I laugh because the statement is plainly ludicrous. “Not even the crooked nail on my little toe?”
He travels down my body until he finds my feet, inspecting each one in turn. “Not even the crooked nail on your little toe. It’s cute.”
“My turn,” I say. “I like the way your hair is just too long for respectability.” I play with a curl, twirling it over my finger and then letting it drop. “In fact, I like your hair full stop.” I tap his forehead. “I like inside here.” I scrape my fingers through his scruff, down over his chest hair. “I like your strength.” My finger continues on between his legs, circling his balls. “I find that I, too, like all of you.” Then my fingers brush over his cock. It twitches. There's more life in it yet.
Things progress rapidly.
He's mid-thrust when my alarm goes off. I'd set it to make sure he was gone before Effie returned. “Faster!” I yell. His hand reaches between us, his finger finds my clit, and,oh yes! Hallelujah!He manages one last deep thrust and then rolls off me. I grab a couple of tissues and plug myself before shimmying into my knickers. He's pulling up his trousers and shrugging into his T-shirt. I drag a brush through my hair after throwing my own clothes on, and then we're racing for the front door. Hegives me one last fervent kiss that I feel to my toes, and he's gone.
I run through the rooms, checking everything is in order, pulling the quilt straight, checking for forgotten socks or underwear. All clear. I take a deep breath and compose myself.
Not a moment too soon, because the buzzer sounds. Plastering on a smile, I open the door. Effie stalks in. I've never been more grateful that Effie is not a hugger, because I've not had time to shower. I must smell of Anders and sex.
Mike backs away. “I'm off.” Effie ignores him. I close the door.
“Is everything all right?” I ask my daughter.
“I saw Toothless.” Effie looks up at me, accusation in her eyes. I freeze. Caught like a burglar mid-heist. “Was Anders here?” she asks.
I can only pray my guilt doesn’t show on my face. Or if it does, Effie can’t read it. I've never lied to her. I may have fudged some things and omitted others, but I've never directly lied to her face, and I don't intend to start now. “Yes,” I say. “He popped by. Is that okay? I would like it if Anders and I could be friends.”
“He was my friend first,” she says. She looks at me with her wise-old-but-young eyes. I hold my breath.
“But it's good to share. You can play with him too.”
Trouble
Love is a drug. Give someone a taste, they only want more. It’s not long before I realise one night every two weeks will not be enough. By Tuesday I'm lying in bed trying to work out ways that Anders and I can see each other. But there's no feasible option that doesn't expose him to Effie. And there's still too much I don’t know about my feelings for me to risk that. Anders is committed. I’m not. And I know my daughter well enough to realise the only thing Effie might like more than having Anders live with us would be a puppy. But given that Anders comes with access to Smauglette, I'm beginning to think even that would be trumped by my boss.
It wouldn't be fair to Dana and Fiona to ask them to take on more babysitting. They have their own relationship and lives to navigate. Mike can't be trusted and in any case there's no reason to suggest he would ever try to help me out. And my parents, the only other people Effie adores, aren’t due to visit until Christmas. She spends enough time as it is in childcare for meto want to take that as an option, and there really is nothing and no-one else.
I have contemplated sneaking Anders in after midnight and out again before she wakes, but I’m not yet that desperate. Effie is a good sleeper, but she has been known to wake, pad down the hallway to my room and climb into my bed. If she came face to butt with Anders's naked hindquarters, there would be a lot of explaining to do. I’m not yet ready for that. And after our near miss on Sunday with Toothless, I don't feel like tempting fate.
Dana’s idea of sneaking off to a hotel room during the day is a non-starter. We are all working hard and Anders is working the hardest of all. He leaves at nine or ten at night, goes home to sleep, and is back in before anyone else in the morning.
He’s a workaholic, but this is even worse than his normal pattern. It’s only temporary. After the launch, things should return to normal and Anders and I will have more time to be together. But neither of us can wait that long.
Although we've spoken every night and messaged every morning, ten days later, I am desperate enough to consider seducing him in his office. As a meeting draws to a close, I let the others leave while I linger, readying my sultry voice and sexy pout. Anders’s eyes glitter; he’s up for it in every sense of the word. I’ve just tucked my fingers under his waistband when there’s a knock and Ginny’s head appears around the door. Luckily, my back is to the door, and my body shields my actions. I drop my hand immediately and try to school my face from panic to passive.
Anders is plainly enjoying my discomfort while hiding his rapidly deflating erection with my body. His lopsided grin appears as he says, “What can I do for you, Ginny?”
She walks into the office. Thankfully she doesn’t seem to notice the dynamic because her mind is on her own affairs. “Please, couldyouapprove my leave?” she asks. “Normally, itwould be Piotr, but…” She leaves the rest unsaid. “I thought it better to take a holiday now and not later in the summer, close to the launch.”
“No problem. Email me the details, I’ll get it sorted on the system.” He means I’ll get it sorted, but whatever. “Planning on going somewhere nice?”
Ginny colours. “I thought maybe the Far East. Some place different.”
“Hey, if you pass through Kuala Lumpur, pop in and see Steve. I’m sure they’d love to see a friendly face.”
Ginny’s smile is weak. “Sure,” she replies and leaves as quickly as she can.
“That was close,” I breathe.
“Your face!” he chuckles.
“It’s not funny. I'm not doing that again.”
“Never say never, Cora. Come here,” he says, as tempting as the devil. When I get closer, he whispers, “Lightning never strikes the same place twice. We’re probably safe for the next ten minutes at least.” His hand snakes into my hair as he pulls me closer.
