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Heart took the last sip of her latte and began gathering her things.
“Me too. I have to be at work in thirty. The nanny is meeting me there to pick up this sweet thing.” She tussled Bridgette’s dark curls gently.
“Thanks for meeting me in my time of need.”
“Always.” She leaned in and gave me a hug while balancing Bridgette on her hip. “Good luck today.”
I gave them a wave goodbye and went up to the counter to order Troy’s drink. There was a slight break in the cold front, so I opted for his original iced Americano and headed down the block to his office.
After I placed his coffee on his desk, I walked over to my own and stopped short when I saw a beautifully wrapped package on my chair. I jerked my chin back in surprise. Troy hadn’t given me a present since he had invited me to the gala. I looked around and wondered where he was. Had he come in early to drop this off?
I carefully picked up the crisply wrapped white box tied neatly with a red, satin ribbon. I placed it on my desk and sat down on the chair where it had sat. I looked around to make sure no one was looking, especially Kathy, but I didn’t see her. I untied the ribbon eagerly, wondering what was inside.
I lifted the lid of the box up and found a small vase filled with flowers. Dead flowers. Withered and crunchy petals that used to be a vibrant red, now shades of black and brown. I shook my head in confusion. Maybe the flowers had been delivered late and that was why they were dead. There was no water in the vase. Maybe it had spilled out on the drive.
Then I noticed a small white card at the bottom of the box. I picked it up and unfolded it.
Your love life is dead.
I gasped softly and dropped the card. It floated to the ground. I shoved the box away as unease filled me, making me queasy. The room felt like it was spinning. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
These flowers weren’t late. They were delivered dead purposefully. But why? By who? This didn’t seem like a gift Troy would give me. I could only think of one person who would do something like this. My stalker must be back. I looked around as if he might be in the office right now. He must know about Troy and me to send these dead roses. I shuddered at the thought. Had I inadvertently put Troy in danger?
I wondered if I should have told him about it. If I should have opened up more. But I was so focused on protecting myself and trying not to get lost in him. This life. His touch. I didn’t want to complicate things with the mess of my life when there was a good chance he wouldn’t always be in it.
Troy’s voice came from down the hall. I quickly picked up the card and threw it in the box, closing it tightly with the lid. Then I shoved it off my desk and into the trash can, hearing the shatter of glass on impact. I grimaced at the sound. I would have to figure this out later. I tried not to let my thoughts run rampant as I heard his footsteps approach.
When Troy came into sight, he looked more handsome than ever in one of my favorite suits of his. My breath caught as he gave me a wide grin, his green eyes dancing. He was in a good mood this morning, and just looking at him helped ease my nerves a little. I gave him a weak smile in return.
“Good morning,” he said cheerily.
His eyes didn’t search my desk for any signs of a package or a vase of dead flowers. It wasn’t him. I almost wished it was, only because it meant my stalker wasn’t back.
“Morning,” I said softly. The word felt like it was strangled.
He walked into his office and settled in behind his desk, taking a sip of coffee and giving it his usual smile of approval. I watched him for a moment longer, trying to find any clue to as if he was behind such an odd gift. It didn’t make sense. Not after Friday, when things felt electric between us for a glimpse of a few seconds. Even when things were rocky, I couldn’t imagine him to be so cruel.
When he asked me in his office a few minutes later, my legs felt shaky when I walked over. He stood by the door waiting and closed it behind me as I stepped inside. I swallowed hard by the privacy that now encased us. We hadn’t been in here alone with the door closed since our hands were all over each other. I was surprised when he locked the door behind him. I wondered if he was going to own up to the delivery. If he was going to offer an explanation.
He stepped away from the door and turned to face me, so we were face to face. His eyes were different from when he first got here. The dancing had been replaced by a hungry intent that sucked the air out of me. I leaned back, finding the door and leaning against it for support as I waited for what came next. What that was, I didn’t know, but it felt like something was unlocking inside of me.
“You tricked me, you know?” he said sharply.
“H-huh?” I said.
He held up a hand to silence me and I immediately closed my mouth, my lips tightly against each other.
“You tricked me into thinking this was just sex.” He pointed between us. “That you only did this because you liked the way I tasted when your lips were around me, swallowing my ecstasy. Because you liked the way I trembled inside of you. Because you liked the way my groans grazed your ears.”
I looked at him, confused. This sounded familiar, but it felt like my brain wasn’t working as he took a step toward me, closing the gap between us. I swore I thought my knees would buckle right then and there. I could smell his cologne, seeping into me like a memory I craved. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his.
“And I let myself believe it was just that. That I only found you fascinating because of the way you felt around my fingers as they moved inside you. Because of the way you moved slowly as I slid deeper inside of you. Because of the way you screamed my name.”
I felt a yearning between my legs at the roughness of his voice, and the smooth movement in which he placed his hands on either side of me on the door. Everything I had craved for so long was right here. His breath was on my face and I struggled to keep my mouth from finding his, wanting to taste him as he continued speaking. He leaned in and his lips grazed my ear.
“But it wasn’tjustsex,” he whispered. The words vibrated down my spine and my back arched in a pleasure-filled reflex. “It was the feelings you stirred up inside of me when I thought not even hell could thaw them…”
I jerked my head back as it hit me, as if coming to from a trance. The words he was saying to me were my own. They were my words on his lips. They were for a character I had written in the book that had probably ruined my career. Why was Troy reciting this to me? Was this some kind of sick game?