But fate had other plans for Bianca Cruz. Liam O’Grady had to leave early; business, he grunted as he kissed her awake and indicated the steaming hot cup of coffee on the table beside her.
She sat up, blinking, her tousled hair falling around her as she watched him tug on his jacket, checking his shoulder holster for the gun he always carried.
Then, he turned, his black eyes glinting as he growled,
“Pet, get back into bed. If I keep looking at those big ti*s, I swear, I shall f*ck you now.”
Blushing, she obeyed him, pulling up the covers till her chin.
As he left, slamming the front door and it clicked shut, she sighed and said to herself,
‘I love you, O’Grady.”
*
Snuggling back on the bed, under the covers, she laid her head on the pillow on which her lover had been lying. It still bore his masculine fragrance, the smell of his citrusy cologne, his musk… she sighed again.
She loved Finn St Just; he was kind and caring. But the way she felt about Liam O’Grady?
It was legions away from her feelings for St. Just.
With O’Grady, it was a deep, insatiable hunger, a desire to hold him, to keep him in her arms, within her body and when they made love, she felt complete.
Whole.
It was as though she belonged to him.
*
Sometime during the night, he had taken her again, urgently.
She had responded in kind, her arms winding around his thick, muscled waist as he entered her unceremoniously. She gasped and he stopped for a while, breathing heavily. From the lights that fell on the walls of the room, she could see his face, the sharp contours of his chiselled face, his narrowed eyes as he watched her searching her face, harsh breaths loud in the room.
“Did I hurt you, lass?” he had said, his voice hoarse with desire.
She dimpled and said,
“Don’t stop, O’Grady, please.”
She moaned, as he smiled, a wicked smile as he growled, squeezing a nipple,
” Your Master, lass.”
He began to knead her breast, lying on her, his mouth seeking hers, hot and desperate.
“Master…” she sighed, succumbing to his wants. And then, both of them had been carried to another realm, as she cried out and he roared as he emptied himself in her.
*
With those thoughts mulling around in her head, Bianca dozed off again.
When she came awake, she spotted the cup of coffee and dimpled.
The coffee was awful but she had it anyway, it had been a labour of love, after all, she told herself.
She changed into her office wear and stepped outside where the big bear of a man, Barry the Biker, as she had begun to think of him, stood, waiting.
Shyly, she asked,
“Shall I get you a coffee? Breakfast?”
Barry looked astonished. Then he shook his head and grunted ‘Nope.”
*
This time, she saw that he tailed her on his bike, keeping close, alert and looking around. It felt good, she beamed to herself as she hummed along to the songs on the radio, it felt safe to know that the big man was keeping an eye on her.
*
At the office, she was soon absorbed in tackling the accounts, lending a hand to Mal and Roger, who were in actuality, her seniors here. They broke for a lunch break and picked up greasy hot dogs from a food truck close by. It offerd Mexican fare and mal and Roger egged Bianca on.
“You gotta try the Barbacoa Burrito!” declared Roger enthusiastically.
Mal gave her a look and chortled.
” Bianca, it’s got braised beef, onion, cilantro, roasted red salsa, red rice, black beans and crema, sure to be good!”
Hesitantly, Bianca agreed and the three of them made their way to the nearby park, their burritos in brown paper bags. They had chosen to have a quick lunch because Simmons had piled more work on them and they needed to get back quickly.
“This is a new place,” remarked Roger as he munched on his burrito happily.
Sitting in the park, listening to her friends, for that was what they had become, she did not think of the horror she had felt when she entered the ransacked apartment the previous evening.
*
It was after they had got back, that Bianca noticed something strange. Joe Simmons was keeping an eye on her and she became aware that he had been furtively observing her off and on.
Suddenly, Bianca was on alert.
Why was he watching her? Finding excuses to come and peer over her shoulder when she was working?
*
Even easy-going and laid-back Mal began to comment on the unusual patterns of Simmons and finally, Bianca could not stand it any longer. She marched into his office, surprising him on the phone. He scowled at her and quickly ended his call.
“Mr Simmons, is there something wrong with my work?” she asked, her tone unconsciously challenging. His face reddened.
“I…we always need to check on new employees,” he declared loftily. But Bianca knew that it was not the truth. Roger ahd been frowning as he made the observation earlier,
“What’s got into old Sim, anyways? He never checks on any new employee the way he’s doing today!”
As she started back to her little area, Bianca knew that she had crossed a line.
Simmons was not happy with the bold way she had accosted him. She left his office but a distinct feeling of uneasiness prevailed.
*66. Being With O’grady