Page 33 of Grace

“Maybe, just maybe, we both should take your advice and just… give in and see where it takes us.”

She sits up slightly, her gaze burning me. “It was that good, huh?”

I silently nod, wringing my fingers together. “It shouldn’t have been. It should have felt… wrong.” I take a shaky breath. “But it felt so good, so right.”

She sighs. “Okay… we’ll both give in.” Her brows drop slightly as a shiver rakes through her body.

“You don’t look very happy about that.”

She shrugs. “It’s Marko. He flirts with everything that has legs—especially if he thinks he can spread those legs. And even though it felt really good, I feel dirty too.”

My lips part to tell her it will be fine, but I know there’s some truth in her words. I only hung out with him once, and yes, he’s a flirt.

“Maybe it was just a one-night thing, then,” I say.

She laughs. “Yeah.” She pauses and slides her phone out of her back pocket. “Here, does this look like aone-night thing?” She hands me her phone, and as the screen lights up, I see message after message, a few missed calls. All from the same person.Marko.

“Oh,” I say as I scroll down, losing count. “Well…” I hand her back her phone. “It can be fun, right?”

“A little fun won’t hurt us,” she mutters, not sounding convinced by her own words. “Just don’t catch any feelings.”

“Right, of course, that would be stupid,” I scoff.

But what if I already feel something I shouldn’t?

It can’t be right. It has to be something else…

“Oh, shit, I got to go,” Ashley says as she jumps up and grabs her faux leather jacket.

“Work?”

“Always,” she sighs and gives me a small wave before she runs out of the apartment, leaving me with my thoughts.

I do what I always do when my mind is a mess. I throw myself into the kitchen, trying to distract myself.

But it doesn’t work, not as every vegetable I cut reminds me of the food I prepared for Daniel, how he wanted to see me cook, wanted to watch me as I slowly escape my safe bubble.

My fingers shake, my skin feels damp, and I clench my eyes shut. Why can’t I get him out of my mind? Why can’t this be something wrong and fun without making it complicated?

The slight pulse in my pussy draws me closer as images of Daniel’s head between my legs fill my mind again.

And I give in, wondering if it’s just lust or him.

My fingers trail over my cotton shirt, questioning what Daniel sees, what I’m missing here as I glide my fingers over my collarbone. Is it just because I’m a redhead with a petite body, just here to give him his kink in real life?

With that thought, I trail my caress over the curve of my breast and over the softness of my belly until my touch hovers over my mound, lingering as the heat from earlier doesn’t rise. There’s no trace of the spike of lust I had today, not this need for a release, just… nothing.

So perhaps it isn’t just that I’m needy. It’s him.

And so, to repeat Ashley’s words,I’m screwed.

sixteen

There’s nothing wrong with me, right?

It isn’t weird that I’m scared or anxious about seeing my boss again after yesterday. It isn’t weird that I kept changing this morning since I couldn’t decide whether I should wear a skirt again or pants.

The skirt won, though, a loose-fitted one that stops just above my knees. I tell myself it’s because it’s comfortable, not purely to tease Daniel… but the little thrill I get when the fabric brushes my thigh says otherwise.

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