a ring I’d only just put on her finger, but I understood her reasoning. “It won’t be for long.”
She twisted it, an enigmatic smile curving her lips. “Not for long.”
21
Athena
I walked through the door to my office with a spring in my step, even though I’d barely had three hours sleep since Ryker and I returned from Mexico after the best weekend of my life. I set an Americano—with an extra shot—on my desk and flopped onto my chair.
“Morning,” I said brightly. “Good weekend?”
“Not as good as you, clearly,” Claire, my coworker and best friend at work, commented. “Talk about the cat that didn’t just end up with their own cream, but everyone else’s, too. Fess up.”
I schooled my expression into nonchalance. “No particular reason.”
“Bullshit,” she said. “Your eyes are sparkling, you’re grinning like an idiot, and…” She peered closer. “You’ve got a tan. Someone’s been whisked away for a dirty weekend.”
“No, I haven’t,” I denied, hoping I didn’t blush while cursing the lazy Sunday morning Ryker and I had spent at the pool. “It’s makeup.”
Claire snorted. “Then I need to get me some of that, especially with all the hours I’ve been pulling lately. Still, the extra money sure comes in useful during the holidays.”
Her phone rang, saving me from further interrogation. I logged on to my computer but already knew today wouldn’t be productive. Ryker and I had agreed that if the Addison’s deal was signed before the end of the workday, he’d call me to his office and we’d tell Elliot there. If the deal went past five p.m., he’d ask Elliot to come to his penthouse where we’d both be waiting.
Was I nervous? You bet your ass. Elliot might be easygoing most of the time, but he had a fearsome temper and was also fiercely protective of me. It stemmed back to years ago when our birth father was still in the picture. I didn’t remember him at all, but Elliot did and, from the snippets of information I’d gleaned over the years, he’d shielded me from seeing too much on several occasions, oftentimes hiding me in a closet until the beatings stopped. Even though Mom was ecstatically happy now, Elliot still carried those scars, and they translated into encasing me in cotton wool.
And his sister getting it on with his best friend definitely counted as a breach of the walls he’d built to protect me from getting hurt.
I touched a hand to my chest. I’d hung my engagement ring on a chain around my neck and buried it beneath my shirt, but just being able to touch it slowed my skittering pulse. Everything would be fine. Ryker and I weren’t simply fooling around. I’d explain how happy he made me, and how in love we were, and even if it took Elliot a little while, he’d come around in the end.
My phone buzzed with a message. Big R. I sniggered. I’d changed the contact details in my phone’s address book from Ryker to Big R in case anyone happened to see a message come in and wonder why Ryker was contacting me. When I’d told him, he puffed his chest out and stated it was an accurate description. We’d laughed for a good five minutes.
I miss you.
My heart clenched. I tapped out a response. I miss you, too. What r u doing?
On a con call listening to lawyers talk. I’m bored.
I chuckled. Time for a teasing response. How about I come up there, crawl under your desk, unzip you, and we can talk about the first thing that comes up. I added a winking emoji.
Watching the three dots, I willed him to type faster while trying desperately to keep the grin off my face, especially now Claire had finished her phone call and was no longer distracted.
In that scenario, the only thing coming up would be my cock. And we wouldn’t be talking, because your mouth would be full.
I clenched my pelvic muscles as a swarm of butterflies took flight in my abdomen. In the last few weeks, I’d learned a lot about my sexual desires. Sex toys, spanking, and dirty talk really turned me on.
I’m game if you are.
I had to wait a full minute for a reply. Probably not the best way for E to find out.
Ah.
R we still planning to tell him tonite? I touched my engagement ring once more, the urge to slip it on my finger and scream from the rooftops almost overwhelming.
Yes, but it’ll be a late one, I