Page 43 of Obsession

I was in so much trouble.

Because I wanted to hear that sound again.

Every day.

Did I mention trouble? So much trouble.

His chest heaved, and his arm shook. I was too heavy. I was petite, but hello, one hundred and eighteen pounds was still a lot to hold for…however long we’d been at it.

I couldn’t tell. Since we were already into October, the sun didn’t show its face until well past six.

I unlocked one leg and he slowly lowered me until I could touch the floor. When he slid from me, I had to close my eyes against the sudden loss. The emptiness I’d been living with returned with a vengeance.

He turned away from me. I assumed to take care of the condom, but he walked across the vestibule to the other window and braced his arm against the glass. Naked and alone, I shivered as the pleasure seeped out and dispersed in the chasm between us.

Quickly, I moved to my clothes and stepped into my skirt. His tie slid across my skin. I should take it off, but I couldn’t make my fingers work. My underwear and bra were beyond redemption, so I pulled on my twin-set. I gathered the edges of my cardigan and closed them tight, crossing my arms over my chest.

Holding that one piece of him against me.

Pathetic.

I didn’t know what to say.

How did you come back from something like this? I’d never shared myself like that—not even with a longtime boyfriend. I’d known him less than a week.

He was the closest thing to an enemy I’d ever had.

I leaned against the glass across from him, but still, he didn’t say a word. For God’s sake, he wouldn’t even turn around to face me.

Silence stretched.

My skin cooled as I curled into myself, sliding down the wall to hug my knees. I could still feel him inside me. As if my insides didn’t know how to shrink back to normal. I was still swollen, and the air felt too heavy.

Finally, he moved, but instead of speaking to me, he simply picked up his suit jacket and folded it over his arm. He tucked one hand in his pocket. His cuffs were back down, and his vest was straight.

Everything was as it was.

Except I still had his tie on.

He lifted his head finally and met my gaze. “Grace…”

Shock left me mute.

Suddenly, the snick of the bolts opening cracked the stillness. His face went blank and closed off. He reached next to him for the door. “I’ll expect you back by one, Ms. Copeland.”

He opened the door, and he was gone.

Lies

Chapter Sixteen

Walking away from her was the hardest thing I’d ever done. That I’d done it before didn’t make it any easier.

I crossed the tile floor of the lobby, barely aware of the sleeping building lumbering to life in the early morning. Carson Covenant Inc. never fully slept, but in the darkest part of the night, only a few sentinels remained in the glass fortress I’d built.

Last night, my new assistant Grace and I had been there, as well.

And the fucking cameras.

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