Page 20 of In Her Shadow

“There we go, Kitten, swallow me down.” I watch as she takes it. “Such a good girl,mygood, perfect girl,” I tell her when she opens her mouth back up and shows me that it's gone. “Are you ready for me to fill you now?”

She nods at me again.

“Yeah?” I tease her a little. “Tell me then, use that pretty little tongue to say the words.”

“I’m…I’m ready, Ren.”

“I’ve been watching you sleep for hours. You’re like a fucking torture, Eloise.”

“I’m sorry.” Her eyelashes flutter like delicate little butterfly wings.

“Don’t fucking say that… don’t ever fucking apologize. I love your torture. I like how it feels.” I sink my teeth into her shoulder as I spill inside her unprotected pussy, holding my hips tight against hers to ensure every last drop of me makes it to her cervix.

“Don’t you ever fucking apologize, kitten,” I growl against her skin, gently kissing all those marks I’ve tainted her with before she has to get up and get ready for work.

ELOISE

“You didn’t have to walk me to work,” I tell Ren when we stop at the revolving door outside my office building.

“I was gonna do it anyway.” The half-embarrassed smirk he makes almost makes him seem human.

“Should I maybe...take your number?” I ask awkwardly, it seems insane to me that so much has happened between us in the past forty-eight hours, and I still don’t have a way to contact him.

“You already got it. I saved it while you were sleeping last night,” he tells me as I’m reaching into my bag for my phone.

“And do you want…”

I stop talking and watch as he takes the phone from my hand, enters my passcode, and hits dial. A vibration comes from his pocket, and when he takes it out and shows me the screen, I smile.

“Kitten.” I roll my eyes at him. “Why do you call me that?” I can’t deny the fact that I like it, but I am curious.

“It doesn’t matter.” He avoids my question just like he avoids all the others.

“I should go, my boss hates it when I’m late.” I look over my shoulder toward the door, and when I turn back to facehim, I bump noses with him before he kisses me roughly and possessively, right in the middle of the sidewalk, with the world passing us by.

“Have a good day, Kitten,” he tells me once he’s finished, and when I eventually get the strength back in my legs, I head inside, leaving him standing and watching me as I move through the door.

“You're late, Eloise.” Mr. Connor stands by his office door, looking at his watch as I rush from the elevator down the corridor toward my desk.

“Sorry, sir.” I smile as I move past him and take a seat. He follows close behind me, and I shudder when he leans over my shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it up to me,” he whispers in that voice that makes dread seep into my stomach. There's no denying the fact that Paul Connor is a creep, but he’s the chief editor, and whatever he says around here goes. “I’d like you to work late tonight. There’s been a lot of slacking around here lately,” he points out, straightening his spine to try and bolster his authority. “Will that be a problem, Miss Meadows?”

“No, sir.” I look up at him before turning on my computer and getting straight to work.

“Slack…Slack?Is he kidding?” Mary-Ann waits for him to return to his office before she leans over from her side of the desk. “I can’t remember the last time you took a proper lunch break. If he carries on, you should threaten to go to HR.” She rests back in her chair and takes a bite of her bagel.

“I’m sure that won’t be necessary.” I keep my voice low; you never know who you can trust around here. The last thing I want to do is cause trouble. I appreciate how lucky I am to have this job; most people with my lack of experience would still be making coffee and struggling with the copy machine. But I got promoted to junior reporter after being here for less than amonth. I like to think it was my work ethic that got me the job, not the fact that my boss looks at me as if I’m a snack.

My morning passes the same way it usually does. I keep my head down and ignore the long, leery looks that Mr. Connor makes at me through his office windows. It feels so different from how it feels knowing I have Ren’s attention. Like spiders crawling under my skin. At least today, I have a distraction from it. I think about last night and how Ren pressed my body against that rough, damp wall. I bite my lip when I remember how his blood tasted seeping through my lips, and it makes me wonder what the hell I’m becoming. My adult life has been so structured and centred around my anxieties. I’m loving the adventure of not knowing what happens next.

“A few of us are heading over to Gianni’s, you coming?” Mary-Ann offers, and when I look up at the clock and realize it’s twelve-thirty, I wonder where the time’s gone.

“I wish I could, but I’m nowhere near getting this finished. Figure the more I get done here, the less I’ll have to do tonight.” I look around the office and wonder which other staff members he’s making suffer.

“You want me to grab you something?” she asks.

“Just a coffee, oh, and maybe one of those pastries with the raisins if they have any left.” I take out my purse and hand her a twenty before getting back to the article I’m proofing.

Mary-Ann and the others return with my coffee and a pastry, which may not be the one I asked for, but tastes equally as good. I’m just finishing it off when my phone flashes up on my desk, and I quickly look around for any sign of Mr. Connor before I check it.

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