Page 15 of Primal

Poppy’s eyes flared with desire, and her tongue darted out between her lips. My eyes tracked the movement, and I suddenly felt like I was losing control of this situation. As if to prove this, she suddenly pushed her ass back into me. For a moment, I couldn’t move, could barely breath. Hunger for her paralyzed me, and I thought I’d never ever wanted to fuck a woman so badly.

But patience was a virtue, and I already had a well thought-out plan.

With all the determination I could muster, I forced myself to step back. The room fell into a tense silence as I began cooking the steaks. Poppy took care of the potatoes and I showed her how to prepare the asparagus for grilling. Merely cutting off the ends of the stalks was all it took. But this time, I made sure not to stand behind her, afraid being so close might tempt me again. I wasn't confident I could resist her a second time.

“You know, we didn’t talk about anything other than your relationship last night,” I said, breaking the tense silence. “Tell me about what else is going on in your life. How’s the job going?”

Poppy had enrolled in college, majoring in anthropology. She found it to be a fascinating subject, but I feared it wouldn't lead to any job prospects after graduation. Janie scolded me for being too involved, reminding me I tended to worry excessively.

It turned out I was right. During the first year after she graduated, Poppy worked a few dead-end jobs because she couldn’t find anything she wanted to do that was compatible with her degree.

Then, a year ago, she got hired to be a fashion designer’s assistant. I figured it would just be another dead end, but she’d been there a year now, so maybe I was wrong.

“It’s…challenging,” she said, keeping her eyes on the cutting board.

“Challenging in a good way? Or a bad way?”

She paused, her eyes meeting mine. Such a pretty green color she didn’t get from either of her parents.

“I guess is depends on the day. I’m not going to lie, my boss is a demanding asshole, but he’s a fashion genius. There are days where he makes me do things like pick all of the red Skittles out of a bag for him because it’s the only color he likes. I have to buy his boyfriend’s birthday and anniversary gifts, even though I barely know the guy. He has even had me wake up at four in the morning to go the fish market because he had a craving for fresh salmon for lunch. Stuff like that drives me crazy.”

“But…”

She smiled. “Buthe has me help choose models for his fashion shows and sometimes asks my opinions on a design he’s working on. I help to execute his vision when he needs an extra set of hands at a sewing machine. And I’ve met so many people in the industry by working for him. I’m hoping it will help me in the long run.”

“What do you mean?”

Her eyes lit up with excitement. “I really want to start my own fashion line someday. I’ve been working on sketches and I really think this job is going to open doors for me.”

Joey walked into the kitchen while she was talking, heading straight to the refrigerator for a beer. As she finished describing her dream to me, he let out an annoying snort of laughter.

“Yeah, right,” he said as he popped the tab on his can of Bud Light. “Do you know how far-fetched that is? You know how difficult it is to make it in the fashion world.”

“You don’t think I can do it?” Poppy asked, hurt in her voice. Her shoulders slumped.

Joey shrugged. “You are good at fetching coffee or whatever for that guy you work for. Stick to that. You already know it pays the bills.”

I watched as Poppy deflated from his heartless words, my hands clenched into tight fists at my sides. Fuck this guy. He didn’t deserve her and any reservation I had about my plan for tonight went right out the window in that moment.

“Why don’t you go tell your dad dinner is almost done?” I suggested to Poppy, glancing into the living room and seeing he was no longer there. “I’m sure he went upstairs.”

She hesitated for a second, and I wondered if Axel had done something to upset her too, but she nodded and headed out of the kitchen. I turned to Joey, wanting to kindly suggest he get the hell out of here, flash flooding or not.

Instead, I pointed to the drawer holding the silverware. “Why don’t you get out forks and steak knives for everyone?”

My commanding tone left no room for questioning. Joey's expression turned irritated, but he begrudgingly followed my instructions. While his back was turned as he retrieved silverware, I swiftly pulled out the sedative from my pocket. It was a colorless liquid with a dropper I knew would take effect quickly and with minimal taste.

Four drops into his beer ought to do the trick.

By the time he turned back around, I was already using a potato masher, my focus seemingly on the task of finishing dinner.

The asparagus took no time to grill, and I had just set all of the plates on the island when Axel and Poppy appeared. For a moment, I wished the cabin had a dining room so we wouldn’t be crowded around the island, but when Poppy pulled two stools around to my side of the island, taking a seat next to me, I didn’t mind one bit. We were sitting so close I could feel her body heat and our arms brushed against each other a couple of times.

I noticed Axel sitting across from me, his expression revealing he was not pleased to be seated next to Joey. I watched as Joey took large swigs of beer in between each bite of his food.

Yes. Drink it all up you little fucker.

He’d start to feel lightheaded soon, almost drunk, and then he’d be unconscious all night. I didn’t want Poppy or Axel to notice he only had one beer, so I spent the entirety of dinner distracting them.

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