Page 6 of Mine

I swallowed hard, my ears burning. He wasn’t touching me. He wasn’t more in my space than any other person in this small, packed coffee shop. But I felt him. I felt him under my skin, wrapping around me like a vine, a poison, aninfection.

Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump.My heart hammered faster and faster.

Maybe Ellen was right. Maybe I needed a date with my vibrator.

Jeff continued on. “Why not? I mean it’s not like you’d have to sit next to her?—”

For fuck’s sake. I was tired of Jeff never listening. “The awards have assigned seating, Jeff. You know that.”

“We could add her. You knowthat. They’ll add someone ifyouask.”

“I said no.” My voice strained.

“Hang up.”

Two words. They were soft, so soft only I could hear him. A whisper, even. The stranger’s voice sent a shiver up my spine. It was deep and delicious, with a graveled edge that made my chest lurch.

But the command in his tone, the unwavering command…

I swallowed hard.

I didn’t like being told what to do.

But…

Jeff never shut up on the line, not even noticing that I wasn’t talking. What was he even saying? He was going on and on about how this would be good for Ally. How going to LA would be a break for her. They needed to go on a date and get away from the pressure of being parents. It was a lot of pressure, a lot of work. I wouldn’t know though, of course. I wasn’t the mother of his child. I was being cold by saying no. Didn’t I have feelings?

“Hang. Up.”

I swallowed hard. Did I turn around and see who was talking to me? Did I yell at him for speaking to me that way? I was a CEO. I was the one who always told others what to do. I was always the one in control, always the one to lead.

The woman in front of me finished her coffee order and stepped away.

“Do it.”

Jeff’s grating words were clipped as I hung up on him.I can’t believe I just did that.

“Good girl.”

That short-circuited my brain. What the fuck? What was wrong with me? I swallowed hard. I should have turned around to kick him?—

“Order your coffee.”

I was under a trance. I stepped forward, meeting the barista’s expectant gaze. “I’ll have a flat white with an extra shot.”

They nodded, their gaze constantly flicking past me. “Um, name?”

“Pepper.”

The presence behind me only grew more potent. Above the scent of coffee, there was something more masculine, more delicious. Smokey and tempting.

Mymouthwatered.

I paid quickly and stepped to the side, keeping my gaze forward. I didn’t even want to see the stranger’s face. I didn’t want him to think he’d affected me. My cheeks flamed as I waited patiently, choosing a brick on the wall to examine. The grooves and flecks of orange and brown and?—

The presence was behind me again. Waiting.

“Pepper. Flat white,” the barista called.

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