Page 52 of Tempt Thy Neighbor

I shouldn’t like that he’s taunting me. I shouldn’t like that it’s Sutton getting me this close to the edge.

I shouldn’t like that I feel so right in his arms.

But I do.

And I hate that I do.

“Let me just grab some computer paper.”

The door creaks open, light spilling into the room and nearly exposing us.

We freeze at the sound of the voice that’s way too close for comfort, and it’s like a bucket of ice tossed over us.

“I found some!” someone calls from farther away.

“Oh, good,” the woman close to us says. “I hate going into this creepy supply closet.”

She pulls the door shut, leaving us blanketed in black.

And just like that we snap back into reality.

I shove at Sutton, and he stumbles away. When my eyes adjust to the darkness, I can see his eyes are wide with shock like he can’t believe that just happened.

I can’t either.

How could I be so stupid? How could I let him touch me like that? How could I let myself fall for this crap all over again?

With space, I find the clarity in the situation and yank my dress back down. I brush my hair away from my face, trying to quiet my sharp breaths.

Tears sting my eyes, and I have no idea why I’m on the verge of crying.

He presses the palms of his hands into his eyes like he’s trying to erase the memories of what just happened, then rakes his fingers through his hair. He takes a step toward me, and I shake my head.

“Don’t,” I say quietly.

He stops, tipping his head to the side. He looks like he wants to say something, but I don’t want to hear it.

“Just go.”

I hear him swallow. See the way his throat bobs.

“Please,” I beg, choking back a sob.

He looks uncertain, like he doesn’t want to leave me alone.

But finally, he nods once, then slips back out the door like he didn’t just knock my world off its axis.

I press my hand to my chest to make sure my heart doesn’t explode out of my chest.

Workingin the same office with Sutton was pure torture.

Every time he glanced at me, my heart rate sped up.

Every time he spoke to me, my body thrummed with the memory of his hands on me.

And when he had to drop off a report at my desk and brushed against me, I had to excuse myself to the bathroom for fear I would combust right there.

The moment the clock struck five, I bolted.

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