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My whole body had frozen in shock and I heard her voice somehow muffled, as if I had cotton wool stuck in my ears.
“I wanted to run out at her and punch her in the face for speaking to you like that. I hope she didn’t give you a hard time because I flirted with you. I was just so angry, but I shouldn’t have. Roy, I’m so sorry, I—”
Her breath hitched in her throat as I covered her hand with mine, stopping the rambling and fidgeting.
She had been flirting with me, then.
Feeling weirdly elated, I gave her hand a gentle squeeze, then slowly took my fingers away.
Her cheeks were faintly pink, and I saw her bite the inside of her lip. That little gesture of hers in the shop had kept me awake at night. I’d sworn I would never cheat on Abbie, but I suddenly wasn’t so sure. We’d already crossed one line. I wasn’t sure I would have enough self control to stop if shecame at me. I couldn’t help the images in my head, as much as I’d tried to suppress them.
Kat kneeling on the floor before me, her beautiful face tilted up. My leaking dick sliding over her mouth, spreading my cum all over those deep red lips. A needy whimper escaping her when my barbs stung her flesh as I started fucking her hot mouth.
The bulge pressing against the fabric of my black jeans didn’t come as a surprise, yet it disgusted me.
Fuck, Roy, you’re not a cheat. Get a grip on yourself. You work with her, you asshole.
“It’s fine.” My voice was slightly hoarse with arousal. I hoped Kat wouldn’t notice.
Then she moved a little in her seat, as if to rub her legs together.
God, no.
Willing myself to ignore any scents I might be able to detect, or erratic breathing patterns, or anything that pointed to Kat being as turned on as I was, I cleared my throat, hoping my voice would sound normal.
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
Kat looked straight back at me, a sad little smile stretching her mouth. “I’m just gonna put this out there, no need to say anything, okay? And I know I’m crossing a boundary here, but you’re not alone in this, no matter what anyone might tell you. I’m here. You can call me night or day. I have a spare bedroom in my flat. It’s yours if you want it.” The flush on her face deepened as she pulled the mocks of ournew online shop out of a file. “So let’s, uh, get back to the mocks.”
“R-right,” I stuttered, unable to form a clear thought. “Mocks. Yeah.”
Neither of us mentioned anything about Abbie or Kat’s proposal for the rest of the meeting, but the cogs in my head kept churning. She was on my team, and insisted I wasn’t alone. I had never confided in anyone before. I’d vowed to myself so many times that we’d reached a point of no return, that I would get out. I’d even called landlords a couple of times but it always involved a waiting period. My resolve would crumble, and I’d let myself get pulled back under.
The flat was Abbie’s. I’d moved in shortly after Sad and I founded APEX. We’d been two broke idiots, he the manager of a small gym and I a fitness instructor, and had funnelled all the money we did have into our first collection, pulling the whole thing off on a shoestring budget. We’d spent our first meagre profits on marketing.
It had made sense back then to save as much as I could on housing, but it had started to feel like a prison to me. And no matter how much money our business was making, I hadn’t had the chance to utilise it as a means to help me get out of my fucked up relationship.
Knowing Kat was in my corner was a ray of sunlight hitting my face after years spent in the dark. And I decided then and there while she talked about user interfaces and colour codes, that I’d be taking her up on her offer. ThatI’d give myself a few days to breathe and then build my life back up.
It might be unconventional, but if I didn’t take the hand offered, a second chance might not present itself to me for a long time—perhaps never. I shuddered to think what might happen. I’d either wait for her to ditch me or not be strong enough to refuse…what? A marriage, kids?
No, I couldn’t let my future babies suffer for my stupidity.
Chapter Thirteen
Kat
Roy dodged our weekly meetings two times in a row, sending me short texts to tell me he was sick one week, and busy the next. He avoided me and I only had myself to blame. I had overstepped like crazy and was lucky he hadn't asked Dex to assign the project to someone else.
Seeing him get hit by his partner had connected all the dots in my head. That's why he had flinched when I poked his arm a few weeks ago. He had been hurting, or had expected a lashing.
The thought of that, and remembering Roy's face, had made me see red. I'd paced the room like an animal in a cage, trying to look at the situation from all angles. I wanted to find him—I could probably have tracked her down. I knew people who knew people who did that sort of thing.
In my imagination, I knocked down the front door like a badass vigilante in a movie, and got him out of there. ButI'd learned that you couldn't save anyone for the sake of it. They needed to want it. But I swore, if he gave me so much as a secret handshake, I'd be there to help him get back on his feet. He had my full support. I just hoped he believed me.
It was fucking hard to come to terms with it, and I had been so angry that I asked my coach for more lessons so that I could throw some punches. I'd half expected to run into Roy at the gym, but whenever I'd been there, no stunning tiger had waited to take my breath away, and I hadn't dared ask El Animal when his boss would be back.
My life felt empty without him in it, a feeling I never wanted to experience after my last break-up, but Roy had stealthily taken up residence in my heart. A small part of me thought I could love him if things were different between us. If he wasn't my client who was getting beaten up by his girlfriend.
