Page 58 of Fierce- Royce

She grinned. “You’re starting to like it, aren’t you?”

“Even more than I thought I might.”

She reached up and kissed him and they raced to the kitchen for food.

He’d never had this much fun with a woman he’d been in a relationship with before and wondered why and decided the pressure of a relationship failing might have been too much.

Yet he didn’t want to lose Chloe either.

20

Means To An End

Five days later, Chloe was worried she might be turning into a slut.

Never in her life had she ever thought she’d want a friends with benefits situation and yet it was working out so much better than she thought.

She felt a physical connection with Royce she never had with another man and she wondered if it had more to do with the fact there was no pressure to piss him off or get in a fight and then the messiness of a split.

They had ground rules that this was separate from work and one wouldn’t be driven by the other.

Yep, they fought on Friday night but then got through it and laughed and hit the sheets with more intensity than she thought she’d feel.

The scarier part was she didn’t want what they had to end and already seemed to be struggling to compartmentalize it into two silos.

She had to remind herself again and again this was temporary. She never thought it’d be long term. It was more a means to an end. At some point they’d both find someone else to settle down with.

For now it was going to work and it was fun to play with her bosses this way.

The fact Royce was coming to her office today to look over what she started yesterday from their meeting on Friday was a bonus.

He hadn’t been to her place yet and was going to go there after he left here. She’d cook him dinner and they’d have a little bit more action in the sheets. This planning wasn’t all that horrible in her eyes either.

“How are things going?” Ryder asked her an hour later.

She looked up at one of the boss’s sons. “Pretty good. Something I can help you with?”

Ryder moved in. “Just wanted to know if you were playing with our fathers or not.”

“Who wants to know?”

“Us too,” Jade said, moving in fast with Drake behind her. Good lord, this was turning into more than she bargained for.

“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about,” she said, keeping a straight face.

Ryder shut her office door, keeping the four of them in private. “Really, Chloe? You’re smart. We know it. One Clemson alumni to another, be square with me at least.”

She laughed. Ryder only pulled that card out when he was desperate. “You need to tell me what I’m supposed to be playing with your fathers about.”

“How about one woman to another,” Jade said. “The four of us in this room know you are the next target along with Royce. Jonah and Megan seem to be on track, Flynn and Julia engaged. They are spinning their wheels and getting nowhere with you. It’s fun, but let us in on it to get on your side.”

She was almost tempted to do that but decided that, no, she and Royce had an agreement. There was no way she was admitting to Ryder and Drake she was sleeping with Royce and nothing more. Maybe she’d say it to Jade, who would understand, but not the guys. It was a label she didn’t need to be sewn to her clothing.

“There is nothing to say,” she said. “We are coworkers of sorts. Even your fathers said we aren’t meant for each other now and apologized for putting the pressure on me.”

She watched as the three of them started to laugh. “You know what they are doing, right?” Drake asked.

“Of course I do,” she said. “But it makes no difference in the matter. I work with Royce and barely see him otherwise. If I was interested, he’s crazy busy and puts his job first. I like my me time. I’ve never been shy about saying that.”

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