Victoria, flushed with success, was much too excited to wait for the trundling elevator. She turned and eagerly flew up the open staircase, high heels clicking in crisp staccato on the concrete steps, her head resonating with the single triumphant cry, played over and over again: 'WE WON!' Etched in gold, the neat formal letters of the prestigious law firm of Holcomb, McNab, and Fields greeted her as she fumbled for her key, gleefully wondering how long it will be before 'Alcott' was added, stenciled proudly on this very same door. It seemed inevitable after tonight, after today, she corrected herself. It had been a long day, but what a day it had been!
Once inside the darkened receptionist's area, briefcase and raincoat were flung carelessly aside, and the exuberant lawyer threw back her head and raised her fists in the pose of a triumphant prizefighter, all the while cackling with delight. For a moment she stood in the middle of the darkened suite of offices, beaming to herself, elated, wishing only to savor the delicious moment. Then she looked around her, and spotted the sliver of light under the door of Aaron's office. What luck! He was working late tonight.
Impetuously, she rushed towards his door wanting to share this moment, needing to have Aaron appreciate her brilliance.
"We WON!" Victoria gushed, bursting through the office door.
Aaron Spaulding, mildly startled, looked up to peer at the attractive brunette over the half-glasses he used for reading. Sitting back behind his desk in shirt sleeves and vest, he regarded her with his watery blue eyes for a moment as she stood before him, hands on her hips, bursting with her triumph. She was grinning broadly, her animated face flushed and warm with excitement; a few wisps of fine dark hair had escaped from her otherwise neat chignon. He couldn't help the wry smile that came to his lips when he saw her girlish enthusiasm.
"We got the sonvabitch!" Victoria crowed. "Even old Fennerman had to agree. He gave us everything we wanted! You should have seen Smollet's face," she giggled happily, wrapping her arms around herself, unable to contain her glee.
Aaron's smiled broadened. "We should celebrate!" he announced with a decisive nod. He went to the credenza and poured a generous splash of Scotch into each of two glasses, filling them halfway up with water from the carafe. There was no ice, but this impromptu celebration could do without the amenities. He handed her a glass, and raised his to her, nodding his salute.
"Congratulations, Victoria. To you..." In his eyes she saw something...a respectful appreciation?.. a new regard? She smiled and briefly lowered hers, fine lashes fluttering down over those large eloquent eyes, dark eyes that silently accept his tribute.
She lifted the glass to her lips and took a long gulp of the smooth fiery liquid, welcoming its flooding warmth. Her eyes smiled back at him over the rim of her glass.
"I feel like doing something," she enthused, swirling around as though she were about to break out in a dance.
"Well," he began tentatively, "I guess we could hit Georgio's for a few drinks."
She paused in a half turn, stopping to regard him with a contemplative look, that surprised him.
"Yeah,..we could," she agreed dubiously. "Or we could also stay right here," she added in a voice that was lower, and coyly seductive.
His eyebrows arched up in a mildly quizzical expression, as he took a sip of his drink, waiting, wondering just what she has in mind. Victoria grinned at him, came around the desk to where he stood cradling his drink, an uncertain smile playing over his lips.
"Remember that ABA convention in the Berkshires?" she asked in a husky whisper, her eyes searching his face. He managed to nod. "Does that offer still hold?"
Now it was Spaulding's turn to grin. It had been early on in their relationship. She was just out of law school and had been with the firm only a few months. And she had turned him down, politely, but flatly, telling him she was involved with someone, which was true...at the time.
But that was then, and now...well it was different. That was years ago, before she come to know Aaron as a trusted friend and colleague. Besides, Scott was long gone. After Scott, she had plunged into work, intent on proving herself, on nothing but building her career. And for a long time, an incredibly long time it seemed to her, as she thought about it tonight, she had been without a man. And here was Aaron, good old reliable Aaron. Aaron with his thinning hair and slim boyish figure, his vest open, tie askew, smiling crookedly at her. Aaron who liked her, who cared about her, who knew the thrill she felt tonight.
She moved closer till only a few inches separated them. Gazing deep into his eyes, Victoria lifted an exquisite hand to place a single pointed finger on his temple and trace a line down his face, drawing the single finger down over the slight stubble of his five o'clock shadow. She gasped in surprise when he suddenly grabbed her and kissed her, and she found herself kissing him back, long and hard. Their tongues did brief battle in a frenzied dance, as she pressed herself to him, rubbing deliciously against his loins, letting him feel the heat of her body, the rut of desperation in her loins.
Spaulding embraced her hungrily, surprised, yet pleased beyond his wildest dreams to feel the sudden urgency of this vibrant girl's passion. Victoria was a healthy young woman whose sexual appetites had been suppressed during long months of abstinence and now those needs, powered by the pent up energy of the long exciting day, brought to a fever pitch a raging lust that seemed insatiable.
He kissed her greedily, seeking her mouth, her cheek, her chin, her neck, his own passions excited beyond belief to be able to have this dark haired beauty, the object of so many of his fantasies, to take her in his arms at last. And as they stood there writhing against each other, locked in passionate embrace, her frenetic hands traveled up and down his back, finally clasping his butt.
She pushed herself back from him. "Let's get undressed," she whispered eagerly; shoulders heaving with her ragged breath.
Victoria's hands flew to his tie, to the buttons of his shirt, the frenzied fingers working expertly. He wondered if she meant to tear the clothes from his body.
"No!" he stopped her decisively, clamping a wrist and firmly removing her hand. She looked at him with a quizzical expression, but his eyes were smiling. "You first. Go on, I want you to take off your clothes for me, slowly, piece by piece." he urged softly, edging back to resume his seat behind the desk, leaving her standing there alone.
Victoria managed a slightly embarrassed smile, a little self-conscious yet secretly thrilled that he wanted to see her strip for him. Her hands went to the lapels of the tailored, navy blue jacket she wore and she started to peel it back, twisting her shoulders to free herself, but again he stopped her.
"No...wait. I want you to do just what I tell you to do, okay?" he asked.
