Page 3 of Texting the Enemy

I gape at him, too stunned to come up with a witty retort. Did he really just say that?

I can’t have him seeing through me right now, and from the weight of his stare, I know he’s studying the cracks in my armor. I look away, pulling out my phone like it can shield me under the guise of checking the time. I keep my phone angled beneath the table, tapping out a quick message to my best friend, Natalie.

Me:I can’t decide if I want to fight this man or fuck him.

I hit sendunder the table without looking, my gaze trapped by Ford’s, and set my phone back down. I take a deep breath, trying to center myself and find the words to continue the conversation.

“You’re hardly the most approachable man in the office,” I say, “and I strive for professionalism, which is why I called the meeting?—”

At that moment, Ford’s phone beeps in his pocket, interrupting me. I sigh heavily as he pulls it out of his pocket and checks it, despite the fact I did the same thing seconds ago. Winding him up is just too tempting, even though it never works. Or, at least, it never normally does.

But Ford’s eyes lift from the screen to me, dark and swirling like the heart of a storm. His jaw tenses, his Adam’s apple bobbingas he swallows thickly. Awareness prickles through me like a physical touch.

With that one look, I realize just how much Ford has been holding back, hiding beneath the calm facade.

“Striving for professionalism, are you?” Ford repeats my own words back to me, one dark eyebrow raised at me.

I raise my chin, not backing down. “Yes.”

Ford laughs. He actually laughs. The sound is a low rumble, like a roll of thunder over my skin, and just as dangerous as a storm. I freeze, feeling a rush of adrenaline begin to seep into my bloodstream. My body sways closer to him across the table without my permission.

His eyes dip from mine back to his phone screen, his lips turning up in that lopsided smirk that sets my heart racing so hard my ribs ache. I nearly stop breathing as he reads the words off his phone.

The words I just typed out.

“I can’t decide if I want to fight this man,” Ford says slowly and calmly. I brace myself, gripping the edge of the table like it’ll save me from the words I know are about to leave his mouth. “Or fuck him.”

The air between us goes still and taut as a drawn bowstring. I don’t dare to move even an inch.

How the fuck did I manage to send that text to him and not Natalie?! I guess that’s what I get for sending a text without looking at the screen properly. Shit.

I stammer, unable to find any words to explain myself. That dark, hot gleam in Ford’s eyes makes it impossible to remember how to act normally.

“Can’t decide, huh?” he asks. “Let’s figure it out then.”

Before I can react, he pushes to his feet, strides to the door, and clicks it locked. He crosses to the windows and yanks the blinds shut next.

Suddenly, this meeting room feels much smaller and much more intimate than it ever has before.

We’re in our office, but with the door locks and blinds drawn, any pretense of professionalism I’d been trying to cling to vanishes.

3

FORD

My blood is burning, my cock swollen and aching against the waistband of my expensive suit pants, my gaze locked onto Faith. Faith, who’s just surprised the fuck out of me with what she’s said in that text. It obviously wasn’t meant for me, but goddamn am I glad she made that mistake.

I prowl towards her, watching every reaction she has. The widening of her eyes, pupils blooming until the black nearly swallows the blue, the goosebumps traveling over her arms, and the thrumming pulse in her throat.

I don’t sit back down in my seat. Instead, I stride to her, leaning down and bracing my hands on the arms of her chair, blocking her in. Her breaths are ragged and quick, and I can’t help but notice the way her breasts rise and fall beneath her silky blouse.

She’s so goddamned gorgeous.

“You going to fight me, baby?” I ask, my voice low even to my own ears. The pet name slips out without my consciously meaning to say it, but it feels right.

“W-what?” Faith stammers out, blinking up at me.

“You heard me,” I say. “Are you going to fight me? Go ahead, baby. Hit me. Let me feel all that anger you’ve got for me, huh?”

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