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“She’s asking questions.”
Cole shrugged and pulled the crust off the half of the sandwich on his plate. Des still held the other in his free hand though he’d made no move to eat it. “So put her off. It’s n
ot a big deal.”
“I don’t want her to find out.” She tried to hide her disappointment as Des released her hand. “She’s my friend, and if she starts thinking I’m getting unfair benefits because I’m with y’all—I mean, fucking you both—”
“The only benefit you’re getting is the use of our extraordinary dicks.” Cole tossed aside his crust like a ten-year-old. “With Des, you’re barely even getting that.”
Des’s brows dipped low over his churning eyes. “No, she’s right. Cole, we can’t risk Van's suspicions. This is a business, not a damn brothel.” At Wendy’s flinch, Des stroked her arm. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I do. You think I’m bought and paid for.”
“Well, aren’t you?” Cole bit into his sandwich. “Not the sex part obviously, but we pay you for a service which you perform very well.” He chewed and swallowed before giving her one of those grins that could infuriate her or turn her on depending on the day. This was definitely falling into the infuriating category. “You’re amazingly skilled. Believe us, we appreciate it.”
“Shut up, dickhead.” Des dumped his uneaten sandwich on the plate and gripped her forearms. “Forgive my hasty choice of words. I just meant I don’t want us—any of us,” he said with a stern glance at his partner, “to lose sight of we’re about here. Van shouldn’t have to worry that she works in that kind of office.”
“An office where people have healthy sex lives? Oh, no, anything but that.”
Ignoring Cole, Des traced his thumb over the inside of her wrist. She hoped like hell he couldn’t feel her trembling. Even though she knew what she had to do, her body was already registering its objections. “We’ve loved getting to know you better, but that’s not a requirement of your working here. Anytime you say the word, we’ll go back to the way things were. No questions asked.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Cole’s smirk. “She can’t give us up. Who needs eggnog when we’re around?”
“I think maybe we should. Stop this, I mean.” Great, now her voice was shaking too. She made herself look into Des’s eyes and spoke again, more evenly. “It’s been fun, but it’s almost Christmas and—”
“And you don’t want to start a new year like this.” Des nodded as if he understood completely, which didn’t make any sense.
How could he understand? This setup should’ve been perfect. They’d shared amazing sex and tons of laughs. They definitely made it harder for her to remember she was lonely. It just wasn’t enough. A taste of Des didn’t satisfy her hunger. It only made her crave him more.
“Yeah.” Absently she freed her arms from Des and rubbed her hip. Yesterday they’d gotten busy on this very conference table and she had the bruise to prove it. “I hope we can still be friends,” she added, glancing at Cole.
“Sure thing, babydoll.” He stood and leaned forward, tapping her nose before he gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek. “I’m seriously going to miss your sweet pussy. Did I tell you I even named it?”
She sputtered out a giggle. “You did not.” It took all her will not to ask what that name was.
“Oh, I bet he did. ” Though Des grinned, his eyes were uncharacteristically sober as he flicked the end of her braid. “You’re certainly brightened my holiday season, Ms. Stanton.”
A smile tipped up her mouth despite the lump growing in her throat. Forget lump. It felt like a concrete slab. “Ditto. So, ah, I guess I should get back to work.”
He nodded, his hand lingering on her hair. They were standing close to each other, so close she could smell the spearmint from his gum. She wanted to strip off the navy button-down shirt stretched across his taut abs, then peel down his dark jeans until there were no layers between them, only skin. She’d fill herself up with him until she forgot all about tomorrow.
When Cole cleared his throat, they sprung apart like guilty lovers. Or awkward former fuckees. Pick your poison.
So…this was it.
“One more thing.” Giving in to her impulse, Wendy leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss Des a final time. His lips heated and curved under hers. “Go to Maine.”
Chapter Six
It took him until Christmas Eve to decide for certain he wasn’t going. It was tempting. He genuinely liked Cole’s parents and younger sisters, and there would be enough activity to drown out the noise in his head. But this year, it felt necessary that he stay home. Why, he didn’t know.
“Are you sure?” Cole asked from the doorway while Des pulled the pages off his cartoon desk calendar.
He’d forgotten to change the thing since early December. Wendy used to peel off each day for him without fail, but she’d stopped once they became intimate. He wasn’t sure if it was an oversight or intentional. Either way, it bothered him.
Lots of things did nowadays.
“Hot, steaming Tofurky with yummy white flour gravy and all the mixed veggies you can eat. C’mon, you know you want some.”
