Unbidden

Note: Thank you to everyone who has read and provided feedback for the first two parts of Unbidden. If you haven't read them yet, I hope you take the time to check them out as well. This is the third and final part and I hope you enjoy it. As always, your comments and feedback will be greatly appreciated so please don't hesitate to tell me what worked or what didn't work for you. Thanks again!

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"Sarah, you're giving me a headache!" I said to my co-worker, closing my eyes and pressing my thumb against my right temple.

It was Monday afternoon and we were in an empty conference room at Floe, set to deliver our firm's advertising proposal for the budding fitness company. We came in a good quarter hour early for our presentation, and it had taken us less than five minutes—along with one IT guy—to prepare everything we needed. Now all we had to do was wait.

But Sarah had begun pacing restlessly across the carpeted floor instead. She looked just about ready to start hyperventilating at any given moment, alternately rubbing her hands together and using them to fan her face. Clearly, our boss' constant reminder of how much he valued this client had gotten the better of the young redhead and now, she was definitely on edge.

So was I, for that matter, but for a different reason.

It was the first time I would be seeing Shaie since... well, since we had fucked each other in a shower stall inside this very same establishment last Wednesday. I had thought of her non-stop in the last four days, but instead of blocking them as I had done in the past, I had welcomed those thoughts whenever they came to mind.

I figured my best bet to minimize Shaie's effect on me was to finally allow myself to want her. Steer into the skid, so to speak. Maybe then I wouldn't be caught so off guard by my body's reaction to her, and I just might actually be able to keep my wits about me the next time we interacted.

So while I

was

a bit apprehensive about seeing Shaie again, I also felt composed enough to get through this meeting. Except Sarah being all antsy was starting to get me a bit wired, too.

I stood up and put my hands squarely on Sarah's arms, effectively stopping her from taking another lap across the room. I looked into her panicked blue eyes calmly until I was sure I had her full attention.

"Breathe," I told her firmly. "We've gone over this pitch a million times over. We got this, okay?"

She nodded at me quickly, still looking frightened to death. With her wide-eyed stare and the light freckles on her cheeks, Sarah looked way younger than she actually was.

"And even if we don't," I reassured her, grinning. "I'll take full responsibility and George can fire

my

ass, as well as kiss it."

She gave a little laugh, surprised that I would speak that way about our boss but finding it funny anyway. That was all I needed, and I let my hands fall away as soon as I felt her relaxing.

The door to the conference room opened, and we both turned as Shaie and her business partners walked in. I was still smiling from my exchange with Sarah, and the way Shaie looked so gorgeous in a long-sleeved, olive dress that accentuated the best of her curves only made me smile wider.

Now, I didn't know what I expected from her, really, but it definitely wasn't the cold stare Shaie gave me as our eyes locked briefly across the room. What the fuck was

she

mad at

me

for?

Sarah and I approached, and it all made sense as I finally took note of the two people that Shaie had walked in with. One was a tall, lithe, mid-thirties guy named Tom who greeted us warmly, and the other was Lucy.

Yes.

That

Lucy.

Blonde. Beautiful. Shaie's

girlfriend

. Lucy.

Guilt and shame washed over me as I was suddenly and starkly confronted with the woman's presence. Shaie was in a committed relationship, and I still had sex with her—twice—fully aware of that fact from the start. What Shaie and I had done wasn't just a mistake. It was inexcusable.

I felt my face heat up while I shook the friendly blonde's hand. I tried to push the unpleasant feelings down, forcing myself to focus on the task at hand. After introductions were made, Sarah kicked off our presentation by providing a quick overview and then passed the ball to me.

I stood there in my black-fitted blazer and cropped pants, my long brown curls in a loose bun, determined to get through my pitch no matter what. I kept my demeanor professional. I just needed to get through these few minutes, and I refused to be distracted even as Shaie sat there, seemingly uninterested, looking everywhere but at me.

I started on our ad strategies and kept my smile in place as I watched Lucy scribble something on a piece of paper and show it to Shaie. I trudged on through my presentation while Shaie leaned over and whispered something that made the angelic blonde smile in return and write again. My voice trailed off completely, however, when Shaie suddenly stood and left the room in the middle of my pitch.

I gritted my teeth, beginning to feel a little angry myself. I could understand that Shaie didn't want her girlfriend suspecting anything, and she could ignore me all she wanted. But did she have to be so rude?

Lucy got off her chair quickly as Shaie exited the door. She had an amused but apologetic smile on her face as she looked at me. "Hold that thought, Jamie. You're doing great!" She assured me. "I just need to discuss something with my associate for a little while."

Tom started and looked up at Lucy. He hadn't even noticed what was happening with the other two people beside him.

"Oh, not you, Tom," Lucy told him. She turned back to me, her eyes glinting with secret mirth, and said, "

Don't

go anywhere."

I turned to Sarah as Lucy disappeared after Shaie. I shook my head and shrugged to answer the bewildered expression on the redhead's face. I didn't have a fucking clue what had just happened either.

Fortunately, Tom began asking questions about the ideas I had already discussed. He looked so interested and genuinely excited over them, that I knew we already got at least one favorable vote out of three.

The two women soon returned, both acting like nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. Shaie was considerably less passive-aggressive, even giving me a smile as she took her seat. There was a satisfied look on Lucy's face as she cordially asked me to proceed. The floor was mine again and, now, I had all three's undivided attention.

It was the kind of thing that would drive me crazy if I let it.

So I didn't. Instead, I picked up where I had left off and finished without further interruptions. I sat in the sidelines when it was Sarah's turn to discuss our pricing offers. I quietly counted down the minutes as she talked, knowing I was done with all of this as soon as this meeting was over.

If we did end up getting the Floe account, I had already decided that I would pass it over to my co-worker, Kayla. I would have done it sooner, but our boss had insisted that I did this presentation since it was my ideas that had been approved. The goal was the same, however: I needed to distance myself from Shaie as much as I could. It was the best thing to do for the sake of everyone involved.

It's the

only

thing to do

, I told myself, ignoring the subtle ache that had begun to settle in my chest. I gazed at Shaie's beautiful face as she quietly sat beside Lucy, and saw no world where keeping any contact with her wouldn't end up in a fucked up mess.

Marnie's party was a welcome distraction that Friday. Having known her since we were in high school, Marnie was one of my dearest and oldest friends in the world. So when she called me up last week asking me to be one of her bridesmaids and inviting me to her engagement party, I had not hesitated to say yes.

Besides, after learning earlier today that we had gotten the Floe account and then subsequently turning it over to Kayla, I had been in a mood that was part celebratory, part wanting-to-drown-my-sorrows. Either way, I wanted to drink.

I walked into Marnie's childhood home in my dusty rose cocktail dress and strappy heels, my long curls flowing loosely just below my shoulders. The house looked busy, filled with a lot of nicely dressed people in various degrees of conversation while a violin softly played in the background. I looked around, trying to search for a familiar face.

The bride-to-be looked beautiful in her royal blue gown and she squealed as soon as she saw me, immediately coming over to where I stood. We hugged excitedly and admired her rock for a few moments before she took my hand and set out to find her fiancé. I had only previously met Tony a couple of times and knew little about him except that he was a handsome older man who taught Psychology at the uni, and that he adored Marnie—which was good enough for me.

Marnie grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and handed it to me while I congratulated Tony. Her cousin, Grace, and her sister, Jenna, soon joined us and the five of us talked for a while until Tony saw someone he wanted to say hi to—which was fine. Except he also took Marnie with him, who smiled at me apologetically, promising to come back.

The two other girls continued the conversation as I sipped my champagne, looking at the space my friend had just vacated. And then my vision re-focused, and I nearly choked as the background became clearer.

There, near the dining room, Shaie stood, looking absolutely gorgeous in her tight-fitting, off-shoulder teal dress. She had the sides of her short curls slicked back, with a few strands at the top styled to frame her beautiful face. Lucy looked equally lovely next to her as they conversed and drank wine with four other people.

"What's

she

doing here?" I muttered disbelievingly. Clearly, the universe was out to get me. Still, I just stood there, staring at Shaie's profile. I had missed her smile so much these past few days that, now that I was seeing it again, I didn't want to look away.

"Who, the blonde?" Jenna asked beside me, overhearing my question. "That's Lucy, Tony's sister."

As if on cue, Shaie turned her head towards my direction. She held my gaze, looking just as surprised to see me, until Lucy regained her attention. That subtle ache in my chest was back and stronger, threatening to overwhelm as I watched the intimate way the blonde touched Shaie's arm while she said something that made Shaie softly laugh.

I felt as if my world had just gotten incredibly smaller. I had gone 28 years not knowing Shaie, and now I couldn't seem to escape her. I downed the rest of my champagne and turned.

I took the nearest exit from the crowd that I could find—a staircase leading up to the second floor. Quickly, I went up and entered Marnie's perfectly empty old room, wanting nothing else but to be alone at that moment.

The room was small and dark, but the moon shining through the window gave ample light. Marnie's parents had turned it into a guest room, but they had kept Marnie's old twin bed and I lay there now, with my feet still planted on the floor and my hands resting on my stomach. I stared at the ceiling and tried to breathe evenly, angrily fighting back the stupid, jealous tears that kept threatening to spill.

See, this was exactly why I had never wanted to act on my crush on Shaie in the first place! Before anything had happened between us, I had felt a lot of things around Shaie—giddy, nervous, awkward... safe. Back then, I knew exactly where the line was and I was perfectly fine not to cross it. I never wanted, never even thought of, and never hoped for anything more.

Then we had sex and I got a taste of what it was like to belong to Shaie, even for a few moments. And now there I was, hiding in the dark, trying my damnedest not to cry over someone who never did and never could belong to me. It all just felt incredibly stupid and messy and complicated.

The door suddenly opened and I sat up quickly as Shaie's unmistakable silhouette appeared through the doorway.

Can't a girl get a fucking break around here?

I thought.

"Jamie?" Shaie said. The light shone through the room from the hallway behind her and she had no trouble recognizing me.

"What are you doing in here?" She asked as she moved towards me, leaving the door half-opened.

I said nothing, afraid that I might give myself away. My emotions were still running high and I was determined to keep myself in check. What good would it do, anyway, if Shaie knew?

She sat down on the bed beside me, and I angled my body towards her, if only to create more distance between us. I looked out the window, trying to gather the composure I needed to leave. But then I made the mistake of blinking and a tear escaped, rolling down my right cheek.

Shaie saw it and immediately cupped my cheek with her left hand, causing me to look at her as her thumb gently wiped the single drop away. I flinched and yet, I couldn't move, both burned by her touch and frozen by her gaze at the same time.

"What's wrong?" She asked. The moonlight hit her amber eyes so that they glowed softly, and I could tell that Shaie was concerned as they searched my face. Her lips pursed a little as she figured she wasn't going to get an answer from me anytime soon, and my eyes dropped to her mouth, drawn to that slight movement.

I brought my eyes back to hers and knew the exact point when something shifted, and I was suddenly one tenuous second away from being kissed. I knew, too, that I desired nothing more in that moment than to feel those lips on mine again.

Fortunately, my brain kicked in. Shaie's girlfriend was right downstairs. This was wrong. This had always been wrong.

I stood up and swiftly turned to leave, but Shaie's hand stopped me. "Don't." She said softly, and I bowed my head, closing my eyes.

It was one word—one fucking word—and yet it took all the fight out of me. I wanted her.

Just one last time

, a tiny voice in my head pleaded.

Her touch on my arm was light, and I eased out of her hold as I walked towards the door, glancing back at Shaie when my hand reached the handle. She sat on that bed, looking down, her hands pressed tightly against the mattress. It was the first time I had ever seen her look anything but confident, and I knew I had lost the battle.

I didn't know what came over me then. I felt some anger over my own weakness and I thought, if I was going to do this—if I was going to throw away all sense and scruple just for one more fuck with Shaie—then I was going to do this in my own terms. I was done being passive, constantly finding myself in these situations, just waiting for what Shaie was going to do next. I wanted my control back.

Shaie looked up when she heard the soft click of the lock as I closed the door. I held her gaze, never clearer in what I wanted to do than in that moment as I strode purposefully towards her. I reached her quickly and held her face in my hands, ignoring the soft question in her eyes before I bent over and kissed her.

I closed my eyes, running my lips gently but firmly across hers. I kissed her hungrily, my tongue touching her lower lip and learning its softness before delving into her mouth. Shaie's hands went to my waist, her tongue meeting mine as she matched the need and urgency of my kiss.

My dress hiked up as I climbed on the bed, placing one knee between her thighs. Shaie scooted to accommodate my movements, and I supported her back with one hand as I laid her down, cradling her head with the other. I pressed my body against hers, feeling her heat on my bare leg as we continued to explore each other's mouths.

Her hand on my waist began a slow trail upwards but I caught it with my own, locking my fingers with hers before she reached my breast. I placed the errant hand on the space beside her head, then found the other and did the same. Slowly, I lifted my mouth from hers, breaking the kiss as I drew my head back.

Shaie's eyes fluttered open and I watched the subtle change in those light orbs as she soon realized the position she was in. She shifted beneath me, looking a little apprehensive. I squeezed her hands reassuringly before answering her silent question.

"I need you, Shaie," I told her, trying to explain what it was that I wanted but not knowing how. "I need you like this. Okay?"

Her eyes searched me for a moment before she nodded, and I kissed her again. Gradually, I unlocked our fingers and let go of her hands. Shaie kept them right where I had placed them, letting me know that she understood, and I smiled against her lips.

I deepened the kiss in the next moment, my hand cupping and squeezing her left breast over her dress. My fingers squeezed into an opening in her bodice to find her nipple already hardened and Shaie moaned softly against my mouth as I ran my thumb over the stiff little nub, my body naturally moving against hers.

I reached behind her to unzip her dress, pulling the top down and freeing her supple mounds. My mouth left hers to place kisses on her cheek, tracing her jaw and settling on the pulse at her neck. There, I licked and nibbled, careful not to leave a mark as my hands explored the softness of her bare breasts.

I rolled both of her nipples between my fingers and softly tugged. Shaie gasped, her body squirming beneath mine as she let out a breathy moan. I felt emboldened by her reactions, eager to learn what other sounds I could produce from her. I moved lower, sliding down her length until my face was right in front of her chest.

Even in the moonlight, her breasts were perfect—firm and perky, her nipples hard and begging for attention. I squeezed them together and took one in my mouth, swirling a puckered nub on my tongue before drawing it in. I sucked on it gently, enjoying every ridge and texture before turning to give the same attention to the other.

I felt my own wetness between my legs where I pressed against her hips, and knew that my panties were just about soaked. Shaie alternated between sighs and whimpers while I worked on her breasts to my satisfaction, only moving lower when I had had my fill.

My teeth grazed her ribs as I trailed kisses towards her stomach. My tongue darted to lick at her navel but did not stop there, its destination clear. I nipped the sides of her lower abs as I slid her dress further down, taking her underwear off with it, and Shaie lifted her hips to speed the process along.

I settled back on my stomach, my face in front of Shaie's wet and glistening warmth. Splaying my hands on the insides of her thighs, I held her legs open as I took in her scent. Shaie flinched, gasping when my nose softly nudged her clitoris.

I began tentatively, my tongue taking little swipes at her clit and gradually extending its reach. Little by little, it travelled up and down the length of her wet slit before plunging deeply into her creamy little hole.

"Mmmmph," Shaie moaned as I curved my tongue inside her and dragged it out.

I spread her own juices on her clit, circling the hard nub with the tip of my tongue and answered her with a contented sigh of my own. Shaie's legs quivered as they pressed tightly against my head, keeping me in place. I repeated the action a few more times, and Shaie's hips tried to start a rhythm against my mouth that I ignored. I wasn't done with her yet. I wanted to memorize her taste. I wanted to savor every inch and crevice of Shaie's womanhood. I wanted...

"Oh, please!" She yelled desperately when my mouth left her sensitive nub yet again, causing me to lift my head and look at her.

Shaie lay there, naked in the moonlight with her head turned upward and her eyes tightly closed. Her back was slightly arched and her quick breaths were shallow as she bit her lower lip, but it was her hands that held my attention. They were still exactly where I had placed them, her fingers gripping the sheets so hard her nails were digging into her palms.