Page 14 of Whispers in the Dark

This time, Brynn was the one to interrupt me. “Just taste a few. There’s something for every taste you can imagine.”

My eyes moved to hers, and I smirked. The best dessert was right in front of me, and already remembering how sweet Brynn tasted on my tongue, I was tempted to drag her upstairs for a sample. She took a small step back as if she knew where my mind had gone, and I was still about to decline for a third time when Andi spoke.

“It won’t take very long.”

Her own eyes were pleading, and I exhaled sharply. “I guess a few couldn’t hurt.”

The women smiled and turned, and I was once again provided a view of Brynn’s ass. In those tights, those markable globes were even more pronounced than usual. Whoever the designer was of those, he deserved a prize for sure. While Brynn’s ass was a work of art, that material and the way it clung to certain parts made her a true fucking masterpiece.

I followed behind them, and decided instead of starting at the beginning, I would just stop whenever something caught my eye. There were so many pastries from eclairs and macarons to cannoli and even tiramisu. There were also more cookies, cupcakes, and tarts than I could even name, and I had almost chosen a Miguelito until a plate of baklava caught my eye instead. Everything was Halloween-themed, so a lot of it was in different shapes including a childhood favorite which had been cut into circles to resemble a jack-o-lantern with walnuts for the eyes and teeth.

It had been a while since I had tasted the Greek pastry. Growing up, I had eaten my weight in it, and now my mouth was literally watering. I grabbed one from the plate, and as soon as I put the small morsel into my mouth, I was transported back to days of my youth when Aria and I would run along the Greek coast with a square of the pastry in one hand and a soumada in the other. I chewed the treat and tasted each layer from the phyllo dough to the walnuts, spice, and honey. It was a flavorexplosion on my tongue, and a blast back to a past I wanted to forget.

I forced myself to swallow down the rest of it, then grabbed a dollar from my wallet. I put it in the container in front, then walked away, leaving Brynn and Andi to look after me. I only stole a glance when I had finally stepped through the exit, and by that time, Colin had joined them as well. Brynn was still looking toward me, so I disappeared and went back upstairs.

While I had planned to work in my office for another few hours, I now just needed to get out of here. I grabbed the paperwork I would need at home, then left Benedict Technologies. A short while later, I had my laptop and the taken paperwork on my desk at home. I was all ready to put in another few hours, and this time without any interruptions.

Or so I thought.

I had barely answered more than two emails when I was afflicted with a gnawing tickle under my skin. My flesh was prickly, and deciding I was just hot, I quickly removed my dress shirt, and returned to my desk. It was for naught, and after several more breaks to turn down the air-conditioning, grab a bottle of water, or splash some cool water onto my face, I realized the weird sensation had nothing to do with the air temperature.

It was me.

I couldn’t concentrate because I wanted to be putting in overtime doing something much better, or someone as it was in this case. I wanted to fuck Brynn, not that it was a sudden desire. I always wanted to sink balls deep inside of her, but I wanted to even more tonight than other nights. She was weakening me, and I allowed it. From the moment I met her, I had been doing everything uncharacteristic of who I was and what I had become. I had actually developed a conscience of sorts, and an affection that made my skin crawl.

I stood up, pacing back and forth, alternating between looking out one of the large floor-to-ceiling windows at the city and bridges in the distance, to the dark walls of my penthouse. The space had been completely redone when I purchased this unit, and the color scheme and décor had once matched my cold, dark heart, but it no longer did.

There was something warm in my chest, blooming as hope, but for something I couldn’t ever truly have. I might be a trusted protector of women back in my teens or at Lotus, but the truth was that I was a murderer, and a cold-blooded one at that. Would Brynn one day face my wrath? I sure as hell hoped not, but since these violent attacks on those I had even an inkling of affection for were things I couldn’t remember at the time, it didn’t matter. The scene I would find myself in, and the blood that coated my hands, only served to remind me of the evil lurking inside of me.

I finally let out a sigh, then grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the liquor fridge. I wasn’t in the mood to work any more at the moment, so I decided to check out Olympus. I hadn’t been on the site in a while, and that was because the only one I wanted to talk to was in my office in the daylight, and in my text messages at night.

She was also in my dreams, and as I closed my eyes, it wasn’t the same type of one that normally tormented me. Tonight, she was upset at me leaving the way I did, and deciding to just touch base with her, I opened my eyes.

She wasn’t on Olympus, so I pulled out my cell phone, sure that she would be home by now. After all, I had wasted a number of hours since I had gotten home. I scrolled through the very few contacts I had in it, then hit the button to compose a message.

I know it’s late, but I was curious about how the event went today.

She answered right away which surprised me, but also provided hope that she was at home and settled in with that beast of a dog she owned and yapped about constantly.

Hey! Everything went great. It was a smashing success.

Which dessert won? And, are you home safely?

I had wanted to know that, even though I shouldn’t have given a damn about the last part.

I just made it home about thirty minutes ago. It took a while to clean everything up. You definitely picked a winner though, Sir.

A winner?

Yes. After you tried just the baklava, everyone flocked over to that table to see what it was that had caught your eye. You’re such a mystery at BT, and so respected. Your choice won by a landslide.

I chuckled. She thought it was respect, but I knew a lot of the employees there feared me. It was evident in the way that they would scurry upon seeing me, and how someone like Andi who had worked for me for over two years finally got the nerve to even address me tonight, and only when with Brynn.

What was it about that particular dessert?

It reminded me of home.

Home, as in Greece?

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