Matthew. She didn’t need another one.
She pried herself away. “I can’t do this…”
“Ellie, come on –”
“No!” She turned and grabbed the door, then fled out into the corridor. She wanted to run down the stairs like Cinderella at midnight, but she could hear the receptionist and security guard chatting casually in the foyer, and she didn’t want to cause a scene. She halted and tried to focus, but the air seemed thick and blurry. She sensed Joseph appear behind her, radiating with promises of comfort and affection. He was as tempting as a slice of fudge cake – she wanted him like crazy, but he was ultimately going to be very bad for her. He strode around and blocked the stairs, preventing her from leaving, then he stepped close and ran his fingers through her hair, forcing her to look at him.
She closed her eyes, trying to block him out, but he took that as an opportunity to kiss her – stifling her resolve by inciting lust into every cell of her yearning body.
“Come back into the studio,” he whispered. “We can talk, okay?”
He kissed her again, and she felt as if she might be torn in two with desire. She wanted him so badly, but…
“Joseph… I should go.”
“I know you want me, Ellie. Or you wouldn’t be here. I know you’re scared of heartache, but I promise I have no intention of hurting you. No one knows what the future holds, but let’s enjoy the journey from here to there. I want you. I want to fuck you all night long, and then hold you tight and never let you go.”
He kissed her hard making her feel like a heroine in a movie. Then he stepped over to the glass door of the studio. He pushed it open and held out his hand.
“Come dance with me.”
“
Dance
? What?”
“You want to do this properly, right? For us to date? Well, I can’t take you out on a date, for obvious reasons, so we’ll have to bring the date here. Come on.”
Eleanor looked down at her shoes. Every woman who’d seen him perform would kill for this chance. But her feet were glued to the carpet. “I can’t.”
“Sure you can. I’ll take care of you.”
She unglued her feet and strode past him as if he was a wild animal waiting to pounce. He let the door close behind them, then he led her into the ‘live’ room. It seemed emptier and bigger than usual, and somehow more relaxed without Matthew’s stressy corporate vibes spewing out all over the place. It was a lovely bright and airy space, and the laminate flooring and magnolia walls made it seem larger than it was. The soundproof glass at the far end overlooked the control room, but the dim lights that were imbedded in the low ceiling shone on the glass, making it hard to see what was going on in there.
Joseph led Eleanor into the centre of the space, then he let go of her hand. “Wait here.”
She stood nervously amongst the mic stands and guitars as he strode off into the control room. With all this musical equipment strewn about, there was just enough space to dance – if they remained cheek-to-cheek. Eleanor’s body quivered at the thought.
The music suddenly blasted out over the speakers, and Eleanor glanced up to see Joseph on the other side of the glass, grinning at her. They held eye contact for what seemed like ages, then he swaggered back to join her.
“This is what we recorded today. I’m doing the vocals tomorrow, but I only wrote the lyrics this afternoon.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
He halted in front of her, gazing at her with a cocky smirk, then he grabbed her, lifted her up, and twirled her around, making her giggle with surprise. He gently placed her feet back on the floor, then he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist. She reached up and draped her arms around his strong shoulders, and they swayed in time to the music, dancing close. It was a slow sensuous blues number, and Eleanor fell into the rhythm with him, swaying her hips and feeling sexy. She gazed up into his eyes and he winked.
“You dance well,” he said.
“Thank you. As do you. But you knew that.”
He smiled and opened his mouth to reply, but – to Eleanor’s squirming delight – he started to serenade her in a soulful voice which resonated through her body and sank deep into her thighs.
“Ohh… Eleanor,” he sang with a cheeky grin on his lips. “You’re the woman I’ve been waiting for… the woman who I adore…”
She laughed – certain he was just making up the words on the spot. But she was deeply flattered. They continued to dance together, and he moved his body even closer until he was pressing his hard cock against her, letting her know how much he was enjoying it.
The bluesy number faded, and another track started up. It was much more upbeat, so he picked her up and spun her around, making her feel light and free. She laughed out loud, unable to hide her enjoyment. He placed her on the ground, then stepped back, and she twirled under his arm. He was right – this
was
like a first date. Fun, exciting, and full of optimism. But she suddenly wanted him to make her body ring out like last night. They gazed into each other’s eyes and he kissed her hard.
“Let’s go to the isolation booth,” he said. “I’ve spent many an hour in there fantasising about you on your knees in front of me… your sweet lips sucking my hard cock.”
Eleanor’s pussy surged with desire at this revelation. “Well, let’s make your fantasy become a reality,” she whispered.
He held her hand and led her over to the booth at the back of the room. It was roughly twice the size of an elevator, with red convoluted sponge blocks all around the walls to ‘deaden’ the sound. The red sponge even continued around the inside of the door, which Joseph was now closing firmly behind them. There was a mic stand in the corner, with a pair of headphones draped over it, and a breakfast-bar type chair in the centre, which was made of chrome and had a leather seat.
Joseph stepped behind her and massaged her shoulders, lowering his face to nibble her ear, and making her gasp with excitement. He slid his masterful hands forward to unfasten the buttons of her shirt, then he gripped the collar and stripped the shirt down, tying the sleeves behind her back, and rendering her a slave to whatever pleasure he wanted to give her. She thrust her chest forward, breathing deeply, knowing she looked good in her black bra.