Page 72 of The Grump I Loathe
“I’m looking at it as a career opportunity.” I didn’t want him to think I wasn’t fully Team Connor when it came to him and Grace and the divorce.
His jaw clenched and unclenched. “You’re talking aboutAli’s wedding. My ex.”
“I realize that,” I started, “but it’s not like I’ll be the only LockMill employee there. Half the office is going.”
“Exactly,” he said, running his hand through his hair, tugging at the strands. “Grace will be there and so will nearly all our coworkers.” Hegestured between us. “Could you really pretend like we have nothing but a professional relationship in that kind of environment?”
I hated the idea that we would have to pretend at all. That we had to hide it in the first place to save us from dealing with the ramifications of the no-dating policy. But that’s what I’d signed up for, hadn’t I? Darius’s warning rang in my ears:You’ve got a great career ahead of you, Eddie. Don’t throw it away for a good time.
But this was more than a good time now, wasn’t it? I had a drawer. Connor knew my exact matcha order. He’d made me his Grace-approved grilled cheese. I swallowed hard, glancing at him, unable to shake the worry that I embarrassed him. Dread coiled inside me, but I stamped it down, plunging forward with a smile on my face like I always did. “I hear your concern, but I think we do a pretty good job drawing that boundary at the office—you know, separating the business from the pleasure.”
“The business,” he echoed, an edge to his voice.
I ran my hand down his chest, finding his arm and linking our fingers. “And Ali’s venue is literally down the street from Alannah’s regional competition, so I’m going to be around anyway. Again, I didn’t want to upset you with any of this.” I gave him an apologetic smile. “It was just a cool opportunity. But if the idea really makes you that uncomfortable, I can stay in my lane and focus on Alannah instead.”
Connor rolled onto his side and caught my lips in a kiss, tangling his other hand in my hair. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get so grumpy.”
“It’s okay,” I whispered against his mouth. He nipped at my lower lip, his hand drifting down my back. “It’s your default.”
He pinched my ass and I gasped. “I’ve just really been enjoying living in the bubble of us right now. Not overthinking everything.”
“I get it,” I said, throwing my leg over his hip. He drew me closer, and his cock twitched against my belly. “We’re supposed to be discreet.”
He smiled softly, his dark eyes boring into mine. “Is it so bad that I just want you all to myself?”
“No,” I whispered, sinking into another kiss. This one lingered, one kiss rolling into the next, and when Connor’s hand disappeared between my legs, it was all I could do to keep up a coherent thought as he stroked my clit, milking sounds of pleasure from my throat. I moaned against him, and in the spotlight of his attention, wanting this bubble ofjust usdidn’t sound so bad. Because I wanted that too—wantedhim—with a desire that had been deepening for weeks.
I whined, rolling against him as his fingers left my clit.
Connor grinned. “Did you need something?”
“I am naked in your bed,” I said, pouting.
“You are. Tell me what you want,” he husked against my ear, one arm reaching across the bed to rifle in the side table drawer for a condom. He snagged it and opened the package, rolling it on his hardening length before he pinned me to the bed. I groaned, rocking beneath his delicious weight.
“Fuck me,” I begged. “Put your cock inside me and fuck me until?—”
He brushed his cock against my entrance, and my eyes rolled back in my head.
“Until you’re moaning my name?” he said, sinking inside me with one smooth motion. I breathed hard as he rocked in and out, driving my needy panting up to eleven. He worked his hand in between us, and it only took a few well-placed circles on my clit before I was coming undone beneath him, trembling through my orgasmandhis.
He rolled off me when it was done, pulling me close. I curled up against his chest, the sound of his heartbeat pulsing in my ear.
“You should go to the wedding,” he said after several long minutes, his words soft as he drew patterns against my shoulder.
I propped my head up, blissed out and now confused. “Really?”
He kissed my forehead. “You’re right. It’s an amazing chance to network. You’ll be rubbing shoulders with tons of industry people. Your next big opportunity could be there.”
“And what about us?” I asked with a teasing grin. “Think you can keep your hands off me all night?”
“We’ll just have to stay out of each other’s way,” he said. “Pretend to be spies all night or something.”
God, I love him, I thought, chuckling at that image.
An immediate rush of panic washed through me as I realized what I’d just thought. I shivered and Connor pulled me even closer, tucking the blanket around me. It didn’t do a thing to touch the chill deep inside.
I’d gotten involved with someone I worked with.Again.
