In Love After Office Hours (Wrong For You series Boxsets #7)

Six

I T WAS A CONSTANT STRUGGLE for Pippi not to gawk like a hick at her surroundings, and she could only mentally shake her head in disbelief when Acheron led her to the beautifully set table at his balcony. It boasted of the most beautiful views from just about every side - the cityscape in front, his private cocktail lounge on the right, and his rooftop pool on the left.

A pool, at several hundred feet off the ground!

Whatever was she doing here, having dinner with a man who lived in a world so vastly different from hers?

Acheron had pulled out a chair for her, but somehow she couldn't make herself move an inch. This was wrong. This was just so -

Wickham came in then, bearing a tray laden with several familiar-looking boxes.

Oh!

A startled squeak escaped her, and Acheron's eyes gleamed at the adorable sound of it. Her eyes followed Wickham's every move, widening with every dish the older man unveiled. Spring rolls. Baked pork buns. Prawn dumplings. Leaf-wrapped rice. And when Wickham opened a box containing two orders of xiao long bao, Acheron swiftly pressed his lips together to contain his smile, having seen Pippi unconsciously lick her lips at the sight.

"I take it I've made the right choice?"

Pippi nodded, almost gushing 'oh yes' when a thought occurred to her, and she glanced at him suspiciously. Maybe she was thinking too much of this, but wasn't it too great a coincidence for Wickham to serve Chinese cuisine, and everything happened to be her favorites, too?

Pippi cleared her throat.

Knowing what she was planning to ask, Acheron responded with an unrepentant grin, "I had my assistant stalk your foodstagram."

Oh. Okay. At least...he hadn't lied?

Acheron noticed the way she was still frowning. "It bothers you?"

"I'm just trying to make up my mind if you going to such lengths make you thoughtful...or manipulative."

Acheron threw his head back with a laugh.

"And I really appreciate all this, but...do all your stay-at-home dates normally involve Chinese takeout?"

"Do you want an honest answer?"

"Umm, yes?" Why in the world would anyone want differently?

He named a place that she recognized as one of the city's oldest fine dining restaurants, and she wasn't surprised when he told her the establishment was on call to provide him with catered dinners at home.

"But I had a feeling doing so would only make you more uncomfortable with me."

And he was right , Pippi thought, but the realization made her far from happy. Acheron Simonides seemed to find it too easy to read her mind, and that was not a good thing at all.

Seeing her forehead start to furrow anew, Acheron changed the subject to divert her attention, and because this was Pippi, he only knew of one thing that was certain to distract his eternally resisting prey.

"Have you read the report on Excalibur Park?"

Pippi relaxed. This, she had no trouble talking about. "I have, yes." Work-related discussions were something she never had to feel self-conscious about, and it helped that Acheron appeared genuinely interested in her ideas about the project.

The combination of lovely food and shop talk had effectively loosened Pippi's tongue even without her knowing it, and in between bites and sips of hot black tea, Acheron was able to subtly extricate information he had a feeling the ever-wary Ms. Jones would normally withhold.

Weekends spent helping out at her mother's bed and breakfast, vague dreams about retiring in her own beach house, and - most importantly of all - a romantic history that only involved a summer fling with a local boy back when she was in high school...

"Does that mean what it means then?" he asked with studied casualness.

Pippi was genuinely confused. "Does what mean what?"

"Your charming story of first love, Ms. Jones. May I also take it as confirmation of your innocence?"

"Confirmation of..." And then she realized what exactly he was asking, and her horrified gaze flew to the man seated across her. "Mr. Simonides!"

Her blush proved to be as tremendously impactful as it had been in the past, and his cock jutted demandingly against his trousers. "Call me Acheron, mikrí mou. "

Pippi could only shake her head, no longer daring to speak. The sexy rasp in Acheron's voice was like a wake-up call that had her realizing too late of the danger she had unwittingly placed herself in. It had finally dawned on her just how much she had revealed to him over the course of one stupid meal, and omigodomigodomigod - how gullible could she get?

She gazed at her glass of chilled mango sago with despair and longing. It was still half-full, but how could she let herself finish it now? Prudence dictated that she needed all her wits about her, and Lord knew how this particular dessert always had a rather mellowing effect on her senses.

Her phone suddenly rang, making her jump in her seat, and Pippi nearly cringed when she saw the flicker of amusement in Acheron's gaze. Blast it. The man definitely knew now how nervous he made her.

Acheron gestured to her phone, saying politely, "You should answer that. I wouldn't want your sister to think you're in trouble."

"Oh. Um. Thank you." Pippi tried to hide her relief as she stood up and excused herself from the table. Maybe she had it all wrong? Maybe he was just a big flirt, maybe he was just having fun at her expense, but at the end of the day, he had realized that she simply wasn't his type?

The thought should've made her happy, but it didn't, and this caused Pippi to answer her sister's call in an unusually subdued tone. "Hey, Rue."

"First question," the twenty-year-old declared blithely. "Is your V-card still intact?"

"Rue!" What was it with people today that they were all concerned about her hymen?

The younger girl let out a disappointed sigh. "You're dating People's Sexiest Man Alive—-"

"That was last year," Pippi muttered.

"You're deliberately missing the point..." Rue's voice became sly. "And it's not like you to beat around the bush, sister dear."

"You're imagining things." Standing next to the balcony's glass railings, she tried but failed to take pleasure at the panoramic view Acheron's penthouse afforded her. All she could think of was leaving, and the sooner the better.

"Are you still there, Pi?"

"Yeah, I'm here. Let's just—-" She broke off, sensing someone approach from behind, and when she turned around, it was to find Acheron coming to a stop within kissing distance, so blasted close the scent of his cologne was once again teasing her nostrils.

So close. Too close. Impossibly, painfully, agonizingly close.

"Pi?"

"Umm..." Her mind was a blank, with the heat blazing from Acheron's eyes making her feel like a cornered rabbit. She knew she should move, but she couldn't. She knew she should push him away, but she couldn't. Oh, the many things she knew she should do, but couldn't - because the truth was...

She didn't want to do any of them , Pippi realized sickly.

"Pi?" This time, Rue's voice was tinged with serious concern.

"S-Sorry." Her voice came out unnaturally shrill, with Acheron having reached for one of her hands, and oh dear Lord, his touch was scorching, like electricity running through every vein of her body. "I was just thinking of..." Her voice faltered as Acheron raised her hand to his lips.

"Thinking of what?" Rue prompted.

And now, he was slipping one finger into his mouth.

Omigodomigodomigodomigod!

Her finger!

In his mouth!

HER FINGER!

IN HIS MOUTH!

She somehow managed to find her voice. "Fin.... findings ."

Acheron's eyes laughed at her, but when she tried to yank her hand out of his hold, he retaliated by sucking on her finger, and her knees immediately buckled.

Bloody, bloody, bloody hell!

"Findings about what?"

Pippi found herself clutching one of the balcony posts just to stay upright, her gaze helplessly drawn to the erotic sight of her finger in his mouth.

Oh God, the way his tongue swirled, the scrape of his teeth, and the way he sucked...

"Pippi?"

"It's d-difficult to e-explain." And it was. "I'll call you again. O-Okay?" Her voice caught as Acheron sucked on her finger just a bit harder, enough to make her whole body shiver.

A moment later, she heard Rue whisper, "Oh my."

Oh no.

"I'm so going to tell everyone."

"Rue—-"

But the line was already dead, and a moment later, she, too, was dead, with Acheron lowering his head and releasing her finger so he could replace it with her mouth.