Chapter Twenty-Two
As he’d promised, a vehicle was waiting for her outside her apartment.
She just hadn’t expected him to be in it. Stratos had spent most of the previous day at her apartment—much of it in bed—before leaving in the evening.
“Good morning,” she greeted him.
He pulled her close for a lingering kiss. “Now it is.”
“I didn’t expect us to be riding together.”
“There’s no sense in going separately. We work at the same place.”
“People will talk if they see us together.”
“Not when they find out about the dorian. They’ll understand.”
She hoped he was right. Perhaps she felt self-conscious because she was boinking the boss. Again. Once could be dismissed as a mistake, but twice?
She didn’t regret sleeping with Stratos—at least not the way she should.
Spending the day making love with him had fulfilled her in a way she hadn’t expected.
She considered herself a strong, independent, confident woman, but while she didn’t need him, she couldn’t deny the strong connection to her grumpy, terse, ill-mannered alien boss.
He hadn’t acted that way yesterday, revealing a tender, affectionate playfulness that disarmed her defenses.
She’d seen a private side no one else got to see.
She hesitated to call his behavior loving, but he’d been that.
And a beast in the sheets. It had been no brag that he could be ready to go at a moment’s notice, and she’d been right there with him.
Her pussy was quite sore from the unaccustomed activity.
She wondered if he would revert to his old grumpy self at the office. If he did, he might get a cup of kaffii dumped on his head. On the other hand, if he acted like a jerk, people would be less likely to suspect they were having an affair.
“They caught the dorian,” he said. “I checked the government site last night.”
“That’s a big relief. It didn’t take long at all.”
“I figured they wouldn’t delay.”
“I won’t need the vehicle anymore.”
“You will use the vehicle,” he ordered.
The edict caused her to bristle, but not enough to argue against her own best interests. After the attack, and with the nightmare still vivid and fresh, going anywhere near the alley scared the crap out of her. Besides, as bossy as he sounded, his command arose out of concern for her welfare.
He would probably always be tactless and taciturn. That’s who he was. She could handle that. It gave her the freedom to be her authentic self—snarky and sarcastic. Aren’t we a matched set?
But only until Verilla came back. A sharp pang shot through her. She hated to think about leaving Oberia or that their affair might burn itself out long before that.
She couldn’t foresee a happy ending. Either the affair would end and work would become very awkward, or she’d get deeper involved emotionally and, when her contract ran out, she’d return to Earth jobless, homeless, and heartbroken.
She’d been unemployed before, but Gavin had failed to touch her heart.
She’d been pissed at how he’d ended their affair, but not sad.
GAL Friday was supposed to make things better!
It wasn’t the program’s fault—it was hers for getting involved with the boss.
The fix, of course, would be to end the sexual liaison now before she fell for him. Too late!
She sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
This wasn’t the time or place to express her feelings.
There would never be a time or place because her job was temporary, and she couldn’t stay on Oberia.
He had commitments that didn’t involve her.
If Frysta even thought he might marry her, she would disinherit him for sure, and he’d never become CEO.
We’re the epitome of star-crossed lovers.
His eyes still held a question.
“I was wondering which is more daunting,” she prevaricated, “encountering a dorian or facing your mother after blowing off a command performance.”
He laughed. “About equal, I’d say. I messaged her last night and did some damage control.”
“You did?” she said, relieved. She’d been dreading facing even a holographic Frysta. “What did you say?”
“The meeting wasn’t convenient for me, so I didn’t attend.”
“That’s not damage control!” she cried. “That’s making it worse!”
“I figured I could tell her that—or that I’d chosen to spend the day in bed with you.”
“Well—well—you could have told her something in between the two extremes.”
“Such as?”
“I don’t know!”
Not since her teen years did she have to worry about what a parent thought of her. On the other hand, she’d never dated anyone whose family owned a financial empire.
The vehicle landed. The workday had begun, and employees were scurrying into the building.
She watched Brad stride inside, and she hunched down even though the windows were darkened.
Normally, she’d be dying to share the news of a new relationship with a bestie, but he was her coworker. They worked in the same department now!
“Would you feel more comfortable if we entered separately?” Stratos asked.
“Yes!” she said with such alacrity, she felt compelled to apologize. “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. We should be discreet.”
His lips quirked. “Do you want to go in first, or should I? One of us can get out, and the vehicle can fly around the complex before letting the other one out.”
“I’ll go first.” It would give her time to get settled and perform her morning routine. After missing a day, there were probably a gazillion messages. “Maybe tomorrow you could let me off a block away.”
“If it makes you more comfortable.” He looked amused. “I’ll stop at the lab before coming in.”
Good.
“Since you’re insisting I ignore you—” he started.
“That’s not what I said!”
“You’d better kiss me, since it’s going to have to last me all day.”
She leaned over to give him a quick peck, but he captured her lips in a long, intimate, panty-dampening kiss before releasing her.
“Go before I lay you over the seat, lick your pussy, and then flek you until you scream,” he whispered in her ear, setting her libido on fire and shattering any illusions she could be casual about this.
With a few growled words, he turned her insides and willpower to goo.
“I am not a screamer,” she said primly, offering what little bravado she could muster.
“Is that a challenge?”
She leaped out of the vehicle to his mocking laughter. Adding injury to insult, his palm stung her backside. He slapped my ass!
The vehicle took off.
I liked him better when he didn’t laugh, she lied to herself as she stomped into the building.
“Good morning.” Isomar, the day guard, eyed her.
Why is he staring at me? Can he tell what I was doing?
To her dismay, there were subtle, but telltale signs of a day spent fucking.
No one could see her sore nipples, but her lips were reddened and swollen from kissing and sucking cock.
Her pussy was so tender, she walked a little bowlegged—and she’d had to exchange her usual pants for a dress because the slacks chafed.
As achy as she was, it would have taken little coaxing for her to take Stratos up on his indelicately phrased offer.
Little coaxing? None. The man could seduce her with a few growly words; he had the sexiest voice in the entire galaxy.
It amazed her she hadn’t noticed sooner.
“Good morning,” she replied to the guard.
“A little late today, huh?” Isomar noted.
“I overslept.”
“Well, the boss man’s not in yet, so no worries.”
Thank god, he’s flying around the block! From now on, she’d get out of the vehicle before it arrived at work. As long as she didn’t have to go by the alley, she’d be fine. “Thanks for the tip,” she said, and hurried to the tube.
* * * *
Before going to the office, she picked up a couple of nuknuks. There weren’t quite as many messages as she’d feared, but there were a ton, so she was glad Stratos had gone to the lab to give her time to prepare the summary.
She cringed as she reviewed two holograms sent by his mother yesterday morning, both of which could be summarized as, “Where the flek are you?” The holograms solidified her certainty they had to keep the relationship under wraps and not say anything to anybody.
Stratos and his Personnel VP sister were vying for control of the company, and Frysta favored Corona. An office affair would be used as ammunition against him. She wouldn’t be able to stand it if she were the reason he failed to gain control of the company he loved so much.
Furthermore, if she got a reputation for sleeping with the boss, even GAL Friday wouldn’t be able to find her a position. Doubts began to assail her again.
We shouldn’t be doing this. We have to stop. It’s not like this can go anywhere, so why jeopardize our futures for a fling?
But then he swept into the office, and common sense flew out the window.
“You look so prim and proper sitting behind that desk.” He eyed her with a hungry gaze.
She felt like she was being stripped naked and became acutely aware of her clothing against her hypersensitive skin.
Relationships always started out hot at the beginning, but they’d never been this scorching.
“Everything okay at the lab?” she asked, trying to behave normally. Fake it till you make it.
“Fine. Kyra has everything under control.”
“Good. I summarized your messages and sent the report to you.”
“Good,” he mimicked.
“There are two holograms from your mother. She’s not happy.”
“Bad.” His lips twitched.
It was very bad. “Stratos…”
“Savannah…” He grinned wolfishly.
Dammit. She could feel her body respond to his teasing. She looked away. “I got you a nuknuk for breakfast.”
“That’s not what I have an appetite for.”
“You shouldn’t say things like that to me at the office.” She lowered her voice. “People will figure out we’re sleeping together.”
“We’re alone,” he whispered. “Nobody can hear.”
“We promised to keep things professional at work,” she reminded him.
“I didn’t promise. You said that.”
“Stratos…please.”