Page 38 of Salvatore

Chapter Eleven

Aedry

“You told him what?” Autumn squeaks into the phone.

I finish munching on my salad and take a sip of water before answering. “That I didn’t want him touching me.”

“But that’s a lie, right? I mean this guy gave you your first and second orgasm for heaven’s sake—Oh, hey, Dr. Marvin, how are you?”

I pause in the middle of placing my water bottle back on my desk. I don’t have to be with Autumn to know she’s blushing.

“Oh, shit,” she whispers, when she finishes her small-talk with Dr. Marvin.

“Who’s Dr. Marvin?” I ask.

“Oh, no one, just the Chief of Staff for the organization.”

“Autumn!”

She groans. “I know. Do you think she heard me?”

“Yes. You totally screamed my orgasms into the phone,” I laugh through my teeth.

Although I’m embarrassed for me and for her, we both start laughing. Ordinarily, I don’t make personal calls at work, but I’ve been dying to speak to Autumn since my talk with Salvatore last week. With her schedule, it would have been easier to meet with the president. But this is technically my lunch break and I finally got a hold of her.

“You’re not going to go out with him, again?”

“It’s not a good idea,” I say for the millionth time.

“Even though you like him.”

I start to argue, but I won’t pretend with Autumn. “He’s too alpha.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” she asks. “I don’t know, it sounds kind of hot.”

“Autumn . . .”

“In fact, he is hot. Aedry, this isn’t some idiot with a Napoleon complex trying to act like a bigger man than he is. Yeah, yeah, he might have a little bit of an attitude and sort of an over-inflated ego.”

“Little? Sort of?” I fork a piece of cucumber. “He’s all attitude and all ego.”

“But he also has the goods to back it up.” She sighs. “Princes Leia on Alderaan, did you see his ass?”

I did. I stared at it every chance I had . . . even as I watched him walk out the door. My heart sank when he shut it behind him and didn’t look back. To his credit, he didn’t slam it.

Yesterday was the first time I walked the boys out, and the first time I saw him since Friday. We fell back into that same routine consisting of him rolling down his window and nodding my way and me waving like his mouth hadn’t sucked on my nipples and his fingers hadn’t slipped beneath my panties. I lean my forehead against my hand as my typically neglected body parts begin to throb to the beat of Cardi B’s latest rap song. This man doesn’t make me quiver. No, not at all.

“He’s too controlling,” I say, attempting to resume my conversation.

“Did you ever ask yourself why?”

“Hmm?” I’m only half-listening, my feminine areas aching as I recall what he did, how he did it, and what he said. He used words like “tight” and “wet.” Comments so graphic and straight to the point and so, so, arousing. My last boyfriend had used words like “nips.” It’s safe to assume it didn’t generate the same response.

“Aedry,” Autumn says. Her voice remains patient. She knows my crash and burn with Sal devastated me.

“Yes?”

“I asked you if you realize why he is how he is? A man who always has to be in control is that way for a reason. My guess is he’s not only witnessed severe abuse, but suffered it as well.”

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