As if my thoughts have summoned him, I get my first glance of Alek within minutes of arriving. Finn meets me in the lobby, bouncing on the balls of his feet with what I now think of as his “Finn energy.” He motions for me to hurry before clapping his hands together twice. “Chop, chop! Our shift starts in three minutes. The Time Terrorist keeps a tight schedule.”
My eyebrows furrow. “Who is the Time—”
Finn sighs, rolling his eyes before latching onto my elbow and practically dragging me down the hallway. “Trust me, if you’re trying for a spanking, it won’t work. Not even if you call him that to his face. Not even if you call him ‘Daddy Alek’ in front of a staff meeting. The man is a fuddy dud like that.”
I cough. “Please tell me you didn’t do that.”
Finn winks. “Fine. I won’t tell you.”
“For such a small dude, you have some really big balls,” I mutter.
Finn throws his head back, cackling. But I’m only vaguely aware of it and the soft pat of his hand on my arm. Because that’s when I get my first glimpse of Alek, all those toned muscles leaning against the doorframe of his office sending an electrical jolt to my heart. His eyes take a leisurely stroll up my body, pin pricks of heat trailing in their wake. When his gaze locks on the spot where Finn’s hand is still latched onto me, his lips purse. Something dark flashes in his eyes, his jaw clenching.
I pull away from Finn, not quite understanding why Alek’s obvious displeasure has adrenaline coursing through my body, or why it sorta feels…nice. Finn, of course, takes one look at the “Beware: Danger Ahead” sign that is Alek right now, and promptly ignores it. “Don’t worry, boss man, you already marked your territory. I got the message loud and clear.”
Alek’s eye twitches.
I suck in a breath, everything inside me going hot at the implication. The sound catches Alek’s attention, his head cocking to the side as he studies me. “Finn,” he says, “the deadline for the Calloway project just got moved up. I need you to work an hour over today to get it completed.” Despite the fact he’s not addressing me, his eyes never leave mine. I swallow around the sudden tightness in my throat.
“But—” Finn begins to protest, cutting himself off when I grab his arm and begin pulling him along.
“Stop stepping in your own shit,” I mutter.
“He’s such a killjoy,” Finn pouts.
But I’m not paying attention because, when I look over my shoulder, one corner of Alek’s lips is twisting into a smug grin. That’s when I realize he never denied Finn’s accusation. I jerk my gaze away as though I’ve been burned, so many questions tumbling through my mind. My stomach enters freefall mode, my heart flipping over itself.
He didn’t deny it.
“Why do you look like you’re being led to the gallows?” Finn asks a few hours later as we enter the breakroom. It’s a small room with acollection of square tables, a row of vending machines on the far-left wall, a leather sofa along the adjacent wall, with sunlight pouring in from the large window. Finn’s eyes are sparkling with mischief as he arches an eyebrow.
“Umm…isn’t there like an unspoken rule about not sitting at the same lunch table as your boss?” I hedge. Besides, after yesterday, I don’t want to give Alek another chance to accuse me of flirting with Finn.
Finn winks. “Some rules are meant to be broken. That’s when the fun happens.”
I grunt, my stomach performing somersaults as he leads me to the table currently occupied by Alek. He’s stabbing his fork into a bowl of salad, his glasses slipping down his nose as he studies something on his cell phone. Whatever it is, he’s so engrossed in it that he doesn’t notice our approach until Finn takes a chair on the opposite side of the table. I reluctantly take the seat next to Finn and directly across from Alek, something about the casual intimacy of sitting down to eat lunch with Alek making me want to squirm.
“Well, well, well…if it isn’t the Time Terrorist himself!” Finn exclaims.
“Finn.” Alek shoots him a shrewd, reproachful look. “Always an unfortunate pleasure to see you.”
Finn gasps. “Hey! I’ll have you know I’m a delight!”
“Is that why you’re encroaching on my lunch hour?” Alek drawls, his tone dry.
“I—uh, we could sit at another table,” I offer quickly, shooting Finn a wide-eyed look. As fun as it is to annoy the man, I don’t want to annoy him forreal. It’s his lunch break, the only time of day he has completely to himself. Why would he want to spend it with us—with me?
Alek’s gaze softens as it swings in my direction, his eyelashes fluttering once as he swallows. “No, stay,” he says quietly. “I want you to.”
Oh.
I ignore the warm, fuzzy sensation in my chest. Finn mutters something unintelligible under his breath and without even having to know what he said, I shoot my left foot out and kick him in the shin. He hisses at me, shooting me a dirty look before turning his attention to the navy-blue lunch bag he brought with him. Quickly unzipping the container, he pulls out a Red Bull and pops the tab. My eyes widen as I watch him tip the can back and begin to guzzle large mouthfuls.
“Jesus help us all,” Alek mutters.
An old school, 90s pop song chooses that moment to begin blaring from the general direction of Finn’s pocket. He pulls a cell phone out, making a happy little noise in the back of his throat before jumping up. “Sorry to deprive you of mydelightfulcompany, gentlemen, but I have to take this,” he declares.
With my heart rate picking up, I try to turn my face away from Alek and give Finn a pleading expression before quietly hissing, “Don’t leave me.” It’s not that I don’t want to be alone with Alek. Quite the opposite actually, and that’s the problem. Bad things are bound to happen if I spend too much time alone with this behemoth of a man and those mouth-watering forearms that are begging to be touched.
