Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
I needed to get my expectations in order. Two nights ago, I’d begged to fuck her bareback.
What would’ve happened if I’d gotten her pregnant?
For starters, you’d be released from the chain that is your future marriage to Eileen.
I shook my head, not letting my thoughts stray so far from reality. Eileen was a fact, not an option.
She’d make Mom happy.
She’d fulfill my promise to Dad.
All of these aside, she was safe.
With her, I’d never run the risk of getting a blowie, naked in the woods like a horny teenager.
Would never stab someone because he dared think about touching her.
Would never be consumed by every breath she took, every smile she smiled, every tiny quirk she picked up.
“You have a ten o’clock Zoom meeting with CIRPE Corp, an eleven-thirty brunch downtown with the TechT shareholders, and a two o’clock domestic flight to Chicago to sign a contract finalizing the GoProBono deal. Other than that, you have a question-marked dinner with Constance and Celeste at that new Indonesian restaurant at Rockville Pike if you can make it.” Natalie managed to rapid-fire my list in one breath.
“I won’t make it. Send them my apologies, and pick up the bill on my card.”
I hadn’t seen Farrow in twenty-four hours. Getting into her pants was of utmost importance. Prior to breathing and other mandatory physical functions.
I’d purchased enough condoms to last the entire red-light district for a decade.
I pushed the double doors to my office open. “Make sure you’re done with my filing, dry cleaning, and shopping before five. I want the house to myself.”
Translation: I want to peacefully hump Farrow’s leg in various places of the house without being doxed to the world as a pervert.
Natalie scrunched her nose. “What if I don’t have time to finish everything?”
“Finish tomorrow.”
“But I—”
“I’m not asking, Natalie. I’m commanding.” I paused at the threshold. “If you don’t like the terms of your employment, I can always offer your position to someone equally incompetent.”
She pouted. “You never seem to care when Farrow talks back.”
That’s because she runs the show, and you’re merely an extra in it.
In lieu of a response, I shut the door in her face.
Before settling into my executive chair, I made a pit-stop at my never-ending Go game with Fae. She’d moved a stone last night, which meant that she’d returned home at some point.
The knowledge that she slept across the hall from me oddly satisfied me.
I plucked a stone from my bowl and set it on the board. I harbored two prisoners of hers. I’d win the game in the coming days, after all.
“Silly, Octi. At this rate, I’m going to conquer your entire kingdom.”
I fought a bitter smile, knowing, deep down, that I was the one being captured.
Like all gusts of hope, mine died a slow, cruel death.
I’d hoped for another blowjob from Farrow before lunch.
Instead, I received numerous interruptions from Natalie, impeding my scheduled video conferences and business calls.
Then, Mom dropped by to complain about my lack of response, urging me to download a tracking app in case I ended up in a ditch somewhere.
Genuine tears leaked from her eyes, and I knew the latent anxiety from learning of the crash never actually left her.
Oliver came next with an absurd request to borrow my home for an orgy. I kicked him out, literally, but he only pivoted, asking me to do it again—harder.
And still, no sign of Octi.
I checked the surveillance cameras.
Hallways. Kitchens. Living areas.
Nowhere.
Stop with this obsession. Concentrate on your work.
Two hours in, that proved impossible. I tried to feed myself the excuse that I was checking in on an unruly employee as I rose from my seat and made my way to her room.
I knocked on her door, feeling like a certified idiot. It was my house. She was under my payroll.
Why did I feel so out of control?
“Farrow. I know you’re in there.” No answer. I pressed my elbow to the door, my nostrils flaring. “Your car’s parked out front—where I should be parking, by the fucking way—and all my healthy snacks have been raided overnight.”
Finally, her unapologetic voice came from the other side of the wood. “Those cashew energy balls are the bomb. You need to buy more of them.”
She’d spoken with her signature sass, yet I picked up on something fragile. Brittle, even.
My hackles rose all the way to the sky.
“Octi?” I replayed the last forty-eight hours, sifting through my memories. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Shockingly, no. It’s not you.”
“Can I open the door?”
“I’d rather you didn’t see me like this.”
“Like what?”
“Vulnerable.”
“Farrow.” I closed my eyes, drawing a breath. “I’ve shown you the darkest, most depraved sides of me. I bared my soul to you. All I’m asking is to catch a glimpse of yours.”
The world tilted on its axis as I waited for her answer.
Finally, she said, “You can come in.”