Page 43 of Mark my Words

“Each other?” I filled in when she paused for too long.

Kristine nodded, chewing on her bottom lip again.

“I don’t want to stop, but I’m not the only one making the decisions here.”

“Maybe we need a little distance?” she suggested, looking slightly upset, but that wasn’t what I wanted.

“Maybe we both need to say fuck it and see where this goes instead?” Pushing myself up to a seated position next to her, I tucked Kristine under my shoulder, pulling her as close as her posture would allow.

“I don’t want you to resent me if I get this job, Sam.”

“Let me worry about that, Kristine. But I understand if you don’t want to label this.”

“You might get chosen for the New York position,” she teased, tucking her head beneath my chin and curling against my chest. “And then Gregory will set you up with Preston.”

“Preston doesn’t have these,” I laughed as I reached over and cupped one of her breasts, lightly pinching the nipple.

“But I bet my balls are still bigger than his,” she chuckled as she crawled into my lap and framed my face with her hands.

“Oh, I’m sure they are.” Smiling as she leaned forward and kissed me, I looped my arms around her back. “They might even be bigger than mine.”

“Can we keep this between us a little longer?”

“Your giant balls?”

She smacked me in the chest. “I’m trying to be serious here.”

“If that’s what you need,” I offered, gently urging her back against the mattress and settling between her legs.

“It is...” she whispered, moaning when I ground my hips into her.

Keeping things platonic at work was more manageable since we didn’t have to work directly with each other in the following weeks, but Kristine spent at least three nights a week in bed with me.

Adrian and Isobel had filtered us more information about the interview process, but it became an unspoken rule not to discuss it. There were eight candidates for three positions within the two branches, and I had a feeling that Kristine and I were among the top three. Adrian seemed sure the fantasy position was mine for the taking, but he didn’t know Kristine wasn’t interested in the romance position. Isobel was mad at her for letting family drama get in the way of her career, but Kristine’s feelings were valid.

There were still times when we were together that I felt her putting up barriers, but she always seemed to drop them after sex. Something about the endorphin release freed up her typically stubborn tongue.

My mother had been calling more, still trying to guilt me into coming home, but I’d been able to redirect her so far. My middle sister’s accidental pregnancy was an easy way to deflect her attention from me. A few times, she’d been sent to voicemail when Kristine was over, and I had a feeling she suspected there was a woman. My sisters had all tried to sneak my dating life into texts in the last week or so, which meant she was trying to use them to get information from me.

“Hey,” Kristine whispered as she stood at the coffee pot in the empty break room, filling her travel mug.

“Morning,” I smiled. It had been a great morning. Kristine had woken me up an hour before either of us needed to get ready for work with her head between my legs, which led to us having to shower together to conserve water because I’d insisted on returning the favor, twice. As a result, we were both a few minutes late to work, and her hair had been wet when she shoved it up into a bun this morning before we shared a ride into the office.

“Did they schedule your interview yet?”

I nodded, anxious now that Human Resources was starting the ball rolling. “Wednesday morning.”

“Me too.”

“Nice.”

Shit. It was getting awkward. Change the subject, Sam.

“Have you seen any more pages from Chase’s manuscript?” I knew it was random, but Adrian was freaking out that Evan was super secretive about his current project. He usually pitched a new project within weeks of his last release date, but he wasn’t showing Adrian any pages this time.

“No.” Kristine rolled her eyes. “She’s been completely flakey lately. She told Isobel she was working on something different but won’t give any details. She’s pushing for an extension on her new series. It’s bizarre. She hasn’t missed a deadline since I’ve worked here.”

“Do you think...?” I trailed off, my brain trying to make strange connections where there probably shouldn’t be one.

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