Page 56 of The Player Next Door
“Me too.” He opened his eyes just in time to watch her palm her breast and saw her body seize up, arching almost off the chair when the moment came. There was a split-second delay between what he saw and what he heard, and he just barely had time to grab his T-shirt before he was on the edge himself, listening to her moan her way to her climax.
“I’m—” she couldn’t talk anymore and honestly, neither could he.
“I know, I know,” he managed. “Me too.” He came with a groan that echoed hers, spilling into his T-shirt and collapsing into the chair behind him.
Clare’s limbs went limp across the way, and his remaining shred of self-preservation and willpower was all that kept him from begging to come over and lick her clean, and then carry her to her bedroom and fuck her properly.
Logan caught his breath first. “Am I forgiven?” he asked, tucking his softening cock away. His hand rested on his bare chest, his lungs feeling like he’d just played the hardest game of his life.
Her laugh came out more like a sigh. “For everything. Consider this a blanket pardon for all past and future crimes committed.”
A slow tendril of guilt unfurled in his stomach, but before it could grow, he quashed it. “Sleep tight, Clare,” he said, leaning forward to place his palm on the window.
Clare did the same, and he could hear the smile in her voice better than he could see it. “You too, Logan. You too.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
Clare closed the window of the prototype sent to her by Design, digging the heels of her palms into her eye sockets. She hadn’t been sleeping well, unable to get Logan out of her mind.
Well, Logan and the fact that she had agreed to masturbate in front of a window while he talked her through it. She wasn’t losing sleep because of the exhibitionism, although that was not within her usual comfort zone, but rather because of how itfelt.
It felt good. Too good, maybe? The first time they had sex it hadn’t been anything spectacular, but now he’d gone and given her one of the best orgasms of her life with his voice alone. She had known for a while that things were not what she anticipated with Logan, but just how different things were was really setting in.
She hadn’t considered the possibility she would fall for him, much less that he’d appear to return her feelings. Clare probably should have admitted the truth to Logan earlier, but now it felt like the time for that had passed. Logan wasn’t necessarily sensitive about his reputation, but he did have a vulnerability about him. And there just really wasn’t a good way to frame what she’d done, so the kindest option was for her to just learn to live with the guilt.
Craig emerged from his office and caught her eye. Clare worked in the bullpen part of the office, which had some perks (there was always someone to roll her eyes at when someone gave incredibly detailed descriptions of their corns to their podiatrist) and an awful lot of negatives (she had to listen to incredibly detailed descriptions of her coworker’s corns, and also, she couldn’t avoid her boss when she didn’t feel like talking to him).
“How are things?” he asked, perching on the edge of her desk. He at least seemed less annoyed with her than he had been, so maybe he was over the zombie thing.
“Can’t complain; you?”
Craig shrugged. “One of my old Peace Corps buddies was visiting this weekend, so we were up late shooting the shit, swapping war stories, that sort of thing. Did I ever tell you about the time our truck got a flat tire and we had to walk all night to get back to our post carrying an entire truckload of medical supplies?”
He had. Several times. It was one of his favorite stories, although Clare couldn’t help but notice that the amount of medical supplies had slowly increased from two backpacks’ worth to an entire truckload. Not to mention that the first time she heard it, she could have sworn he was just carrying his own groceries.
Okay, so he exaggerates. So do most people, writers and creatives especially.“You’ve mentioned it,” she said cheerfully. “I’m sure it was fun.”
“The ten-mile walk, or the drinks with my friend, you mean?” he said with a wink, and she chuckled on cue. “Anyway, how goes the pitch?” he asked.
“It’s good,” she said, leaning back from her desk. “I got a mockup from Design of Captain Ellis Ravencroft, if you want to see? I’ve also been sketching out an outline for various ports she could take groups to, the sort of situations they could encounter, that kind of thing, if you want me to send it over.”
He waved his hand. “I’ll see it when it’s done. I was just stopping by to see how life is going for you.”
“It’s good. Really good,” she said, relieved that maybe things were getting back to normal with him. They could forget entirely about his little assignment and move on.
Craig grinned. “Oh, is it? Good for you,” he said, and she shifted uncomfortably at his tone. “You deserve to live a little,” he said, nudging her shoulder. “I know old habits die hard and all that, but trust me on this one, kid. Experiences like this—they’ll make you a better writer in the end.”
Clare smiled back weakly.He’s just looking out for me, she reminded herself. And if it weren’t for Craig’s push, maybe she wouldn’t have taken the chance on Logan at all. Craig looked around, noting that most of the rest of the team had headed out to lunch already. Clare was, as usual, the only one still at her desk. She normally had something to eat there while catching up on some fan fiction updates, and didn’t really mind being left out of the rest of it. Much.
“Still planning to put your name in for Noah’s Senior Game Designer position?” Craig asked. “We’ve started talking about names.”
He seemed a lot friendlier than when he last mentioned it, so that was encouraging. “Did Noah get the Narrative Lead job?” Clare asked. If he had, she thought he would have bragged to the whole team about it right away.
“Not yet, but he’s a shoo-in.”
“Do you think I would have a good shot at it?” she asked.
“Noah’s job?” Craig looked thoughtful. “Maybe. We’ll need to see proof, though. That you’re up for it, that you’ve got what it takes.”