Page 11 of His Secret Betrayal (Cedarwood Valley Duology #2)

Luke

“ Y ou’re not as much fun as Finn,” I mumble hours later under my breath as I forcibly click the mouse.

Click, click, click.

Alek releases a long, drawn-out sigh. He sounds exhausted and extremely put out by my antics, and it makes my lips twitch.

Resisting the temptation to turn around so I can drink his annoyance in, I continue moving the logo around on the book cover I’m currently working on.

A low groan rumbles from my throat, true frustration welling in me as I slump in my seat.

I just want to get it right.

“What’s wrong, Luke?”

From the corner of my eye, Alek is peering at me over his glasses. His eyebrows are furrowed, looking genuinely concerned. I gesture towards my computer screen. “This logo you want me to use looks stupid, and it’s messing with the vibe.”

His lips purse together, but I think he’s trying not to laugh. “The customer included it in their order.”

I give him a pointed look. “ You included it in the order. Can’t I just leave it off? It looks better without it.”

Alek shakes his head, giving me an admonishing look as he stands up.

My heartbeat quickens as he rounds his desk until he’s towering over me, a hand in each of his pockets as he arches an eyebrow.

“Maybe that’s the whole point of the exercise, hmm?

Authors come to us with a certain vision, and it’s our job to put it together. This particular author—”

“You mean you ,” I mutter.

“The pretend customer ,” Alek emphasizes, “wants a logo on his or her book cover. Just because you as the designer don’t like it, doesn’t mean it gets thrown out the window. You find a way to make it work until they are happy.”

I scrunch up my nose. “How?”

He jerks his chin towards the screen, motioning me to turn back around.

I suck in a lungful of air as he crowds my space, those sexy as sin forearms on either side of me as he bends over the screen.

A delicious heat radiates off his body, and the scent of mahogany and black teakwood invades my senses .

The familiar scent reminds me of hiking in the woods, campfires, and flannel shirts.

He takes over my mouse, his hand guiding the cursor around the screen while I swallow and try to discreetly regulate my breathing when what I really want to do is let my tongue loll from the side of my mouth and pant.

“This cover is coming along really nicely. I can tell you’ve been working hard on this one. Once we find a nice placement for the logo and the surrounding text, we’ll be ready to sign, seal, and deliver. Good job.”

The compliment, paired with his proximity, fires up something in my brain.

Endorphins shoot off inside me like fireworks, heat curling in my stomach.

I’m mesmerized by his rumble as he drones on, showing me a trick with the program I hadn’t discovered.

My cock begins to swell, arousal coursing through my blood, demanding friction.

I shift in my seat, my breaths quickening.

After eight months of wondering why my body reacted so viscerally to Alek’s—after one mere handshake and a brief introduction—the idea of finding out why I feel this way around him is making that impulsive part of my brain itch.

He’s right here and I…I could find out, couldn’t I?

As they often do, my thoughts get carried away like a runaway train.

Maybe that’s why I don’t notice right away when Alek pauses and there’s a long stretch of silence.

“Is that…for me?” Alek murmurs, his voice raspy now.

I peer up, his ravenous expression making my stomach swoop as I follow his line of vision straight down to my hard cock, the bulge pressing against the crotch of my skinny jeans.

Just knowing Alek’s gaze is locked onto it has a drop of precum sliding from the tip, and I resist the urge to buck my hips forward .

I open my mouth to speak—to say what, I don’t know—but I miss my chance.

Alek clears his throat, stepping back and taking all that mouth-watering heat with him. “I think that’s enough for today. Take the rest of the day off, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

His voice is strained, and when I turn to face him, he whirls around so his back is to me. His right hand moves along the vicinity of his crotch, and even though I can’t be sure, I think he’s adjusting himself.

Is he…hard? Because of me?

Why does that send a flutter of excitement through me?

“Alek?” For a brief second, I wonder what he would do if I reached out and ran my hands along the tense muscles of his back and up the front of his hard chest. Maybe if I’m brave enough to explore this newfound attraction, my hands could wander even lower. I clear my throat. “What if—”

“Please, Luke. Do not finish that thought,” Alek cuts in, his voice firm but ragged.

My tongue swipes along my bottom lip. “Why not?”

“I’m not a good man.” He says it like a warning, and it makes my heart thrash.

“I will not make myself resist you just because it’s the right thing to do.

I don’t care about rules or what society thinks is right and wrong.

I live by my own standards, and I promise turning you down isn’t one of them. ”

I suck in a breath, the whoosh loud in the quiet room. Alek’s breaths are coming faster now, his shoulders tense like he’s barely restraining himself.

“It’s one thing to flirt with me, but you better think long and hard about what you do and say next. Shit, we barely know each other. I don’t think you’re ready for the things I want to do to you,” Alek grits out .

“What—what things?” I ask tentatively, my voice a breathless whisper.

“Depraved things no forty-three-year-old man should want to do to his son’s best friend.”

There’s a quiet knock on the office door, followed by Maria’s cheery, sing-song voice. It breaks the spell, effectively dousing the fire in my veins with cold water. Alek groans, still refusing to look at me as I jump up.

What was I thinking, coming onto my boss? If I hook up with him and it goes south, I could be out of a job. And then how will I pay for Evelyn’s rehab? I’ll be the world’s biggest disappointment of a son, and then Jax will find out and…

The walls start closing in around me as I stride towards the door and throw it open. Maria stands on the other side, looking momentarily startled before her expression morphs into one of concern.

“Luke?”

I brush past her, rushing down the hall and out of the building without another word. Blood whooshes in my ears as I jerk my car door open, my limbs shaky as I climb in. My forehead thumps against the steering wheel and I groan.

Sitting there for a long while, I remain rooted in place until my rigid posture relaxes and I pull my head up and glance toward the building.

Alek is still in there, more than likely shaking his head.

He probably thinks I’m a vapid, airheaded fool who doesn’t know what he wants.

Or even worse, he thinks I’m toying with him.

But then I remember the way his gaze zeroed in on me earlier today when I had a pencil perched between my teeth.

If I’m honest with myself, it’s not the first time I’ve been attracted to another man.

But this time is different. The chemistry between us is like a crackling flame.

One drop of gasoline and it’ll whoosh out of control .

Someone is bound to get burned, and I don’t want it to be me.

But I already know Alek Cromwell is a temptation I’m not prepared to resist. Fresh arousal lights me up from the inside out as I remember his parting words.

“Because you’re not ready for the things I want to do to you.”

But that’s not completely true, is it? My body is one hundred percent on board; it’s my brain that’s still struggling to accept what this could mean for me. Still, after a mere three days of working for Alek, part of me wants to throw caution to the wind and see what happens.

On a scale of one to ten, how pissed would Caleb be if I fucked his dad?