Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 82514 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82514 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Taking a deep breath, I hit send on my email before grabbing my phone and leaning back in my office chair.
Me: Are you?
Daniel: Of course.
Me: I wasn’t that tipsy.
Daniel: Not at all. *wink, wink*
My laugh echoed around the empty walls of my office. The only guy I’d joked around with like this was Ian. But what I felt around Daniel was a million miles away from what I’d felt for Ian. I never once thought of Daniel like a brother, like I had Ian for most of my life. Even when I’d confused my feelings for Ian for something more, it hadn’t resembled the weight of what I felt for Daniel.
Not that I fantasized about Daniel or thought of being with him. It was well known among our circle that Daniel didn’t do relationships. Which was fine. He was my…friend.
“What’s that smile all about?” Alexandra asked, stepping into my office.
I’d been so engrossed in my messages, I hadn’t heard her come in.
“Nothing.”
I sat up and laid my phone face down on my desk, trying to give a neutral smile. It didn’t work because Alex plopped a bag of food on my desk and slowly cocked a brow. Thankfully, she decided to let me off the hook. I was sure it would come back around again before she left, but I had a reprieve for now.
“Erik’s in a meeting, so I thought I’d bring you some lunch. Besides,” she said with a slow smirk. “I want the deets on Voyeur. It had to be good if we didn’t see you for the rest of the night.”
A manic giggle slipped free, and I rubbed my thumb along my brow line, trying to hide my wince.
“Uh, oh. What happened?”
I breathed in as deep as my lungs would allow and expelled the whole story in one single ramble. By the end, my eyes were screwed shut, and my shoulders were by my ears. When Alex stayed silent, I cocked an eye open to find her slack-jawed in a chair.
“This is crazy, right?”
She finally blinked, taking her own deep breath and seemed to process my word vomit. “I mean, if it helps, then it doesn’t matter if it’s crazy.” She held my stare, her blue eyes stark against her pale skin and dark hair. “How much do you want this, Hanna?”
Fire burned up my throat, stinging the backs of my eyes. I had to swallow more than once to get the words past the lump threatening to choke me. The same lump that had been choking me for years. “I don’t want to feel like this anymore. I don’t want to be alone. I want to feel someone touch me and enjoy it.”
Alex got up and rounded the desk, leaning against it and gripping my hand tightly. “You’re never alone.”
Her hand anchored me from getting lost in my emotions. I held tight until the fire subsided. “Thank you.”
She pressed a kiss to the top of my head and rounded back to her seat before pulling container after container out of the bag. Drool almost fell from my lips when I saw the sushi and eggrolls. This girl sure knew the way to my heart.
“Does Erik know?” she asked around a mouthful of white rice and salmon.
“God, no.” I pointed my chopsticks and glared. “And he won’t find out, right?”
She held up her hands. “Not from me, but I also won’t lie.”
“Fair enough, I guess.”
We both leaned back and propped our feet on my desk, enjoying the food in silence. At least, until Alex had me almost choking on my bite.
“Do you like Daniel?” The question rang of false innocence. It said, I’m not asking for any specific reason. I won’t have any reaction, no matter how you answer.
It lied.
Playing it cool, I shrugged, refusing to meet her eyes as I stared at my chopsticks swirling wasabi into my soy sauce. “He’s nice.”
Her snort had my eyes snapping up. “Nice? Nothing about Daniel is nice. Hot, hard, sexy with sharp edges and a smile to melt your panties.”
“Do you need privacy?”
“I’m good,” she said with a wink.
“Don’t let Erik hear you say that. He’d probably kill Daniel on principle.”
“Well, he knows I have eyes, and anyone who denies thinking Daniel is hot, is a liar, liar, pants on fire.”
“I guess I see it,” I muttered.
“You’re so full of shit,” she laughed.
“Hey,” Sean said, popping his head around the door. “Is now a bad time?”
Alex and I dropped our feet and sat upright. I may have brushed my hair back and wiped at my face to make sure nothing was lingering. “No, no. Now’s fine.”
“We’re just having some girl talk,” Alex explained, turning to him. “Sean, right?”
“Yeah,” he said, fully stepping through the door. “Good to see you again.” He returned Alex’s nod before placing files on my desk. “I just wanted to drop these off.”