Page 38 of Bite Me
“I was worried about you on Friday. I should have made sure you got home okay.”
“We agreed never to mention it again.” Even as I said it, I made an involuntary step forward, my body gravitating toward him.
“I’m sorry.” Head bent, he looked sheepish, but then he glanced at me through his eyelashes. “I find it difficult.”
Why did I grin? I was supposed to insist on distance, dammit! But God, if he’d been thinking of me like I’d been thinking of him, I might throw all caution to the wind.
“Russel, I…”
The sound of the door opening made me jump. Frank walked in, followed by Vivian.
“Oh, sorry! I didn’t know you were still here. Are we interrupting?”
“No, of course not,” Russel said. “We’re just leaving. Thank you, Eddie. I’ll look at the materials you’ve sent and get back to you.”
He walked out, and I stood there, stunned.
I must have looked out of it because Vivian touched my arm, motherly concern on her face. “Eddie? Do you need something?”
“No. No.” I scrambled for something normal to say. “I just have this nagging feeling I must have forgotten something.”
Frank groaned. “Tell me about it. It’s been haunting me all weekend. With my luck, it’s an anniversary or someone’s birthday, and Shelly will kill me.”
“That’s why I share my calendar with Juan,” Vivian said. “Sometimes I think he doesn’t remember how many children he has, let alone the days they were born.”
I laughed appropriately and hurried out of there.
* * *
We were swamped with work for the rest of the week, and I was grateful for it. I had enough tasks to distract me from Russel’s constant presence. Except he kept giving me these looks—discreet and rare, so nobody else noticed, but I soaked them up even as they terrified me.
He looked at me like I was a piece of chocolate cake. It was disturbing and hot, and it drove me bonkers. My nightly jerk-off sessions were full of fantasies about him. I didn’t even try to go back to my usual spank bank material. On Wednesday, I fucked myself with a dildo fantasizing about Russel doing me raw on the conference room table.
Sadly, it wasn’t just attraction. I could have dealt with mere lust, but he keptnoticingme in ways that messed with my head. He remembered everything I’d ever said and brought it up casually as if paying this much attention to me was natural. The way we worked together was seamless, and I’d never had anyone treat me with such easy, natural respect. It blew my mind and inflated my ego.
By Friday, the one last functioning brain cell in the back of my head was waving a red flag.Don’t stay after hours.
But then I thought I could just prepare some stuff for Monday, draft that last press release, and schedule a few emails so I wouldn’t have to log in on Sunday evening.Lies, lies, lies! Stop stalling and go home!
I knew Russel was still in his office. I always knew where he was—I was borderline obsessive about that. Then it was past seven, and I heard steps in the hallway.
“You’re still here?”
He stood in the doorway.
“I’m almost done.”
“Something that can’t wait till next week?”
“Monday will be busy. I thought I’d get a head start.”
“Have you always been so responsible, Eddie?”
Was there a double meaning? Was he asking if I would consider being less responsible with him? Was he going to hit on me? Why the fuck did I feel giddy at the idea of him trying to seduce me?
I put my tablet into my bag and shrugged into my jacket. “Not always, no.”
He grinned. “What’s the most reckless thing you’ve done?”
