added. “Worrying about what could have happened isn’t helping.”
“This is exactly why we needed you,” Nora said. “Thank you, Soph.”
She smiled. “My pleasure.”
“We didn’t use protection.”
Nora paused, her mouth slightly open. “Well, that’s not ideal, is it?”
“Are you on anything?” Sophie asked.
I nodded. “I stay on the pill to keep me regular. But this is what I’m talking about. It’s not just two people who had sex and it’s nothing. My behavior was reckless. A few months of sexual frustration is no excuse for throwing good judgment out the window.”
Nora went into the kitchen and came back with fresh ice in my glass. She sat back down on the couch and mixed me another drink. “Here’s what you’re going to do. Own it. Don’t walk by his office and look away, hoping you don’t make eye contact.”
“Are you sure? Because that’s what I’d like to do.”
“Nope. Own your sexuality. You did something you wanted to do, you enjoyed it while it lasted, and there’s absolutely no shame in that.”
“I agree,” Sophie said. “If you pretend it didn’t happen, it’ll only make things worse.”
Nora handed me the glass and I took a deep breath. “So you’re saying I didn’t make a terrible mistake by having sex in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong man.”
“I don’t know if he was really the wrong man,” Nora said.
“He’s my nemesis.”
“You’ve mentioned that,” she said with a smile. “But your body doesn’t think so.”
Which brought me back to the core of my dilemma. On a deep, physical level—in the depths of my primal brain where logic had no influence—I was attracted to Corban. Intensely attracted to him. More than I’d ever been attracted to any man in my life.
But we didn’t get along. He was irritating and frustrating and so adorable when he raked his hand through his hair and—
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so confused.”
Nora grabbed my hand and squeezed. “You have a brilliant mind, Hazel, and it’s not often that it lets you down. But sometimes your head gets in your way.”
“Own it?” I asked, wondering if I had it in me to do what she was suggesting.
“Absolutely. Just fucking own it. Acknowledge it, and move on.” She grinned at me. “Or make plans to meet somewhere more private and see what happens.”
“No.” I held up a hand. “It’s not happening again.”
Nora and Sophie shared a look, like they didn’t believe me.
But maybe they were right. I needed to own it. March into Corban’s office on Monday, look him in the eyes, and tell him in no uncertain terms that what had happened last night was never, ever happening again.
16
Corban
“When you are courting a nice girl, an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder, a second seems like an hour. That’s relativity.” ~ Albert Einstein
I expected things would be tense on Monday. What I didn’t expect was Hazel marching into my office first thing in the morning and closing the door behind her. I’d only just put down my keys.
For the first time since we’d met, she was dressed in a shirt without buttons. That was obviously not a coincidence. Her hair was up, showing off the soft skin of her neck. Now that I knew what that skin tasted like, seeing the curve where her neck met her shoulder took on a whole new meaning.
I wanted to bite her right there. Pin her down and slam my cock into her while my teeth left red marks on that silky-smooth skin.
Had I really just had that thought? Who the hell was I?
She lowered herself into a chair, crossed her legs, and folded her hands in her lap. “We need to talk.”
“Yeah.” I adjusted my glasses and shifted in my seat. “Right. So…”
“I’m on birth control, so you don’t need to be concerned about a surprise pregnancy.”
My eyes widened at her bluntness, but my shoulders relaxed. I hadn’t let myself think about that side of things too much, but now that I knew it wasn’t an issue, I was relieved. “That’s good.”
“It was still an irresponsible choice on both our parts.”
Should I tell her I now had a stash of condoms in my wallet? No, because we weren’t doing it again. I hadn’t bought the condoms for her, anyway. Friday night had just made me realize it was better to be prepared.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Good.” Her voice was clipped. “As far as the events that transpired between us, I think it’s best we keep that