Page 31 of Savage Temptation

“Don’t worry, I won’t bite,” he reassured me, not knowing I’d much prefer he would. I was losing it, desperately needing to get a grip on myself. This obsession was starting to feel less than healthy. I closed the door before going to stand right in front of his desk.

“I’ll be staying in later than usual today. The second Verten meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, and I could use your help with the prep.”

I rubbed my sweaty hands, the uneasy feeling creeping up my spine. I shouldn’t say no, but I needed time away from him, and the thought of the two of us alone at AD late at night gave me the type of jitters it definitely shouldn’t.

“I can do it myself, there’s no problem if you can’t,” Liam continued, catching on to my nervousness.

“I really hate to say no, but I kind of have a date Friday, and I need to get something to wear.” It was out of my mouth before I could hold it. That simple statement had me looking like a superficial bimbo.

“Oh. A date!” His voice was drenched in surprise and something else I couldn’t pin. “Sure, do whatever you need to do. I’ll do the work myself. See you tomorrow.”

“It’s not a real date–”

“I don’t need to know the details,” Liam interrupted with a cold tone of indifference that hit me like a punch to the gut. “Keep your private life private.” He got up and held the door open, motioning with his hand for me to leave while I took a second too long to react. I was struck by his words, rooted to my spot, trying to make sense of his reaction before Liam insisted again, “Do you mind?”

I crossed the threshold, my brows furrowed in confusion, searching his face for an answer to what the hell just happened. He closed the door right behind me and that was the last time I saw him today.

I thought we were past this, I had shared very private things with him at his request. Now he was back to wedging a distance between us with his dick-like attitude.

Why was my stomach so tight? I felt like I’d done something wrong and was about to suffer dire consequences because of it. I’d like to think it was because I had used the wrong words and told him I had a date. I did, but with Alison.

Never.

That word came back into my mind as I sunk into my chair, erasing the wishful thinking. He was pissed because I had denied him help, because I wasn’t pulling my weight and he had to do it for me. It didn’t help with the gut-wrenching feeling to acknowledge that, but going back into his office and taking it back wouldn’t help either, so I stuck to the plan and went shopping with Alison.

I sat at my desk the next morning, completely lost in thought, while Steven, a colleague also working on the Verten project, talked beside me.

Just as he had promised, Liam hadn’t touched or kissed me again. Five whole damn weeks had gone by since he did, and nothing. My craving to feel him again went from sizzling to an all-consuming fire I couldn’t find a way to extinguish. I had to make an extra effort to focus when he was around, but all in all, I hadn’t regretted staying at AD. Professionally that is.

To deny there was tension between us was being naive or trying to purposefully fog my own perception of reality. Some days it simply wasn’t manageable and I found myself needing to take care of it as soon as I got home. If Liam felt the same, he was an expert in masking it. Nothing about him gave anything away besides a normal and comfortable professional relationship.

Things had been civil between us, and I found myself enjoying his company more and more as time went by. That made it even worse. My thing for him, which had yet to gain a name, meaning, or definition, was going from a purely physical fixation into something else. Something that scared me shitless.

It was too easy to be around him. Too easy to fall into comfortable conversation beyond work related topics. Too easy to get lost looking at him.

I felt his gaze on me, too, sometimes. Those alluring green eyes calling to me just as they were now. I glanced away from my screen to confirm that he was looking at me, and unlike all the other times, Liam wasn’t budging today when I met his stare. He held steady, his expression turning broody and dark, reincarnating the first version of him I had met. He was a man full of layers, and this one was the most thrilling one of all.

He wore a mask that said “don’t fuck with me” today, the danger lurking behind it evident on the sharp edges of the daggers shooting from his eyes towards me.

Towards me?

He held me pinned under his glower, never swerving as he stood up from behind his desk and stalked towards me. I couldn’t help but shift in my seat, hesitant and expectant of what the hell that look meant.

There was a slow shiver slithering down my spine, creeping lower at each step he took, the pressure building in my gut as he reached his door and slammed it shut.

What the hell?

Something in me expected him to stomp over, grab my hand, take me to the service staircase, and pin me to the wall. I’d let him, no doubt in my mind.

“Jamie?” Steven called from beside me. He was hunched over me as he typed on my keyboard from behind. “Are you still with me?”

“Hum, yes, sure.” I forced a smile, looking up at him, feeling guilty I hadn’t heard a word he said before Michelle startled us, coming out of nowhere.

“I wouldn’t go there if I were you, Honey. That’s a hole you can never dig yourself out of. You won’t like what you find there, either,” she said, her smile just as fake as her boobs.

“No, we were just working,” Steven quickly replied, backing away from me, completely missing what she was saying.

I narrowed my eyes at her, forcing a smile on my face, too, but not uttering a word.

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