Page 77 of Mistlefoe
SIERRA
“Was that okay?” Conor grips the steering wheel harder as if trying to anchor himself. I don’t understand why his sudden nerves, though. A quick glance at me has him adding, “I mean, that I blew our cover in a moment of panic and now basically the entire universe will know we’re dating?”
“Oh.” I lean back against my seat, fiddling with the strap of the seatbelt. “Um, it’s earlier than I anticipated revealing this but it’s fine. It’s not like we’re just fooling around.” I pause. “Or are we?”
“Nope.” His lips make the p pop loudly. “I’m dead serious about you.”
He has to keep his attention on the road, but I’m free to stare at him all I want. I gnaw at my bottom lip, wondering if to share what’s on my mind or keep quiet. But I’m not very good at secrets anyway, so here it goes.
“It’s just, I’m nervous about how this will reflect on me.”
He shifts his pretty brown eyes to mine for a second. “What do you mean?”
I take a deep breath and turn to the window. “The scarypart about an office romance is that, if it doesn’t work out, it’s usually the woman with something to lose. That’s why I wanted us to be a bit more, I don’t know, firm, before we said anything.”
Suddenly his hand’s on my knee. “I get the theory,” Conor says, “and I will crush whoever dares to talk shit about you.”
“Thanks.” I snort through my nose and pick up his hand between mine, observing the straight fingers, the tendons and veins showing in the back. “But even ifSPORTYhas a pretty decent environment, it’s just how things are in this crappy society. Besides, my reputation is just a few levels below Camila’s in light of how I used to treat you, and I’m sure a few of your fans will be very annoyed to find out you like me anyway.”
“The solution is for me to scream it higher, then.” He shifts his hand until he’s lacing his fingers with mine. “Say, maybe we should have a date in front of the whole company.”
“What?”
“At the Christmas party.” His lips stretch into a grin. “Let’s kiss under the mistletoe.”
My jaw drops. “You’re kidding.”
“Not one bit. And based on what you’re saying, we need to mark each other’s territory pronto.”
“That sounds so caveman.” I scoff and after a moment, I say, “Deal.”
Conor chuckles, and the sound is enough to dissipate that worry from my belly. Another one stays roiling in it, though. “Now, all we need is for these booths to work out and we’ll be on track for ten grand each and a promotion for me.”
“Hah! That’s a good one. You mean ten grand each and a promotion for me?” Conor teases back.
“Don’t be mistaken, dating hasn’t changed the fact that I’ll be the one on top.”
He bobs his head all nonchalant for someone who just gotthrown a major challenge at him. “I admit I do like you on top.”
“Conor!” I still have hold of his hand so it’s easy to smack his arm.
“What?” he asks all innocent like, not even bothered by my smack. “I was pretty sure you liked sitting on my thighs and having my hands all over you this morning.”
Heat rushes not just to my face, but everywhere else, and I’m not sure what I can do with it while we’re strapped inside the cabin of his pickup truck going forty miles per hour. I drop his hand on his own lap and say, “Ugh, is this what dating you is going to be like from now on?”
“Yes.” But then he shakes his head. “No, I’m probably going to get worse, actually.” For a brief moment, he turns to me while licking his lips in a way that makes the heat in my belly turn positively volcanic. “You’re making me lose my mind, Sierra. I’ve been dreaming about you every night since we kissed the first time.”
I suck in all the air in the space, which makes me choke. All the little prick does is laugh with that husky voice of his while he drives us the rest of the way downtown at a snail pace.
Thing is, my shock isn’t because of what he said, per se. It’s because I’ve had the exact same problem the past few nights. Like just a few kisses from him have awakened my hormones to a level I’d never felt before. I’ve leapt the stage ofI find him hotstraight intoI’ll mark my territory soonlike a freaking cavewoman—and soon can’t be soon enough.
Finally, we arrive at the convention center and we hastily exit the truck. We grab hands as we dash across the half empty parking lot, leaving plums of breath in our wake. It only clicks with me that something’s weird when Conor and I make it to the entrance.
“Wait.” I breathe with difficulty, and it’s not because of the run. The ticket counter is closed and the gaudy decorations wesaw last time are gone. The sign welcoming us to the Christmas market fair is missing and there’s literally not a soul in sight. “Oh, no.”
Conor pushes through the inner door leading to the convention floor, and holds it open for me. As we walk in, all that’s missing is the tumbleweed to make the scene even more devastating.
The whole thing is empty.
