Page 7 of Love Potions and Paperwork

With the soft latch of the door behind him I silently sent a prayer to whatever ruled over this miserable place that I could keep myself together. I turned in the chair slowly, my eyes locking on my assistant.

“I—” I started, the words drying up in my throat.

Fuck, was he always sohot? Big round eyes and skin that shone like jewels in the fluorescent lights of the office. And his stupid, crooked tie.

“Why isn’t the Cover Ghoul contract on my desk?” I breathed, my thighs rubbing together under the desk.

Eugine made a noise like a rubber chicken, his oval eyes wide as they trailed from my face to the snatch of bare skin at my collarbone with a twitch of his spindly antennae. “I’m so sorry Miss Randall I thought I’d?—”

“Obviouslyyou didn’t,” I turned in my chair again, unable to look at the corded muscle of Eugine’s forearms where he’d rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up. “I need it—” I continued breathlessly, my tail wrapping around my leg, snaking up my skirt and I batted it away with a quiet growl.

For fuck’s sake, get it together, Maeve.

Around my irritation, there was something familiar about the warm, needy feelings making my chest tight.

Or was there?

I tried to think back to a time when I’d felt similarly as I stood on trembling legs, crossing to the window and turning the metallic crank to allow a gust of cold air into the room. It picked up the papers from my desk, tossing them into the air and all over the floor. My eyes followed them as I turned but the anger that bubbled stopped in its tracks as my eyes caught on Eugine.

Sweat beaded along his smooth forehead, his large, round eyes meeting mine as the pages cascaded towards the floor like confetti.

There was something… hungry in the way he looked at me. It made my already overheated body react immediately, my tail sliding along my thigh needily.

His fingers twitched, those expressive eyes of his following the movement.

Oh.

Fuck.

The panicked static wavered—like tuning a radio and finally finding the right station, everything all at once was clear. I wasn’t going out of my mind, I’d beenspelt.

With a fucking lust potion.

“Are you feeling alright?” I asked softly, my eyes narrowing on Eugine as I rounded the desk.

Fucking glass-walled office, what idiotdecided on that? How was I meant to punish my pathetic worm of an assistant for drugging me wheneveryonecould watch?

“Fine, ma’am,” he squeaked, tugging at his collar with a long finger.

I leaned my ass against the cool wood of the tabletop, pushing out my chest justsoto catch his eye, a finger teasing the button of my blouse.

If I was going to have this horrifically awkward conversation, I could at least have a little fun. Couldn’t I?

It was only an HR violation if we reported it. And since Eugine was the one to give me the potion I had to guess he was at least a little interested. No, notinterested?—

“A lust spell is a bitdesperate, don’t you think, Eugine? If you wanted to fuck me, you should’ve just said so.”

Gods, do you hear yourself right now, Maeve? You sound like the opening scene of a fucking porno. Get agrip!

Paper crinkled under Eugine’s loafered foot as he made to step closer, panic rocketing through his expression. “No, no way! I’d never! You have to believe—” Realisation seemed to dawn on the mantis’ face, a hand trailing down his chest to his belt, a wheeze of need escaping him. “Oh no…”

“‘Oh no’indeed,” I crooned, making a mockery of worry.

“The witch at the coffee shop must’ve made a mistake,” he said quickly, crossing over the paperwork to look down at me, hands hovering like he’d intended to touch me.

A huge part of me wished he had. My skin was on fire, if I didn’t get some relief soon I was liable to finger myself with him watching.

Which… I mean would it be theworstthing?

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