Page 33 of Of Blood and Smoke

Suddenly, I remembered the figure in the shadows at the festival me and Ashley had gone to a few weeks back. When I thought about it, Josiah reminded me of the man near the edge of the parking lot. Both men were dark and commanding, containing a sinister edge.

I’d never seen either man’s eyes, but I’d seen a shiny charcoal gaze in my midnight dream and briefly thought it was my boss.

Shaking my head, I got into the shower. It was foolish to think any of the men were one and the same, nor would my boss risk his career for a broke and burdened assistant such as myself. It was a good thing it wasn’t him. The man in my dream had lit my whole body on fire merely by running his hand down my side and then his kiss had captured my soul.

My soaped-up sponge traced the same outline as the mysterious stranger, bringing every second of the memory backto the present. Remembering other times he’d visited; my finger smoothed along my breasts and traversed my collarbone. My pulse accelerated as warmth and pressure began to build between my thighs. I lowered myself to the tub’s floor, bringing my hand to my core to rub my swollen center. I sat there until the water started to cool, unable to find any relief from the knotted ache in my pelvis.

If I fell asleep in here, would he come?

Crap.

I rushed through the rest of my bathing; I was just asking to be fired. It was ridiculous—if I needed to get off that bad, I could always call Brett rather than entertain fantasies of a shadowy ghost.

Miraculously,I made it to work on time.

A single white flower with red detailing waited for me at my desk. The crimson-colored marks appeared to be artificially stained but it was still pretty. As best as I could tell, the blossom was likely left sometime during the middle of the night, due to the wilting. I tucked it into a side drawer after taking a whiff of its strong, exotic scent. It almost smelled like sweetened blood and somehow that wasn’t as off-putting as it should've been. Clearly, I watched too many horror movies.

The realization that Josiah couldn’t have been my dream home invader should have been more reassuring than it was since I lived in fear of him. Plus, no one had eyes that looked like shiny pieces of charcoal in real life.

Instead, I felt the tiniest twinge of disappointment before I brushed it away. Why was I thinking about him in any way other than as the dickhead he was?

That left the mystery of who was constantly gifting me different items every day. Christina was convinced I was being favorited by both Micha and the boss-man himself.

It was unlikely Brett was paying someone to leave me presents; he hadn’t spoken to me in over a week, now.

Christina chose that moment to stroll over to my desk. “Are you sad over a flower? Who was it from?”

Leaning back with a sigh, I replied, “I put it away and I don’t know.”

A look of disgust crossed her face. “It should’ve been me.”

“What should’ve been you?” I looked at her in confusion and then quickly popped open my desk drawer. “You can have it. Here.” I waited for her to take the stem from my fingers.

She scowled. “Stupid cunt,” she muttered, before starting to walk away. “I don’t want your garbage.”

I turned on my computer and waited for my applications to load and then checked my email, wishing I’d brought my travel mug. Resting my elbows, I rubbed my forehead with my hands and groaned. Hopefully she’d leave me alone the rest of the day.

A file folder slapped the edge of my desk before being dropped in front of me. I knew better than to look up.

Josiah loomed before me, his smoky, spicy scent surrounding me as he leaned over my desk. “If you intend to sleep on the job perhaps you should seek employment elsewhere. Scan those files and send them to that email address,” he tapped a perfect nail against the sticky note attached to the folder.

My hands shook as I went to grasp the folder and stood up, promptly emptying the contents onto the floor. I heard Christina’s snickering as she glided past us.

“I’m sorry, I got this, just give me a moment,” I murmured and gathered the papers, my eyes watering with frustration. If hedidn’t insist on invading my personal space every time he came around, I wouldn’t have this problem.

I didn’t know how much more I could take. I’d never been in this type of work environment and despite having lived in a very rough neighborhood, I navigated the gangsters and hoodlums much better than corporate politics.

“Move,” Josiah hissed at me.

I’d never been clumsy a single day of my life until I’d started working here. Always perfectly in control.

Backing away, I made space, keeping my hands on the desk so I wouldn’t screw anything else up. Josiah neatly gathered up the mess and my gaze snagged on his rings. Some were gold, some were silver, but they were all beautiful.

Carved with gemstones and etched with symbols, they looked like they belonged to a museum. It was on the tip of my tongue to compliment him but wisely, I kept my mouth shut. Instead, I snuck a peek at the back of his head. His dark brown hair was nearly black, and the glistening shine was surprising for a male.Not fair, I thought. Why was my evil boss so alluring?

“Avert your gaze, Miss Dubois,” Josiah ground out. “Stay away from me for the rest of the day if you at all value your job.”

I stopped breathing. As soon as he was gone, I collapsed into my chair and allowed a rush of air to enter my lungs. Once I collected myself, I texted Ashley to meet me in fifteen minutes and I quickly scanned Josiah’s document and sent it off without further difficulty.

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