FionaThe morning air tasted like freedom, or at least what I imagined freedom should taste like. Sharp, clean, nothing like the recycled institutional air I'd been breathing for weeks. I leaned against Harrison's car—some beat-up sedan that looked like it had seen better decades—and watched the facility's entrance like I was waiting for Christmas morning.Harrison sat behind the wheel, window down, one arm draped casually over the door. He'd been chain-smoking since we got here twenty minutes ago, dropping butts on the asphalt like he owned the place."You're gonna wear a hole in that concrete," he said, not looking at me. "Pacing like a caged animal.""I'm not pacing." But I was. Had been since we pulled up. Back and forth, three steps each direction, my heels clicking against the pavement in a nervous rhythm I couldn't seem to stop."Sure you're not." He took another drag, exhaled slowly. "When's the last time you ate anything?"I ignored the question. The last thing I wanted was H
We passed through the reception area into the open office space behind it. Six or seven desks arranged in a loose circle, most clean except for computers and desk lamps. Troy's station was obvious even to me—a chaotic pile of sketches and magazines, coffee cups with varying levels of science experiments growing in them, and those ridiculous tiny cacti he collected. His computer screen glowed with swirling geometric patterns, the kind of screensaver that triggers migraines."Jesus, his desk is a hazmat zone," I muttered, picking up a coffee cup with something fuzzy and blue around the rim. "How does he work like this?"Maya ignored me, leaning over to wiggle his mouse. The screen blinked to life, showing some spreadsheet with endless columns of numbers. I looked away, not wanting to snoop, but also not really interested in budget data. My eyes caught on a
AlexThe car still smelled faintly of Maya's perfume from this morning. That was the stupid thing I kept fixating on while driving—this lingering jasmine scent that reminded me of her naked against the shower wall, my fingers inside her, the way she'd come with her forehead pressed against the tile. All while pretending now that we were just business associates or whatever the fuck we were. The ghost of her moans hanging between us while actual conversation remained impossible.I flexed my fingers on the steering wheel, too tight then too loose, a nervous habit I thought I'd beaten years ago. Maya sat beside me, tapping at her phone, the blue light making her skin look alien. Checking for messages from Troy, most likely. Still nothing, judging by the way she kept swiping, reopening the same apps like something might magically appear."Still nothing from Troy?" I asked, already knowing the answer. Sometimes I asked questions just to feel like I was doing something. Anything.Maya shook
Maya"No." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I don't know."A knock on the doorframe made us both turn. Sarah leaned against it, arms crossed."You two planning to rejoin civilization? The food's getting cold and Olivia's starting to look like she might actually die."I glanced at Alex, who gave a slight shake of his head. But Sarah was too observant to miss the tension."What's wrong?" she asked, straightening up.We didn't answer right away, just looked at each other in that silent "who's going to say it" standoff. Sarah's eyes narrowed."Seriously, what the fuck is going on?" she demanded."Daniel's been released," Alex and I said almost in unison as we walked back into the kitchen."What?" Olivia's head shot up from where she'd been cradling it in her hands. She immediately winced at her own sudden movement."Shit," Sarah breathed."Your crazy ex is back on the streets?" Sarah looked at me, her expression unreadable. "What do you want to do?"What could I do? That was the
MayaOlivia's eyes locked with Alex's, and something passed between them that I couldn't read. The kitchen went completely silent. Even Sarah stopped fidgeting with the food.Then Olivia's lips curved into a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "With all due respect, Mr. Thorne," she said, her voice professional despite the rasp, "I believe your sister's apartment falls outside Thorne Designs' corporate jurisdiction."A beat passed. Then Alex laughed, the tension dissolving instantly."Touché." He nodded, looking more impressed than offended. "Though technically, it's my apartment.""Technically," Sarah piped in, "it's our parents' apartment that they let you use because they hate t
Maya"I have clothes," I'd protested when Alex started rummaging through his dresser after our shower.He'd given me a look that somehow managed to be both amused and judgmental. "You want to put your sex-stained suit back on?"He had a point. The thought of sliding back into those clothes made me cringe. The blouse was wrinkled beyond salvation, and my pants probably smelled like sex and club smoke. Not exactly breakfast-with-his-sister attire.So here I was, padding down the hallway in Alex's faded Columbia t-shirt that hung to mid-thigh and a pair of his boxers that I'd had to roll at the waist three times to keep them from sliding off. I felt ridiculous, like a kid playing dress-up. But it was this or naked, and I'd hit my nudity quota for the day.
His fingers traced the curve of my ribs, my waist, my hips, leaving trails of soap and goosebumps in their wake. Every touch was careful, precise, like he was cataloging each response, learning my body in a new way."You have the most incredible skin," he murmured, his voice almost drowned out by the shower.I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to press against him, to demand more direct contact. But something in me wanted to see where this was going, to let him maintain control of whatever game we were playing.He reached for another bottle—shampoo, apparently—and gestured for me to tilt my head back into the spray. I complied, closing my eyes as water sluiced over my hair.His fingers worked through the strands, massaging my scalp with just the right amount
Alex stepped out of the bathroom, completely naked and completely unbothered by it. Steam curled around him, highlighting the defined muscles of his chest, the sharp cut of his hipbones. Water droplets clung to his skin, catching light as they slid down."You're not planning to face Sarah smelling like sex, are you?" He sniffed the air dramatically, his lips quirking up in that half-smile that always made something in my stomach flip."I don't smell like—" I started, then caught myself. We'd been all over each other this morning—of course I smelled like sex. Twice-interrupted, sweaty, clothes-half-on sex. I probably reeked of it."Come on." He stepped toward me, closing the distance between us in one clean stride. "Let me help you."Help me? With what?Before I could even process what was happening, Alex's hands were at the buttons of my blouse, deftly undoing each one like it was something he did every day."What are you—""You need a shower." His fingers brushed against my skin as h
I watched Alex disappear into the bathroom, his ass flexing as he walked. The sound of the shower running snapped me back to reality. I was still sitting on the edge of his bed, half-aroused, totally embarrassed, and completely lost on what to do next.I sighed, shaking my head to clear the Alex-shaped fog from my brain. This—whatever this was between us—was getting comfortable. Too comfortable, maybe. The way he just stripped naked in front of me without hesitation. The casual intimacy of watching him rub product on his face. The fact that I was still sitting in his bedroom instead of hiding under the covers or making a run for it.Was it okay to get used to this? This new normal where I woke up in his bed, where he touched me like he knew exactly what my body needed, where he could just exist naked in my presence without it being a whole production.I rubbed my eyes hard, trying to ease the tension that had settled at the base of my skull. What time was it even? My phone wasn't in m