Page 36 of The Love Hack

‘You know where to find me,’ I said.

Then I turned and walked back to my desk, slowly, allowing my hips to move in a way they never normally did, knowing that he’d be watching me all the way.

I struggled to get any work done that day. Every time I tried to focus my eyes on my screen, I saw his face. When I got up to go to the bathroom, the kitchen or the printer, I felt him watching me. Whenever I heard someone approach my desk, I prayed that it would be him – even though I knew it wasn’t, because the sound of his footsteps was already as familiar to me as the opening bars of a favourite piece of music.

He didn’t speak to me again until the evening, when it was just about time to go home. I didn’t want to go home, though – I wanted to stay and stay, until it was just us left, until it was time for what had happened the previous night to happen again.

And it did.

Just before six, I heard him behind me. Perversely, I didn’t turn around but kept tapping busily away at my keyboard, savouring the anticipation of him talking to me.

‘Lucy?’ he said at last.

I typed a couple more words, then stopped and swung my chair around.

‘Hey, Kieren.’

‘Do you have half an hour?’

‘Of course.’

‘I don’t want to keep you.’

I smiled. ‘I don’t mind being kept.’

Again, I felt that electric sizzle between us – the innocuous words meaning something completely different. I stood, and instead of following him back across the bullpen to his desk, I walked ahead, letting him look at me.

He pulled a chair over for me and we sat down, our heads close over a pile of proofs. I can’t even remember what was on them – they might as well have been blank pages. Because after a couple of minutes, I felt his hand on my thigh, under the desk where no one could see. It rested there for a moment, then moved slightly upwards, pushing my skirt higher.

I stifled a gasp and saw him smile, then bent my head determinedly down again, watching the ink from his pen marking the paper. Around me, I could hear computers shutting down, people beginning to leave, the swish of coats, voices calling out goodbyes.

At last, there was silence – apart from my breathing, faster than usual, almost ragged.

‘Looks like we’re the last ones standing,’ Kieren said.

‘We aren’t standing,’ I pointed out.

He laughed. ‘Figure of speech. But we can stand if you like.’

‘Or lie down,’ I suggested boldly.

‘Lucy.’ He shook his head. ‘Don’t say that. One, you’re torturing me. Two, I wouldn’t disrespect you like that. Not here. And three?—’

I never found out what three would have been, because I kissed him, turning my chair so my knees were outside of his, putting my hands on his shoulders and pulling him in close.

The kiss went on and on, and I didn’t want it to ever stop. His stubble was harsh against my face, but his lips were so soft they felt almost liquid. His shoulders under my hands were lean, almost bony. The skin of his neck was smooth as velvet.

My entire body felt suffused with desire, like every cell had been charged with electricity. I didn’t want the kiss to end, but at the same time I wanted more – I wanted to feel every part of our bodies touching, not just our lips. I wanted to taste more than just his tongue. I wanted to see his hands on my bare skin, not just feel them through my tights.

But you can’t carry on kissing for ever, however much you want to. It either leads on to more, or it ends.

This ended.

‘Come on, Princess,’ Kieren said at last. ‘We should get you home.’

‘Why?’ I asked, teasing him. ‘I don’t want to go home.’

He laughed. ‘You minx. Do you think I want you to? But I can’t bear this much longer, and like I said – I’m not doing anything here. You’re worth more than that.’

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