Page 11 of Anathema
“I’m sure you fucking are.” I sighed and rested my face in my hands. “I’ll review the file… go—do something else. I’ll call you when I have an idea of where we should start.” I didn’t look up as I waved him off, dismissing him.
I closed my eyes and rubbed them with my thumb and index finger, pinching the bridge of my nose in agitation before looking down at the open folder on my desk.
How the fuck was I going to do this?
Chapter 4
Alexis
Ispentmostofthe day avoiding this moment. I had hyped myself up all weekend to confront Derek, and the longer I thought about it, the more I hesitated at the thought.
It was late afternoon by the time I dragged my ass downtown, and I kept trying to convince myself that I no longer needed the laptop. That I could abandon what was on it and start from scratch.
So, why in the fuck was I currently walking to the CIA office to get it?
Eli left me to help a friend move into their new home over the weekend, so I took advantage of his absence and worked on his computer since I didn’t have my laptop. He said I could stay as long as needed and that he would be crashing elsewhere.
At least Derek wouldn’t be able to find me here. He knew where Madison lived, so hiding out at her townhouse was nolonger an option. I had gone there a handful of times several months back, and he kept showing up and pissing her off.
The first three hours in Eli’s apartment were spent cleaning up the shit hole he had left behind. I couldn’t work with the smells and utter chaos that was him. I wasn’t a clean freak in the least, but I still hadsomestandards as to what makes a place livable, and Eli’s wasn’t it. Opening the windows was a welcome relief to the stuffy and stale air I had been breathing since arriving early that morning.
When Sunday came, I was out of his apartment by the early afternoon. Eli had still not returned before I left, which was fine by me. I didn’t want to have another heated interaction with him; playing his maid was more than enough for me.
I looked forward to showering and snuggling up in my own bed after spending so much time in his. I wasn’t even going to attempt to take a shower at Eli’s, knowing he probably had a camera set up in his bathroom to spy on any woman he had over—fuckingpervert.
Walking up the stairs to the fifth floor, I wanted to put as much time between seeing Derek as possible. Not to mention, I needed to think about what I would even say to him once we were face-to-face.
My mind was a wreck, torn between wanting him to bend me over his desk and finish what he started in that alley and stabbing him in the dick with a knife. I know—extreme, but that’s how I felt towards him.
I was at war with my feelings surrounding Derek and his uncompromising, hard-ass attitude. Physically, I wanted him andevery inchof what he was offering, but emotionally, he was poison—dangerous—and I would be stupid to let him in.
I opened the door from the stairwell and noticed that the fifth floor was dead quiet, and the lights were dimmed. Where was everyone? I peered around the receptionist’s desk and wandered down the center of the empty cubicles.
It was a ghost town; everyone must have left the office early today. If I was lucky, Derek might have gone, too, and I could just grab my laptop and leave—anything to avoid being in his presence.
“Hey, pretty viper.” A smooth, sultry voice floated from behind me.
Ffffuuuccckkkk.I clenched my jaw so tightly it hurt and turned to see the handsome as fuck asshole standing in the doorway to what I could only assume was his private office.
Derek rested his arm against the doorframe and gave me a devilish smile. Why did I even consider that this would be easy? That I could just come in here, grab my laptop, and run for the hills without even being noticed.
I’m not naive; I know I’m attracted to him; how could you not be? His dark hair begged for my hands to tangle in their soft strands. The stubble that caressed his sharp jawline gave him the look of a hot villain, and his body in general…fuck me.
Derek was cut from fucking granite. A masterpiece of a man. Every inch of him was carved to perfection, and I wanted to drag my tongue along every single dip and curve.
“Derek.” I hissed through my teeth, turning to face him.
I crossed my arms over my chest and planted myself firmly where I stood—a show of dominance. I wasn’t about to make the first move in our little game of cat and mouse.
“Tell me, do you get off on stalking me?” Sarcasm being one of my favorite flavors this week.
A dark chuckle came from him as he dragged a thumb across his lower lip. I wondered what those lips tasted like if they were as delicious as I had imagined.
No, stop, we hate him. We don’t fantasize about the men we hate.
“You came to me; I wouldn’t call that stalking, Lex. But do you really want to know what gets me off?” Derek’s eyes roved my body from head to toe, and I straightened, making myself feel taller.
He towered over me with his six-foot-one height, but I wouldn’t let that stop me from working my own intimidation tactics. I could make a man feel small if I wanted to; Derek was nothing but another pawn on the chessboard of my life, and I was the goddamn queen.
