Page 16

SIXTEEN

THE WALLS ARE THIN

Natalie

I was so late. I was so late I didn’t even have an extra second to be angry at myself for being late.

I hopped on the elevator a second after the doors opened, jabbed the button for floor twelve, and quickly hit the “ door close” button several times. Mercifully, the doors heeded my panicked request and began to close. Only a man stuck his hand in the small sliver of space between them and got on, followed by three other people.

We ended up stopping on floors three, five, six, and ten before I finally got up to our office.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuuuck ,” I sang while running to my office at the end of the long hall. Sitting in one of the chairs in front of my desk was my boss and owner of the firm, Beckett Crawford. He was my age and had taken over the firm from his father only a few years earlier. We’d worked closely ever since, and I knew he wouldn’t be angry at my tardiness. But I still really hated being late.

That’s what I got for staying up all night riding Theo’s dick.

“I’m sorry,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “There was traffic, and—” I stopped the lies and excuses when I saw the small smile on his face. “What? Why are you smiling?” I asked, knowing I’d missed something.

“Well, I was laughing at your Halloween decorations,” he said, stealing a piece of candy from the bowl on the corner of my desk and motioning to the garland of ghosts hanging around the perimeter. “But now I’m laughing at you running in here.”

I tossed my bags underneath my desk and jiggled my mouse to wake up my computer.

“Yeah, because we had an interview that was supposed to start five minutes ago. Wait, shouldn’t you be in there? Are you waiting for me?”

Quickly, I found the young law student’s resume and my notebook before frantically retrieving a pen and hoping I didn’t look half as frazzled as I felt.

“He sent an email early this morning asking to reschedule. I forwarded it to Pearl”—our receptionist— “and asked her to find time next week. He copied you, but I guess you didn’t see it?”

I stopped, dropped my notebook and pen on the desk, and looked around. Then I patted my pockets and bent down to dig through my bags.

“Ugh!” I groaned and turned my purse upside down, unceremoniously spilling the contents on my desk. I sifted through every single one of my belongings while Beckett looked on in curious surprise. “I must have left my phone at home or maybe in my car? I actually don’t remember having it with me this morning, though,” I said absent-mindedly.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this out of sorts,” Beckett said, and I gave him an unimpressed look. “Could this have anything to do with?—”

“No,” I said quickly, which prompted his amused smile to widen. I already knew what he was going to say. Rumors had been floating around that I was dating someone. Apparently, I was less stressed and cheerier, which could have only meant that I was getting laid regularly. At least that’s what the entire office surmised.

And whether they were correct or not—because they absolutely were, about the getting laid, not the dating part—I wasn’t going to feed into those rumors.

“Hmm…okay, if you say so,” he added as the phone on my desk rang with Pearl’s name.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Umm…I have a…” she began slowly.

“A what?”

“A guest for you,” she finished, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “And I’m walking him back now.”

“Wait, what? I don’t have—” I began, but she hung up before I could finish my sentence and tell her that I didn’t have any other meetings scheduled for that morning and whoever it was should absolutely not be there.

“Are you sure our interview rescheduled? Pearl just said I have a guest that she’s bringing back here.”

Beckett nodded and began to say something, but I didn’t hear him as Pearl appeared at the end of the hallway, followed by a straight-faced Theo. Our young receptionist was turned around, talking his ear off while she walked him toward my office. She stumbled over her feet and waved her hands around animatedly, but Theo wasn’t paying attention to whatever she was saying. All of his attention was laser-focused on me.

He wore his usual uniform—dark jeans, black boots, and a black T-shirt—except he’d also thrown on a leather jacket to protect him from the cooler late-October temperatures. There was a faint smile tugging at his lips, and it was like he was walking in slow motion as I tried to figure out what the hell he was doing there.

Him showing up didn’t bode well for the rumors that were stirring. However, everyone knew Ryder’s friend was staying with me, so maybe I was thinking too much into it.

And before I could fully wrap my head around it at all, there they were.

“Theo, what—” I began when he and Pearl stopped in my doorway. I continued to stutter out half-words until Beckett stood from his chair and turned, immediately offering his hand to Theo.

“I’m Beckett Crawford,” he said, and Theo took his hand. “You must be Ryder’s friend?”

Theo nodded and gave him a small smile before turning back to me.

Pearl suddenly put two-and-two together. “Oh, so this isn’t your guy?—”

“Pearl,” I snapped, maybe a little too harshly, but she was mostly unfazed.

“What? If he’s not, then maybe I can?—”

I threw my hands in the air and walked toward the three of them gathered by my door. “That’s enough. There are too many people in here. Pearl, I can hear the phone ringing, and Beckett, I’ll see you for our ten o’clock.”

Beckett’s eyes bounced between Theo and me before they stopped on me, and he raised his eyebrows in silent question. I gave my head one subtle shake, and he pursed his lips in understanding.

“Nice to meet you, Theo,” Beckett offered before stepping out the door.

I had to physically push Pearl to get her to leave my office, ignoring her pleas to chat with us for just a few minutes. Like the amazing boss I was, I closed the door, cutting off her arguments, and leaned back against it. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath.

“Your guy?” was Theo’s first question, and my eyes snapped to him.

“Don’t listen to her.”

He shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and narrowed his curious milk chocolate eyes as I stepped around my desk and fell into my chair.

“What are you doing here?”

“Answer my question, and I’ll answer yours,” he countered, and I let my head fall into my hands. The last thing I wanted to do was to explain the rumor, which wasn’t actually a rumor, to Theo.

So funny story. You fuck me so well that everyone here has noticed a change in my overall demeanor. Apparently, I was miserable without daily dick and orgasms.

“There’s a rumor going around that the reason I’ve been less stressed and more upbeat recently is because I’ve been getting laid regularly,” I said plainly.

He tilted his head to the side, his amused smirk turning into a huge grin before he tossed his head back. His laughter bounced off the walls of my office, and even with the door closed, it was likely heard down the hallway. The walls were thin and sound carried.

“I’m so happy I could help.” he chuckled as he slid my phone across my desk. I immediately perked up. “I spotted this when I came downstairs and figured you would need it.”

“Thank you. But you didn’t have to come all the way down here. I could’ve lived one day without it.”

“Of course you could have. But it gave me another excuse to see you.”

My cheeks heated, and I looked past him to the door, which was firmly closed. The blinds were already drawn as well, meaning we had a little privacy. As much privacy as we could have in an office full of nosy people and paper-thin walls.

Awareness prickled over my skin, and the room suddenly became smaller. As it had for the last month every time he was around.

And he was around a lot.

Since that night we’d fucked on the couch, we hadn’t stopped. Most of our free time at home was spent together. We’d had sex on every available surface and in every possible position. We’d done things I hadn’t even contemplated before I met him.

On the off chance I got home before he had to be at work, we’d make the most of our time wherever we landed. And more often than not, I’d wake up to him crawling in my bed early the next morning after he got back.

No wonder everyone at work had noticed the change. Our attraction was more than magnetic. It was utterly irresistible, and I wanted more.

We were genuinely addicted to the touch, the taste, and the feel of each other. But after we fucked, we talked. Which was bizarre. He was still a man of few words, usually quiet and observant, but when it was just the two of us, he spoke freely. Sometimes about nothing at all, but occasionally the topics would veer into deeper territory. Those deeper talks often happened after we’d fucked each other’s brains out when we were both our most vulnerable.

But he never stayed. Or I never stayed when we found ourselves in his bed. At first, I hadn’t understood how or why we both subconsciously agreed that we wouldn’t sleep in the same bed. Then I’d almost asked him to stay one night, the words dangerously close to slipping off my tongue. And I realized it was the last little piece.

We’d so easily fallen into a routine—fucking, talking, cooking, watching our favorite movies.

Our separate nights were all that was left. We’d obliterated every other wall between us. We’d learned more about each other in a month and a half than I thought possible. We were experts on each other’s pleasure, and we spent more time together than we did with anyone else.

And if we slept together too, that would indefinitely blur the lines. Waking up in each other’s arms felt more intimate than anything else we’d done.

And that was terrifying. Especially since we hadn’t discussed what we were doing. We were simply living in the few moments we’d been given. Thinking about what happened after, including the repercussions or the fallout, wasn’t included.

And I wasn’t going to be the one to bring it up. I was enjoying it way too fucking much.

“Was that your boss?” Theo asked, motioning to the closed door behind him and drawing me from my thoughts.

“Why, you jealous?” I asked without thinking, but Theo didn’t react to my provocation. Deciding to push him a little further, I stood from my chair and rounded my desk slowly until I was directly in front of him, only a few inches between us. “You don’t have any reason to be,” I added.

He was quiet for a beat then chuckled darkly. The little hairs on my arms and at my nape stood on end at the sound. Excitement buzzed through me, and I momentarily forgot where we were. My colleagues and coworkers just beyond the door were a faint memory when Theo took up every available inch of my mind.

“No, baby, I’m not jealous,” he said, stepping closer until there was no room left between us. “I know no one can compare to what I do to you. The way you beg for my cock, there’s no faking that.”

Knowing exactly what would happen if I continued egging him on, I decided to do it anyway.

“I don’t think I can remember the last time you made me beg.” I tapped my chin, looking up and to the right, like I was trying really hard to think on it.

He snickered, and before I could react, he wrapped his hands around the backs of my thighs and hoisted me up onto the edge of my desk. His large frame towered over me as he planted his hands on either side of my hips.

“What are you?—”

“Such a fucking tease,” he said, dipping his head and running his tongue up the length of my neck. My eyes closed, and I automatically tilted my head to the side to allow him better access.

“Being a brat when you know I can’t dole out the punishment I want. The one that you deserve.”

The warmth of his body surrounded me as he continued to lick and kiss my neck. With one of my hands braced behind me, holding up all of my weight so I didn’t tumble back onto my desk, the other clutched Theo’s jacket, the cool leather a contradiction to the heat rolling off us both.

He kissed me hard and took my lower lip between his teeth. And suddenly his hands were on my thighs, rucking my skirt up around my hips and staring down at the sheer black tights I wore underneath.

“This won’t do,” he murmured and ran a finger down my center. I jumped when I heard the telltale sound of tearing.

“What are you doing?” I gasped, but he didn’t answer. At least not with words. I looked down and watched him widen the hole he’d created in my tights and move my black panties to the side.

His thumb parted my folds and collected my arousal before he set to work against my clit. Forgetting myself, I moaned a little too loudly, but Theo’s other hand was there in an instant.

“Shut up,” he growled, his pupils blown wide with lust. “Do you want everyone to know what a little slut you are? How you fuck your son’s best friend any chance you get? Or how desperately you beg for his cock?”

I panted against his hand, and on each inhale, I took in the intoxicating smell of him. Clean and masculine and the only thing I ever wanted to smell again.

“God, look at you. Falling apart, and I’m barely even touching you,” he mused, and I bucked up against his finger.

Theo had become an expert when it came to my pleasure. He’d studied every one of my reactions to everything he did, including what I did to myself, to fully grasp what I liked and how he could own every part of me. He applied the perfect pressure, rubbing maddening little circles against my clit until my skin was on fire. Pleasure and an unabashed need for more made me beg against his palm, which muffled the sound enough that we weren’t at risk of anyone else hearing.

“What was that?” he asked, removing his hand only enough to hover over my mouth.

“ Please ,” I pleaded. “Please make me come.”

He smiled, eyes flaring, and I reached out to cup his stubble-covered cheek in my hand. But my pleas didn’t work. In one second, I was so close to release that I could taste it, and in the next, he was stepping back, removing his hands from me completely.

“What are you doing?” I asked as he licked his thumb and grinned down at me, still a panting mess on top of my desk.

“Making sure you remember the last time you begged.”

My jaw dropped, and I couldn’t believe he’d played me so easily. “You can’t be?—”

“Serious? Oh, I am. And if you’re good today, then I’ll reward you.”

I leaned forward, cringing when my wet pussy pressed against the cold surface of my desk. “You can’t leave me like this,” I argued, and he raised one eyebrow in challenge. I knew that look—I wasn’t getting what I wanted.

“What do you mean by ‘If I’m good’?” I tried again.

“Don’t touch yourself. Don’t make yourself come, and maybe I’ll let you when I get home tonight.”

I growled and shoved off the desk onto shaky legs. My thighs pressed together, and the unsatisfied need still swirling through me was impossible to ignore.

“Maybe? If you want to play this game, then I’m going to need some assurances.”

He stepped forward, closing the distance between us once again and cupping my face in his large, tattooed palm. “When have I ever really left you wanting, Natalie?”

I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest. “There’s a first time for everything.”

His only response was a chuckle, and then he kissed me softly.

“Be good,” he instructed and stepped back.

I was so frustrated, but the idea that he controlled when and how I came was even more of a turn-on. Which didn’t help the predicament I found myself in.

“You’re sadistic,” I breathed as he reached for the door handle.

He turned back and smiled. “Yes, but you’re my little masochistic slut. You love every depraved second of it.”

I was sitting at my desk, trying to work and keep my mind off Theo—what he did to me earlier and what I hoped we’d do later—when my cell phone vibrated. I looked at the screen and smiled, trying to immediately dismiss any thoughts of Theo.

“Hey!”

“Hey, Mom. You at the office still?” Ryder asked, and it was good to hear his voice. He’d been so busy that we hadn’t spoken as often as we were used to. A text here or there and maybe a quick phone call was all we could manage on the best of weeks.

“Yeah, probably will be for another hour. What are you up to?”

“I’m actually going to grab a drink with some friends, but I wanted to call and check in. I miss you.”

My heart nearly burst out of my chest at that, and I sat back in my chair.

“I miss you, too, kid. So much.”

He filled me in on the projects he was working on and all the work he still had planned for the rest of the semester. He spoke with such enthusiasm that I worried he wouldn’t want to come back.

“But there was something else I actually wanted to tell you,” he said, and I immediately stiffened, preparing for the worst. “I’m not going to be able to come back for Thanksgiving.”

“Oh,” I said, both simultaneously relieved that it wasn’t something worse and sad that I wouldn’t get to see him for the holiday. “That’s okay, I understand.”

“I really tried, but we have a deadline for a project that falls right around that time, and?—”

“Ryder, don’t worry about it. I promise I’ll be fine.”

He sighed, and I heard commotion in the background. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be right there,” he said to someone else. “Sorry, umm…well, at least you won’t be alone. I’m not sure if Theo plans on going to his boss’s place, but maybe you can go with him? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

We hadn’t discussed Thanksgiving, but my mind immediately went to the plans we’d made the following day for Halloween. All they consisted of was spending the day in bed, eating as much candy as we could, and watching scary movies.

It was sweet of Ryder to worry.

“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”

He apologized again, and we said our goodbyes before he quickly hung up the phone.

I groaned, folded my arms over my desk, and laid my head down on top of them. Lying to Ryder was making me miserable. The immensity of our secret was tearing me up inside. It would have been easier if I regretted it or felt guilty. But I didn’t. My only regret was having to lie to my son about it. And I hated that Theo was in a similar position.

But neither of us was going to stop. Neither of us wanted to stop.

The world was a cruel fucking place.