My heart began pounding, not in panic or bottled-up anger, but rather in excitement. The pleasure pooling between my legs thicken, and I had to push Finn’s head aside, on a pillow so he wouldn’t smell my arousal.
It’s all yours, Daddy. Yours to pummel and do as you please.
His reply bounced back a millisecond late.
Sky Walker: Where do you stay? Do you stay alone? I could arrange for a hotel room just for the both of us to meet tomorrow.
Oh, God. I’d only just started talking to him today. I wasn’t even sure that he was Mr. Sturm in question here. What if he turned out to be a creepy, ruthless serial killer? I couldn’t imagine turning up dead and leaving Finn in a cruel world like this.
I’m sorry but…I don’t know you quite well for us to meet.
I tossed my phone aside on the small bedside table beside the bed when Finn began to stir once more, calling out for me. I laid properly on the bed, wrapping an arm around him so he’d stop feeling scared. He normally found it hard to sleep at night, and usually, Cora was always the one checking up and sometimes leaving her bed entirely to sleep with him. I patted the sheets around his groin in horror, smearing my hand with wet pee.
Shit. I had totally forgotten to lead him to the bathroom for his final peeing. Grunting as I tried to rouse him awake, I pulled out some fresh clothes from the closet, stripping him bare and chuckling as he complained while yawning and rubbing his bleary eyes with the back of his hand. I stripped off the sheets as well and we both went downstairs to put them in the small washing machine in a corner in the kitchen.
When I’d put on new sheets and clambered on the bed after him, I picked up my phone again. Disappointment settled within me when I didn’t see the active grin dot on Sky Walker’s profile. He’d left an influx of messages too.
Sky Walker: I understand how scared you must be. But honestly, I need you to trust me on this.
Sky Walker: Hurting you is the last thing I’d ever want to do to you. I just crave you, Elaine. I want you.
Sky Walker: You sleeping or ignoring me?
Sky Walker: Guess I fucked up by asking if we could meet. My bad.
I drew in a deep breath, wishing I could kick myself in the butt. Turning off my phone completely without even typing back a reply, I turned to wrap my arms more firmly around Finn’s body, feeling sorry for myself.
So much for sexting. Now I was even too angry to think about getting aroused.
Ugh.
Max
I sat on a kitchenette stool in my dimly lit kitchen, nursing a half-emptied glass of water. It was a quarter past two and I was having trouble sleeping again. My body was now immune to the effect of the sleeping pills I’d been recommended at the hospital and that was fucked up. I’d tried working on some files but couldn’t concentrate
Why can’t I stop thinking about her?
The minute I closed my eyes, she appeared beautiful and charming as always in her signature black gown, the new black-rimmed dorky glasses she’d recently gotten. I was in love with the way her eyes glowed with so much enthusiasm and concentration as she bent over the papers, carefully circling here and there. God, I’d even jerked off twice to her photo on her resume. What else could I do to cure myself from this uncontrollable urge…this sinful fantasy of Elaine Matthews riding my dick like that night in Manhattan?
Why did she refuse to let me drive her home after the hangout yesterday? Was she afraid of the media reading meanings into stuff? But everyone in New York was well aware that she was just an assistant and nothing more, even though I’d love that to change. I really thought we were heading somewhere yesterday afternoon but now…?
I didn’t know what to do r think anymore.
This is a bloody disaster. A messed up one at that.
Maybe she was telling the truth. Maybe she wasn’t my Cherry. I buried my fingers in my hair, ruffling it in frustration. Darn it, if only there was some new way to view this situation.
But there was none.
She was like, the sixth assistant I had since this month began and she was the hottest. None of the others ever made me feel this way, and I didn’t attribute these feelings to what happened between us in Manhattan. Even if I’d newly met her for the first time last week, nothing could take away that instant attraction I often felt whenever she was in the same room with me. Shaking my head as though to get the thoughts off, I perked up when my phone began ringing loudly, disrupting the still night.
Peering at the screen, I frowned. Manny never called me up so late at night.
I swiped my thumb and pressed the phone lightly to my ear. “Hey, man.”
“You sound energetic,” he mused. “And grumpy as well. Why aren’t you in bed yet?”
“Can’t sleep. Again. How’s Sara doing?”
He sighed. “She’s doing great. Better than when she woke up this morning. I’m thinking of taking her to the hospital to run a test later today.”
“That’ll probably be best.” I hated it whenever Sara was sick because it got to Manny the most. He became restless and irritable whenever she was down. “Why don’t you try and get some sleep? It’ll help with your nerves.”
He laughed. “Look who’s awake yet telling me to sleep.”
“At least I’m not stressed out.”
“But you’re worried.” He paused. “I can feel it in your voice.”
I yawned, stretching my hands in the air and moving my joints. “I’ll be fine. Trust me.”
“Tell me what’s eating you up, man.” He prodded. Perfect. Now, he wouldn’t get off the phone unless I told him what was really on my mind. He had the superpower of knowing whether I was telling the truth or not.
I blew out a curl falling over my face in exasperation. “I think I’m infatuated.”
“Okay…” he trailed off. A pause, before he asked. “With who?”
“Elaine Matthews. My assistant.” I bit my bottom lip, feeling like a letdown. “Look, I know we both agreed to have me stay away from the newspaper cover stories, but honestly man, I can’t help it. She’s taken over my soul completely. It’s like I’ve lost the ability to think since she walked into my life last week.”
The terse silence that followed lasted for such a long time that I almost thought he’d hung up on me. “Hello? Manny, you still there?”
He cleared his throat. “Of course. I’m glad that you said it’s just an infatuation. Give it some time, man. It’ll pass. Just put those lewd thoughts out of your mind. We can’t afford a scandal right now. It’s bad for business.”
“It would’ve been easy if she didn’t look so much like the Cherry I met and introduced to you guys in Manhattan five years ago.”
Another terse pause before he answered, his voice wavering slightly. “You mean the same girl you messed up with? The one you referred to as your wife?”
“Exactly. They both look so alike, I’ll be surprised if they truly aren’t the same persons or sisters. I’ve asked her about it but she says she’s not the one. I don’t know why she would lie but I ”
“Hold up, man. Calm down. This stuff happens all the time. We’ve got a lot of lookalikes moving around these days.”
“I know what you’re trying to say, man,” I argued. “But I know what I’m saying. They’re the same person. She’s just scared to admit that we’ve met before. And that’s strange as fuck.”
He snorted. “I don’t see any reason why she would do that.”
He had a point alright. “Maybe she was threatened?” I asked suggestively with a sigh. “This is ridiculous.”
“I’m glad you said so yourself. It’s no use worrying about petty matters like this. Even though she’s the same Cherry you met five years ago, you can’t afford to mess around with her. You’ve successfully managed to stay out of the press news for a week now and bet me they’re thirsty as hell for any new dirt on you. This assistant of yours is only tempting bait. Don’t fall for it.”
Easier said than done.
“The board is watching. They won’t be happy if you keep bringing bad publicity to the company. You still don’t have enough personal shares to strike out fully on your own. You need them more than they need you, and if you’re truly wise like I think you are, you’ll try your best to forget about Elaine. If possible, start thinking about settling down with someone.”
I paled. “What the fuck? You know me better than anyone, Manny. I don’t like being monogamous.”
“It’s not about what you like, Max,” he said coldly. “It’s about business. Do you understand?”
I nodded reluctantly, then realized he couldn’t see me. “Mm-hmm.”
“Good. Now try to catch some sleep. You’ve got a busy day ahead of you tomorrow.”
He hung up.
Darn it.