Chapter Fourteen #2
As Rochelle tackled her under-eye circles, Claire swallowed hard a few times, pretending that ball of anxiety wasn’t working its way up her digestive tract.
* * * *
By the end of the work day, Nick was silently encouraging the rest of the crew to go home.
Louie and Rex took their time putting the cameras away, and Lacey kept finding others details to review to prepare for the next day’s shoot.
Michael had fixed a plumbing issue in the laundry room, but even with the water flowing smoothly, he continued to test it.
Eli was gabbing with a member of his landscaping team, rather than packing up his truck, and for some reason, every other crew member appeared to be moving in slow motion.
And all while Claire continued to shoot Nick the sexiest ‘come hither’ looks he’d ever seen. She’d been doing it all day, ever since their talk. He’d been nervous to face her this morning. In fact, he’d wondered if she might not show up to work at all, but she’d surprised him.
She continued to surprise him.
Even now, she stood at the sanctuary door, her cell phone in hand. However, rather than scrolling or texting, she locked gazes with Nick. Twirling her hair around a finger, she nibbled her bottom lip. A secretive smile lit up her eyes.
This woman really would be the death of him.
Nick locked up his tools in his truck and pulled out his cell phone, pretending to check a webpage.
What he actually wanted to do was haul Claire up against his body and take ownership of her mouth. To say nothing of various other body parts.
He quickly checked the traffic reports. The little line representing the highway into Toronto showed up as dark red for heavy traffic.
There was definitely no need to rush home.
He glanced at Claire. She grinned and keyed something into her phone.
A notification buzzed on Nick’s phone.
Claire: Wanna fuck?
Jesus.
All the blood drained out of his head.
When he looked back at her, she was quietly laughing. She enjoyed his pain, the little minx.
Nick looked around the building site, willing everyone on the Handymen team to hear his silent plea. Go the fuck home! Now.
Eli walked over to Cara, one of the women on his landscaping team. From what Nick could gather from his vantage point, they were talking about a TV show they both watched.
Good Lord, Eli. Can’t you talk to Cara about Death Island tomorrow?
Nick’s phone buzzed again.
Claire: Well?
Nick quickly texted a message.
I would love to fuck you. Thanks for asking. Now how do we get everyone to leave?
I don’t know.
Is there a fire alarm you can pull??? Maybe that’ll work.
Once again, Claire laughed. She then disappeared into the sanctuary.
Nick watched her go. His stomach growled, as if he hadn’t eaten in a day. Another message from her appeared on his screen.
Meet me in my office. Don’t be long.
Suddenly parched as well as hungry, Nick kept an eye on his phone, in case any other raunchy texts came through. In the meantime, he kept an eye on the others. Several team members began to file out. He loved his colleagues, but he’d never been so happy to see them go.
Michael finally emerged from the laundry room. “You on your way, Nick? I hear traffic’s bad tonight.”
“Yeah,” said Nick. “I’m just checking some alternate routes. I’ll see you tomorrow, bro.”
“Drive safely.” Michael waved to Eli and Cara and the others, and got into his truck.
By the time Eli meandered over to Nick, most of the others had gotten into their vehicles.
“You good to go?” asked Eli. “If you don’t want to fight the traffic, you can come with me. I could drop you off. One less car on the road. I’m sure Claire wouldn’t mind if you left your truck here for the night.”
Nick felt badly for mentally cursing out his brother for his long-windedness. “Nah, I’m good. Thanks, Eli.”
Eli paused before getting into his truck. His grin had slipped into shit-eating territory. “So…are you leaving?”
“Yeah.”
“Because you’re not moving. You seem to be, I don’t know, unwilling to clear out.” His mouth hung open in fake surprise. “Wait! Could it have something to do…with Claire?”
Nick glared. “Eli, go home.”
“If you want to wait out the traffic with someone, I’m happy to keep you company.”
“Bro, if you don’t leave right now, I’ll call Mom and tell her you’re annoying me.”
“That might have worked when we were kids, but it won’t work now. Besides, Mom knows I behave better than you do.” Eli landed a light punch on his shoulder. “Have a good night, Nick. Don’t stay up too late. Lacey doesn’t like dark circles on her star.”
Nick breathed a sigh of relief as his brother finally peeled away. He did a quick check of the parking lot, to make sure everyone else had gone, then headed into the sanctuary. He shoved his hand into his jeans pocket to make sure he hadn’t lost the two condoms he’d grabbed that morning.
It was important to be prepared, after all.
He reached Claire’s office and found the door closed, so he knocked.
“Is that you, Nick?” she called.
“Yeah. Can I come in?”
“I wish you would.” The sing-song tone in her voice made him instantly hard.
He opened the door and found it relatively dark in the room. Of course, it was late in the day and the tarp still hung over her window. Nick moved the door slowly and peered around it.
What he saw next almost made him fall to his knees.
Now that the room was renovated, all of Claire’s furniture had been put back. Her desk stood in its usual place, in front of the window.
Claire had cleared off her desk. She lay on it, completely naked.
She raised herself up onto her elbows and beckoned to him with a finger.
Nick approached the desk, his heart beating somewhere up in his throat. “Damn, woman.”
“Like what you see?”
“I’ve never liked anything more.” He ran a hand up her leg. “You know, anyone could have come in here.”
“I know. Hot, right?”
He nodded, licking his lips. “I was right when I called you a dirty girl.” He dragged a finger over her hip toward her stomach, loving how it flexed in anticipation for him. “Did you touch yourself while you were waiting for me, beautiful Claire?”
“I might have touched myself.”
His voice was so hoarse he had to swallow before speaking again. “Show me.”
She arched her back, running her hands up to caress her breasts. After tweaking her nipples, she slid one hand back down her body toward her pussy. Spreading her legs, she dipped a finger between her lips.
So fucking sexy.
She ran that delicate finger along her seam, toying with herself just as easily as she toyed with him. Unable to stand it any longer, Nick reached for her hand and sucked her wet fingers into his mouth.
He closed his eyes. She was hot and delicious.
It wasn’t enough to satisfy his hunger, though.
Nick pulled up one of the office chairs. He dragged her to the edge of the desk, his hands shaking as he gripped her hips. As she whispered his name, he buried his face between her legs and took his fill.
Her whispers became shattered cries, then the sort of silence that came with awe.
This was how he wanted to keep her. Awestruck, spent, with his name on her lips.
Even as she tugged on his hair to let him know she’d come, he didn’t stop.
He was so hungry and a bounty still lay before him.
“Oh, God,” she said, her voice nothing less than a purr. “Yes. More.”
Nick grinned against her skin. There was no sense in rushing home.
After all, the traffic was horrible tonight.
* * * *
Claire awoke from yet another troubled sleep. It had been the norm since she’d started screwing Nick.
They’d been doing it for the better part of a week now.
Her days had been amazing, filled with flirtation, snatched kisses and the odd frantic hookup over lunch.
Her evenings had been even better. Nick had been leaving the building site late every night, lingering until all his colleagues went home.
The moment everyone else disappeared, she and Nick would be all over each other.
There had been another interlude on her desk, several sexfests in her spare bedroom and even one memorable quickie in the sanctuary supply closet.
That day, they’d barely been able to keep their hands off each other as the others were pulling out of the parking lot, and something about that closet had just called to her.
She wandered downstairs and brewed herself a coffee, ignoring Arthur’s eyes in the many photos around her house.
For the first time, she realized there was a downside to her being a photographer. She’d taken so many pictures of Arthur and now she couldn’t escape him.
It didn’t matter. Even if she didn’t look at him, she still heard his voice.
As she sipped her coffee, she dared to glance at Arthur’s image.
Claire Bear, you’ve had your fun, but it needs to stop now. You’re breaking my heart.
“I’m not listening.” She poured her coffee into the sink, no longer thirsty for it. “I know that’s not really you. I know what this is. Why am I even having this stupid conversation? We’re done talking, bucko.”
Mumbling to herself, she stomped upstairs and got dressed for the day.
Why was she continuing to torture herself with these ridiculous dialogues? She’d been so determined to change the script, and had even helped Nick change his.
She’d been feeling so bold, so courageous, when she’d seduced Nick that day in her office.
It had started a chain reaction, and now she could do nothing but think of him and imagine ways to do it.
She knew he was thinking the same things.
It was clear in the way he looked at her, like he wanted to devour her.
Which he usually did.
Good God, he did it well.
They were good together. He made her feel good, and she did the same for him.
And yet, every single time, she was hounded by guilt. It chased her like a rabid dog, intent on leaving a scar on her flesh.