Page 9 of Obsessive Cravings

“I’ll walk you home,” Matt said, grabbing his coat as I wrapped my scarf around my neck.

“That’s okay, I can manage.”

“She who didn’t even know the company head when he walked by thinks she can find her way home,” he teased.

“You didn’t know Mr. Tides?” Beth said, leaning in as she said his name. “The god of Bridgeville.”

“God of Bridgeville?” I asked.

“The man is a walking god. He’s gorgeous,” she said, a blush filling her cheeks.

“Aren’t you married with a kid?” said Rick, another colleague.

“That doesn’t mean I’m blind,” she replied, sticking her tongue out at him. “I can look, I just can’t touch.”

Laughing, I answered her question, saying, “No, I didn’t know who he was.”

“She does now,” Matt said.

Yes, I did, and now the man was back on my mind again. “If you insist on walking me home, let’s get moving and no more talk about Greyson Tides.”

“Thank you!” he said. “That’s all any woman seems to talk about around here.”

Beth rolled her eyes, and we said goodbye before Matt led me out. His company was pleasant, and we chatted the entire way to my apartment.

“You know,” Matt said as we arrived in front of my building. “The company frowns on dating between colleagues, but if you ever want to, I’d be up for taking you out. Show you the city at night, maybe have dinner at a restaurant that doesn’t offer your usual fries and diet soda.”

“Are you asking me out after you just told me there’s no dating allowed?” I sensed the color creep into my cheeks.

He shrugged. “I’m a bit of a rule breaker.”

“I’ll think about taking you up on the offer. But…I’m not sure that will be anytime soon. I just got out of a…relationship and I’m not ready.” Just saying the words brought the emotions forward. It had been nine months, but the hurt and betrayal still seemed raw.

He raised his hands. “No pressure. Just putting it out there. Hopefully, this won’t make it weird tomorrow.”

“It won’t,” I said, giving him a smile before heading in.

I couldn’t believe he’d asked me out. Matt was a nice guy, and it probably would have been something good for me. Nice guys were never the ones I ended up with, however, and given my current circumstances, I didn’t want to entangle anyone in my life, especially anyone who could get hurt. Or anyone who wasn’t Greyson Tides.

And he was back on my mind again. “Dammit,” I muttered.

Throwing my coat on the chair, I got ready for bed, changing into my jammies—the standard tank top and undies I always wore. Climbing into bed, I stared at the ceiling, my mind still on Greyson Tides. He was in my brain, and I couldn’t get him out. There was something sexy about his eyes, about the way he carried himself. Power oozed from him. Sex oozed from him. Even his voice that day had made its way into my body and found a place to stay.

I hadn’t had sex in ages, swearing off men after the last fiasco. I’d been too fearful of getting hurt again. Not that there had been any way to even meet a man other than Mason’s men. He had locked me down, his men guarding me to and from work, watching my every move until the night I’d run away. He’d even moved me into his guesthouse for those months, my furniture put in storage after he forced me to give up my apartment. I’d found that storage unit and hired movers to move it all to Bridgeville. It had taken plenty of sneaking around to do, but I’d succeeded.

Sighing, I brushed my hand over my breast, wishing I’d invited Matt up to satisfy the need that seeing Greyson Tides had infected me with. Although I wasn’t certain anyone could satisfy it. My stomach clenched as I thought of Greyson’s dark eyes and those large hands touching my body. Imagined that seductive voice whispering in my ear as he threaded his hand through my hair. He looked like he would be the perfect balance of commanding power, enough to pull my hair in just the right way to drench me.

The thought set me on fire, and I cupped my breast, rubbing my nipple between my fingers while imagining it was his fingers. My stomach trembled, warmth growing between my legs. I kicked the blankets from my body, my other hand sliding below my underwear. Closing my eyes, I pictured his hands roaming my body, and I bit my lip, a soft moan slipping through my teeth. My fingers hit my arousal, spreading it over my clit. I clenched my legs, drawing my knee up and sinking my finger in, wishing it was him filling me instead. I imagined his touch, firm and forceful, those blue eyes breaking me as his hand held my neck, constricting my breath. The thought had me arching my back, and I tipped my head, rubbing my clit as my climax built. I pinched my nipple, tugging it as I drove my finger further. Pulling it back out to my clit, I rubbed along it, growing wetter the closer I grew to release. Plunging two fingers in, I cried out, my orgasm ripping through me. My legs crossed as the waves rippled and I envisioned Greyson Tides climaxing with me, his hands squeezing my hips tight as he growled my name.

When the force of my release waned, I relaxed, bringing my hand back up. Closing my eyes, I wondered why a man I’d seen twice had this effect on me and if I could refrain from blushing at my dirty thoughts the next time I encountered him.

Chapter Seven

GREYSON

Riley’s weekend had given me more insight into her, yet still not enough to get close to her. I spent Saturday night in the apartment next door, watching as she weeded through her clothes, enjoying the show when she started trying on the new clothes she’d bought. Sexy skirts with slits that showed her luscious thighs, a dress that left no doubt her curves were ones I wanted, and blouses that dipped to the swell of her breasts. Watching her had me enthralled and I couldn’t will myself to leave until she’d ended the night by laying a handful of long silk scarves over the edge of her headboard. My mind had gone immediately to how she’d look with them tied around her wrists as I fucked her, and it was then that I knew I’d lost it. My reason for spying on her, for needing to be close to her and own her, had turned from revenge to a craving I couldn’t stop.

I left after she fell asleep, sneaking from the building and vowing to stop this madness before she derailed my plans.

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