Page 90 of Crave Me

“Dallas, what are you doing?”

I look around the room, slightly confused.

“Uh? Getting comfortable. Figured this was going to take a bit. Anyone ever tell you you can be a bit long-winded?”

“I mean with fucking Blaire, you idiot! How could you do this? I thought you hated her!”

“Oh, I definitely did. Some days I still do.” And wasn’t that the truth. That woman drives me batshit crazy on her good days. But I know in my heart I’m a goner for her. There won’t be anyone else after her.

“I don’t want to get into this with you, Sawyer. She didn’t want anyone to know. So you all are going to keep your mouths shut until I figure out what’s between us.” I hope to fuck she wants the same thing I do. I’d move her ass into my house tonight if she’d let me, marry her in the morning and fuck her senseless that evening. But she’s about as flighty as a stray fucking cat. I have to tread at her pace. I have to slowly infect her the way she has me, if I haven’t already.

“I don’t think you understand how fucked-up this is. You’re her goddamn boss, Dallas! She could sue us. You were fucking on the grounds! Do I even want to ask how long this has been going on?”

“Since the wedding,” I deadpan.

His eyes shoot up at me, widening before squinting into slits.

“Myfucking wedding? That was almost two months ago!”

“Have we been to any other weddings?” I ask, truly puzzled. His brain has gone to straight mush. I’ve heard of pregnant women getting “pregnancy brain” but do the fathers get it? His face morphs from irritation to anger, his cheeks reddening and his hands curling into fists around the expensive office chair he loves so much.

“Hey, hey, watch the chair! You don’t want to leave marks on her!” I chastise.

“Fuck the chair! Why aren’t you taking this seriously, Dallas?” he says as he closes his eyes and tries to keep himself calm. I applaud his effort. “She’s our employee. You’re fucking a subordinate.”

“Hey, now that’s not true. We workwitheach other, CEO. You said so yourself, remember? Blaire and I work with each other, not her for me. Remember? That’s what you said.” My patronizing hits his limit, because the next thing I know, he’s launched himself from his seat as his body tackles mine, flipping my chair backward.

“You’re so fucking irresponsible! We haven’t even been running the company a year!”

I grapple with him, trying to dislodge myself from his arm wrapped around my neck. I toss my leg around his torso, flipping us to the side and spinning out of his hold.

“Is that what you’re worried about? How this is going to makeyoulook?”

He gets a shot into my ribs and I can’t hold back the wince. I try to get his hands locked down to hold him in place, but he’s wanting a fight. He bucks me off, flipping us again. I put up my arms, trying to block the blow to the face that I know is coming. He gets one in, his fist connecting with the same cheek that’s still got a light bruise from Reid’s stinger, the hard punch knocking my head to the side.

“Fuck!” I yell, keeping my forearms up to block the onslaught.

“For fuck’s sake, get them off each other,” Liam’s voice breaks through the current ringing in my ears.

“Why the hell are you two always talking with your fists? Can’t we ever just have a normal fucking meeting?” Carter this time, annoyed as usual, and taking a seat in one of the chairs.

Liam pulls Sawyer off me and looks me over.

I stand, righting my clothes and pulling a water from Sawyer’s mini fridge before putting the chair back in place and having a seat, catching my breath. I hold the cold water bottle up to my cheek.

“Sawyer, what the fuck man?” Liam asks.

“You saw everything I did!”

“So, you want to beat his ass for having what looked like consensual sex?”

“At the distillery!” Sawyer yells.

“Psh. Like you haven’t fucked Ivy ten ways from Sunday in this place,” I quip, never having quite learned how to keep my mouth shut when I need to.

Sawyer stands then and moves to come at me again. Liam gets between us, holding his hands extended outward to each of us like he’s holding back feral animals.

“Don’t you fucking talk about her like that. Next time you do, I’ll break your fucking jaw. You got me?” Sawyer hisses in my direction.