Surprise covered her face for an instant, and then she smiled. That Paris smile that I loved. The one that wasn’t the icy façade that she shrouded herself in to be strong.
No, it was the smile that she showed her friends when no one else was looking.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen that expression directed at me before.
“I’m glad I’m back, too. I want normal. Although I don’t know if it can be that way when it comes to this office.”
“You have a bunch of socially inept people who don’t know how to talk to one another, trying to figure out how to help you.”
“I know. I just hate being the center of attention.”
We both stood up, and I handed her the rest of her papers, careful not to touch her.
“You know if they knew what to do, you would have muffins or scones or coffee or something on your desk.”
“They sent flowers and cards.”
“I know,” I said, putting my hands in my pockets again.
“The people here can be kind. At least, most of them.”
“He’s not here today,” I said softly.
Her shoulders fell, but it was more like a balloon with air being released, more from tension than disappointment.
“That’s good. I didn’t want to deal with him.”
“Me, either.”
“And I can’t believe I said that.”
“You’re allowed to say it. Anyway, you’re the one who sets the tone so that you can act normal, and people will eventually act normal, as well. Or you can talk about it. It’s up to you, but we’re here, no matter what.”
I didn’t mean to become the spokesman for a company that I wasn’t going to be with long, but here I was.
“Thanks, Prior.” She let out a breath, and I steeled myself because I had no idea what she was going to say next. “Can we go out for a drink after this?” she asked. “Well, more like coffee or something since I shouldn’t be drinking alcohol.”
“Are you okay?” I asked quickly, worry filling me.
“I’m fine. I’m just on concussion protocol, and I shouldn’t add booze to my system. Even though I should be able to drink again soon.”
“Oh, that’s good,” I said awkwardly.
“I could use a martini.”
“A martini sounds great,” I said, even though it was only eight in the morning.
She laughed then, and I laughed with her.
“Anyway, if you’re too busy, or if you have a date with Allison or something, no worries. I just figured, well…anyway.”
“Allison and I broke up,” I said quickly, not sure why I’d brought it up.
Her eyes widened.
“Oh?” she asked, her throat working as she swallowed hard.
“It’s over. I’ll tell you what happened later. If you want.” I let out a breath. “Anyway, it’s not a big deal. We can get coffee or a smoothie or something after work.”
“Or, I don’t know, I want a place where I can say thank you without feeling awkward. And I think that, no matter what, it’s going to be awkward.”
I froze, not knowing what to say.
“Seriously. Thank you. I have no idea what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been there. And I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to talk about any of it ever again. However, I figured I at least owed you a drink.”
“We can do that. And maybe another time if you’re going to be too tired after today.” I said that quickly and winced.
“You know, you’re right,” she said with a laugh, surprising me. “As soon as I said it, I was a little worried because I just want to go home and go to bed.”
I shook my head. “Let’s raincheck then.”
I looked at her, wondering what the fuck I was doing. I had no idea what was going on in my brain, but what I did know was that whatever path my mind wanted to go down wasn’t the right path for me. And it sure as fuck wasn’t the right path for her.
“Raincheck it is. Thank you. Seriously. And one day, maybe I’ll want to talk about it some more, but not right now. I want to go to work. I want to look at details, and I want to tell you that you’re wrong a lot,” she said with a laugh, and I snorted.
“Now that is the Paris we missed.”
“Damn straight,” she said, and then we were silent, looking at each other, the quiet filling the room. I swallowed hard before lifting my chin and walking out.
And I knew that no matter what happened next, we needed to be careful.
Because I could not fuck up my friendship with her, however tentative and weird it was.
She had been through enough, and I didn’t want to hurt her any more than she already was.
As I made my way to my office, I knew that my mind wasn’t going to let it rest.
The word complicated was only the beginning.
Chapter 10
Paris
I licked my lips and prowled across the room. Prior sat on the couch, his legs spread, his jeans unzipped. He rubbed himself over the cotton of his boxer briefs, staring at me, his mouth parted, his eyes dark.
All I wore were high heels that I didn’t even remember buying, tiny lace panties that barely covered anything, and a smile.
Or perhaps it was a smirk.
My breasts swayed with each movement I made, my hips sashaying just as hard.
I kept moving, one step at a time.
And then I was on my knees in front of him, his hand pulling at my hair as I gripped the base of him, his large cock too big for my hands, the tip of it grazing my lips.
“Suck it, Paris.”
“Is that an order? I thought I was the one who told you what to do.”
“Open.”
I opened, and he slid his cock between my lips. I gasped, swallowing him whole as his dick touched the back of my throat. I nearly gagged but relaxed my muscles to take more of him in, and then he was pulling at my hair so hard that it almost hurt. Only I couldn’t feel a thing.
Odd.
He fucked my mouth, lifting his hips off the couch as I dug my nails into his thighs and then removed one hand so I could grip his balls, playing with him, kneading him, trying to touch every bit of him.
And then I took a deep breath and was bent over the couch, his cock sliding in, hard and deep as he thrust into me, his dick warm and thick and stretching me. He had his hands in my hair, tugging again, and then they were on my hips, my breasts, pinching and plucking and sending me right over the edge.
And then I was on my back, the gravel digging into my skin, blood trickling from little cuts all over my body. Prior was above me, thrusting inside of me, and then he wasn’t there. Instead, there was someone else, someone in the shadows, their hands around my throat. I woke up with a scream, wondering what the fuck had just happened.
My hands were between my legs, and I grimaced, pulling them away, noticing how wet I was.
Great, I had gotten myself off in my dreams, thinking about Prior of all people, and had somehow ended it all with a twist that I did not want to think about.
I wasn’t afraid of Prior. Far from it. My brain wanted to mix things up to the point that I felt sick.
I still didn’t know who had hurt me, and I didn’t like that that was what I was thinking about right then.