Page 24 of The Cocky Neighbor

Alfred was smirking at me when I turned to face him. I should care that I was caught openly ogling the hotel's manager, but I didn't. "Is there a problem?"

"Of course not," he said with another wide grin. "I just wanted to see if you needed anything, boss."

I watched him for a second, but he only returned my glare with an innocent smile. From what I heard from the rumor mill, Alfred was Eric's work husband. I'd seen them together on numerous occasions just joking around or acting a lot more intimate than I'd seen other coworkers do with each other.

Hugs might have been normal, but who gave their coworker a hug that lasted four minutes and twenty-seven seconds. Yep, I'd counted as the seconds ticked by and they had their hands all over each other. It did seem nothing more thanplatonic, but that didn't mean I had to like it.

That led to the question of whether Alfred had a thing for his so-called work husband, and if he wanted that relationship to extend beyond work. I heard the petite man had a boyfriend, but that didn't mean anything. People broke up all the time, and who wouldn't want someone as hot as Eric?

Alfred laughed at my expression, which only had my already tense facial muscles stiffen even more. "Relax, Eric's all yours," he said as if he was able to read what was going through my mind.

Had I lost my edge? Was I that easy to read? First Noah and now this man who'd only known me for a month at most. Whatever the case was, I wasn't going to let my guard down around him.

"I'm not sure what you mean," I said, and he snickered behind his hand.

"Eric may be blind to these things, but these eyes see everything. The tension between you two is so thick, I can slice through it with a butterknife. Whenever you two are in a room together, I swear the temperature rises a couple degrees. Honestly, I'm surprised the two of you haven't fucked yet. I thought Eric had more game than that."

I choked on my spit at his words. Hescrutinizedmy reaction, turning almost shocked.

"Or perhaps you guys already did? I can't believe he never told me! So much for the sacred vow of telling your work husband all the juicy details," he said with a huff.

"I don't think that's a real vow," I argued.

What was this conversation we were having, and how was the man so casual about finding that his coworker might have slept with his boss? He seemed more mad that Eric hadn't told him what had happened than anything.

"It should be. Thou shalt have no secrets between husbands," he said with a wave of his hands. Laughter busted out of me at that. This man sure was something.

"You know you two aren't real husbands, right? That's not an official thing or anything," I said, instantly regretting the words as soon as they left my mouth.

He zoomed in on my words, another sly smile appearing as if he'd caught me doing something bad. "Oh dear, is that jealousy I hear?"

"Jealousy? Of course not," I sputtered. Sure, I may not like how chummy the two of them seem together, but I wasn't going to admit that. It was none of my business how Eric interacted with his friends.

Alfred wasn't having my bluff and narrowed his eyes at me. "Uh-huh. Sure, keep telling yourself that, boss. Just know that you're not fooling anyone here but yourself," he said, and I grumbled refutes under my breath but couldn't actually say anything to deny his words.

"Anyway, maybe it's none of my business but I wish nothing more than my dear Eric's happiness even if it isn't with me," he said while dramatically wiping under his dry eyes. "I've known Eric for years, and as his husband—"

"Work-husband," I automatically corrected. Alfred shot me a glare for interrupting him before continuing.

"—I know the man pretty well, if I do say so myself. I've seen the way he looks at you, and it's different from how I've seen him treat his previous hookups. There's something about you that draws him in, and for whatever reason, he wants seconds after already having a taste—and henevergoes back for seconds."

I wasn't a stranger to hookup culture. I'd slept with countless men hoping to find a connection that lasted more than a night. I knew that not every person was like me and wanted something serious, but to hear that Eric had an interest in me despite the disastrous event in the hotel room and evenwantedto revisit our attraction when he was usually a one-and-done kind of man, now that had me puffing up with pride.

"You're right. It's none of your business," I said, despite the huge smile that stretched my face. "Now back to work."

His wide smile matched mine as he gave me a mock salute. "Yes, sir."

I didn't know what I was going to do with this new information just yet, but there was no way to deny what I wanted, and that was Eric in my bed again. I thought I'd be fine with just being around the man, being professional with him and nothing more, but that obviously wasn't going to cut it.

For reasons that I wasn't going to dig too deeply into right now, I wanted him. To hear from someone else that I hadn't just imagined the spark that was between us brought another shot of courage in me. I wouldn't be a Wright if I didn't chase after what I wanted, after all.

EIGHTEEN

ERIC

There was definitely innuendo in Liam's words. Neither of us said it out loud directly, but I had a hunch that we were both speaking on the same wavelength.

Screw professionalism when I knew I could have a mind-shattering orgasm from the man who wanted me just as much as my body craved him. The only thing that stopped me was the fear that it would be another mistake like last time.

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