Page 34 of Crash

“I was hoping we could have a do-over. Forget about the Mr. Clark stuff. I, ah, I went by the bakery this morning and got a bunch of things. Just my way of apologizing again. A peace offering, if you will.” Unsure of what to say, I sip my coffee, my back still turned. “Turn around.” When I make no move to turn, he says, “Please.”

I take on more sip and slowly turn to face him. He looks good but tired. His usually clean-shaven face has about a day’s worth of growth on it. He rubs the back of his head with his hand as he looks at me.

“Look, Vivienne. Last night was—” He stops talking when three employees walk into the kitchen.

Juan, an older man who works in the mailroom follows behind them. His eyes instantly light up when he sees the box. Without asking any questions, he helps himself to a doughnut.

“Hey, Vivi,” he says, his Spanish accent thick. “I see you came back. This one is a tyrant,” he says with a mouthful. He cackles as he slaps Luke on the back. He makes himself a coffee, and talks to us the entire time, not realizing or not caring that neither one of us has said a word back. “You sure you’re not Puerto Rican, Viv. My wife wants to get our son away from his girlfriend. She—”

“That’s enough, Juan. We don’t want a sexual harassment suit on our hands.” I’m relieved Luke interrupted him, but Juan just laughs and walks away.

“Come see me in my office when you go on your break. Please.” Luke walks away, leaving me breathless.

CHAPTER 17

LUKE

Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Jake’s words play over and over in my head. Kindness. I can do that. I can’t sink any lower than messing with her self-esteem, walking into her room, jamming my tongue down her throat, feeling her up, and practically finger fucking her. That was only after I tried to give her diabetes with that giant box of chocolates. It’s only up from here.

What the hell am I going to do now? I already couldn’t get her out of my mind before, but now? I’m screwed. Her break started five minutes ago. She has ten minutes left before she goes back to the desk, and I wonder if she’s unable to face me.

Will she be like Tori and avoid me? If I know anything about Vivienne Chateau, it’s that she’s nothing like Tori. Approximately two minutes later there is an aggressive knock on my door. She doesn’t bother to wait for me to tell her to come in before she walks through my door, doing her best to look fearless.

She walks in, head held high and shoulders back. She’s in another pantsuit today. This one black with some sort of cream-colored shell blouse. She has a scarf tied around her neck. I’m taken aback by the scarf because she’s not one for feminine accessories.

“You wanted to see me, Mr. Clark?” Her voice is firm, confident.

“Luke.”

“Luke,” she says, “you wanted to see me.”

“I’d like to take you up on that truce. Look, I’m not the type of person who kicks others when they’re down. I feel horrible about the things I said to you, and I want to apologize again. I hope we can start over and end this hostility between us. To be honest, Vivienne, I don’t know why we’re so hostile towards each other.” I finish my speech and wait for her to respond. When she sinks her teeth into her bottom lip, the kiss we shared last night flashes through my mind. All I can hear are the sweet moaning sounds that filled her room less than twelve hours ago. Her soft skin was like silk against my fingertips, and I know that at this moment, I would do anything to touch her again.

“Right. Of course. Listen, Luke,” she says. When she starts to speak, I reluctantly stop looking at her mouth and look into her eyes. “I want to apologize as well. We both said things, and I want to offer my own apology. And, yes, I would very much like a truce. Let’s just move on.” She plasters a fake smile on her face and offers me her hand. I take it, and before I can talk myself out of it, I rub my thumb over the top of her hand. The fake smile leaves her face as she lets out a shuddered breath. Likely embarrassed by the noise, she tries to pull her hand away, but I hold on and take a step closer to her.

“You were right about what you said last night. I don’t know anything about your circumstances. My parents have always supported me in everything, and I don’t know what I would have done if they didn’t. I don’t think I’d be able to be as brave as you. You’re here, working and fighting. That’s admirable.”

She opens her mouth to speak but quickly closes it. She gives me a curt nod instead and tries to pry her hand from mine again.

“And what happened in your room last night. I didn’t come in there for that.” As if I have no control over my body, I take one small step forward.

“It’s fine. Let’s just forget it. It’s not like it will ever happen again.” She does this fake laugh, but then she catches herself and stops. She clears her throat and looks away from me. I take another step and touch the scarf around her neck.

She moves her hand and tries to swat mine away, but she ends up hitting the scarf, loosening it. When I see the red mark, I understand the need for this scarf. I loosen it completely and take it off her neck. Her hand flies up to hide the mark, but I gently move her hand away. She swallows but doesn’t move.

I caress the side of her neck with my index finger. I can feel her pulse increase at my touch. Her breathing becomes more rapid as I rub the mark with my thumb. I see the slight tilt of her head, giving me more access to her neck. I slide my finger up the side, around her chin, and over her lips.

“I’m sorry about a lot of the things that happened between us, but not about this,” I say, touching her soft skin as I close the remaining space between us with one final step. Without giving her any time to move away, I cover her mouth with mine. I expect her to push me away, but she surprises me. She jumps in my arms so unexpectedly; I take two steps back before catching my balance.

She lets out a loud moan as she sticks both hands in my hair while she kisses me back. I walk back to my desk and sit in my chair, her body straddling me. Neither one of us comes up for air as we taste and tease each other. Her lips are soft but firm. She tastes of coffee, with a hint of chocolate.

I leave her mouth to kiss her face, neck, and collar bone. Unable to contain myself, I bite the other side of her neck. She lets out a little squeal but makes no attempts to move. She does move her head, though, and kisses me again.

She opens her mouth, inviting my tongue inside. She pushes my jacket and loosens my tie. When she can’t seem to get the tie off, she abandons it and pulls my shirt and t-shirt from my pants. Her warm hand ends up on my abs, roaming my body. I lean back, giving her better access, warmth spreading across my body at her touch.

“You have an amazing body for a barbarian,” she says against my mouth.

“It’s all the killing and pillaging. Keeps me in optimal shape.”

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