Wicked

by M. Malone

  When I’d woken that morning to an empty bed, it had hurt way more than I’d told him. He’d done more than just sex me up last night; he’d completely overwhelmed me. There was no denying it: my heart was wrapped up in this. If he wasn’t as invested as I was, there was going to be one major fall in my future.

  “God damn, I missed this all day. Tell me you missed me.” Hunter growled against my neck, and the rumble of his deep voice against my skin sent a chill down my spine.

  “I missed you, too. That’s why I was so upset.”

  Hunter’s hands tightened on my hips. “I can’t believe you thought I would just leave you like that.”

  Now that he’d explained everything, I felt terrible. He’d looked so hurt that I hadn’t had more faith in him. I really couldn’t explain why my mind had immediately gone straight to assuming he was a douche. Was I so used to assholes that I didn’t know a good guy when I had one? I hated the idea that my past dating history could be screwing up a great thing.

  “I’m sorry, Hunter. Can I make it up to you?”

  “Mmmm, maybe. Let’s see what I can find to play with that might cheer me up.” His fingers danced up the skin of my thigh until he encountered my panties. “Hmm, these can go.”

  After a little maneuvering, he got them down my legs, and they disappeared into his pocket. I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be seeing those again for a while.

  “And what about this? It seems there’s a soft little kitty cat here. Let’s see if I can make her purr.”

  I would have made a snarky comment about him nicknaming my pussy, but then he did something with his fingers that actually did make me purr. Or at least the moan I let out sounded like one.

  “Hunter, we can’t do this here. What if someone comes in?”

  His mouth was working against my ear, and I lost all sense of time and place when his tongue caressed the lobe.

  “It won’t take long, sweetheart. I only want a few minutes.”

  He shifted around, and in the dim closet, I saw that he had a condom.

  Oh my God. Were we really doing this?

  Then he pulled his cock out and stroked the full length, and I didn’t give a shit anymore. My mouth watered at the sight. I knelt in front of him, so I could take a mouthful of that beautiful part of him that brought me so much pleasure.

  “Fuck, yes. That feels amazing, sweetheart.” He wrapped my hair around his hand so he could better direct me. I moaned at the subtle tug of his hand. When I looked up at him, his eyes were focused on my lips wrapped around him.

  “So. Fucking. Hot.” He ground out the words, completely entranced by the sight of my lips working over the swollen head of his dick. But before long, he tugged slightly, pulling me back off.

  I let him go reluctantly, licking the head before placing a soft kiss on the tip. Hunter’s eyes glittered with barely concealed hunger as he rolled the condom on, and then he lifted me in his arms. Bracing us against the closed door, he rotated his hips and his cock slid through my wetness. My head fell back against the door with a loud thud. He pulled back out.

  “Hunter, don’t tease. Give it back.”

  He groaned and lined himself up and pushed in again slowly. We moaned together as he slid through my tightly clenching muscles until I’d taken all of him in. I shuddered and wrapped my legs around his waist as he pulled back and slammed home again. He set a punishing rhythm that had us both panting and groaning as our shared climax raced just out of reach.

  Then he moved slightly, and his next thrust hit something inside of me that made me cry out. Hunter covered my mouth with his, sucking my screams down as I came violently, shaking and scratching at his back. It was like breaking into a million pieces and being fused back together again simultaneously. Everything was heat and light and sensation, and I didn’t want it to ever end.

  Hunter paused and shuddered in my arms, thrusting hard one last time as he lost his fight and came with me. We stayed like that, shaking and clenching against each other, until finally, he turned his head to the side.

  “Jesus, Bailey. You’re going to kill me, woman.”

  I chuckled and the motion made me clench again, drawing gasps from us both. Hunter pulled out gently and got to work restoring his clothes, while I tried to smooth my hair. It was probably no use since there was a certain look about “just fucked hair” that no amount of tidying could hide, but I gave it a shot anyway.

  “I can’t believe we just humped like rabbits in the supply closet. What the hell has gotten into me?”

  Hunter smiled. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

  I held up a finger. “Not a word. We are going to walk out of here and avoid each other for the rest of the day. We’re lucky we didn’t get caught!”

  He didn’t say anything else, but I could feel his amusement as I opened the door slowly and stuck my head out. When I saw that the hallway was clear, I stepped out and walked back to my desk. I didn’t look back or wait for Hunter.

  Hunter

  I stepped out into the hallway, watching the seductive sway of Bailey’s hips as she trotted back toward her desk. Damn, she was so incredibly sexy. How the hell had I lasted being just friends with her this long? I was surprised I hadn’t broken down and told her how I really felt before now, but I was glad I’d waited. She needed to trust me, and if her reaction that morning was any indication, she still wasn’t all the way there yet.

  Judging by how she was burning rubber to get away from me, maybe she wasn’t very happy with me right now either. She’d wanted me all right, but knowing Bay, she was worried about how things would look.

  She wasn’t happy about us taking this kind of risk at work, and I could understand that. These sorts of things always seemed to be more risky for women, the gossip mill being the way it was. Men in the office could hit on anything in a skirt and talk about their multiple girlfriends, and no one said anything. But women got a bad rep. I would never want Bailey to be the subject of gossip. She hated that sort of thing. Just like she hated breaking the rules.

  Yeah, I was going to be in for it tonight. I smiled. Bailey punishing me later sounded pretty good in my book.

  I turned in the opposite direction to go back to my floor, and then stopped short at the sight of Mr. Dent’s receding figure walking away. Oh, shit. I glanced behind me, but the hallway was already clear. Bailey was already back at her desk. But how long had Mr. Dent stood there watching? He’d been close enough to see Bailey coming out of the closet and to see me appear in the doorway a few seconds later.

  Then a gross thought occurred to me. Had we been heard? Had that sick bastard stood outside the door and listened to me screwing Bailey?

  People were starting to come back from lunch break, so I started walking to the elevators. Mr. Dent was nowhere in sight and I was glad for it. It would have taken some serious self-control not to grab the guy by the throat and demand what he’d seen, but that was the last thing I needed to do. Bailey was already having issues with her boss, and now that she knew the old guy had a thing for her, this would just add another disturbing level of weirdness.

  Maybe I should just pretend I hadn’t seen him? After all, I didn’t actually know whether Mr. Dent had seen anything. It was entirely possible that he’d appeared in the hallway after Bailey had already gone. As the elevator doors opened and I got on, I had a sinking feeling that wasn’t the case.

  When I got to my desk, I noticed the message light on my phone blinking. I sat down at my desk and grabbed the receiver. When I heard Bailey’s voice, my dick stirred in my pants.

  Down boy. No more chasing that kitty cat until tonight.

  Bailey sounded just as annoyed in the message as she had when I’d left her. So much for her cooling down after getting to her desk.

  “I still cannot believe we did that. I expect you to make this up to me. So tonight, I’m coming to your place after work and we will continue our earlier conversation at a more appropriate time. And I’m going to be hungry.”
>
  I wondered what she’d meant about having a shitty day already when I’d first gone to her desk. Had her boss said something to her? Fuck. This was exactly what Bailey had been afraid of, and I’d convinced her that nothing bad would happen. She took her career seriously and she’d worked hard as an intern to get a good recommendation. I wasn’t going to let some pervy bastard ruin that for her.

  The thought of the video file that I had backed up on my cloud drive teased at the edge of my mind. Bailey would never want that out there. I knew that instinctively. But at the same time, maybe it didn’t have to be. Sometimes just the threat of something happening was enough to scare a potential enemy.

  Guys like Dent were so fucking transparent. I had met many like him in my time, especially in middle management. Assholes who were past their prime and desperate to lord their tiny bit of power over anyone they could. But assholes like Dent were also cowards, and at the first hint of a worthy foe, they would slink off with their tails between their legs. They’d never actually engage in a fair fight.

  If Mr. Dent got out of line, I just needed to let him know that I had some ammunition of my own. It would mortify Bailey for anyone to ever know about that video, so I’d only do it as a last resort. But I had a bad feeling the video might be the only way to keep her safe.

  12

  Bailey

  This was the day from hell.

  I didn't know what had crawled up Dent’s ass since yesterday, or how far it was lodged in there, but he might need an emergency removal, stat. Like, post-the-fuck haste. Because if he didn't have it taken care of, then I would likely murder him.

  All day, I’d been imagining the scenarios in which I could make that happen. Apparently, stabbing was a popular theme, because I found myself eyeing pens and letter openers.

  No. I liked this job. And no matter what that TV show said, orange was not the new anything. I wasn’t going to jail for him. To keep from completely losing my shit, I repeated over and over again, “You will not kill your boss. You will not kill your boss. You will not kill your boss.”

  Oddly, that didn't make me feel any better. Counting backwards from ten hadn’t helped either.

  The worst of it was, I had actual work I needed to do. I didn’t know what was behind Dent’s sudden need to give me menial tasks, but I was a breath away from telling him to fuck off. I had actual project work. I was a senior intern. He didn’t manage my damn workload.

  Yesterday, he’d taken my time demanding project rundowns, and then when I’d tried to go into any detail, he’d constantly interrupted me. Then at the end of that meeting, he’d had the nerve to say he didn’t think I’d actually been doing much of anything. Therefore, he’d be giving me a few things to do.

  Over the course of the last six hours, I’d developed a deep hatred of him. And not hate like I might feed orange juice to his plant, but hate like I might run him over with my car.

  So far today, he’d had me run to pick up his dry cleaning. He also had me bring coffee. And of course, not coffee from the office, or even coffee from Starbucks on the corner. No, he wanted a very specific coffee from a particular cafe six blocks away. And of course, he said I could walk, instead of suggesting I use one of the company cars or offering to reimburse me for my Uber ride.

  The whole day had been shit. I should've known something was up when he came by my desk and leaned way too close. His lips had practically been on my ear. I shuddered in repulsion. He’d been giving me weird looks since the day Hunter and I had fought. Had he overheard us talking?

  One second Mr. Dent was yelling at me, the next he was looking at me like he wanted to rip my clothes off with his teeth. Which of course made me think about that night.

  Ew.

  Yep, that taste in my mouth, that had to be vomit and bile.

  The one saving grace of the whole damn day was that in a minute, I'd be out of here and headed for Hunter’s. He’d been at an off-site client meeting all day, so he hadn't seen the horror Dent had been putting me through.

  If this shit continued, it was possible I wouldn’t be able to continue working here. I hated the idea of giving up my internship, especially after all the work I’d put in between last summer and now, but there was no fucking way I could deal. The guy was a grade-A creeper.

  When I finished the last of my project work, I saved it on my laptop before muttering a half-hearted, “See you tomorrow” to my desk mate, Michelle.

  Michelle lifted her gaze. "Don't worry. Tomorrow can only get better. I don't know what’s up with Dent, but let's hope he gets over his bullshit. You know how guys are, they get all PMSy and think they can just take it out on us."

  I gave her a small smile for trying to make me feel better, but it wasn't helping. Right about now, not much would help, except falling into Hunter's arms and maybe crying for an hour. Followed quickly by cookies and cream. Because there were few things that couldn't be solved with cookies and cream.

  Once home, I slipped off my shoes and grabbed an overnight bag, tossing in a couple of changes of clothes. I didn't dare leave anything at Hunter’s yet, although, I had noticed that his toothbrush had suspiciously made its way into my bathroom. Nothing else. Just that.

  I didn't know what to make of it. I wasn’t brave enough to think I could have any space in his closet or on his countertops, but I packed enough for two days. I had a feeling I was going to need some comfort over the next couple of days if Dent's attitude continued like this.

  After a quick shower, and taking care to blow-dry my hair and curl it loosely on the ends, I was ready. I couldn't help but marvel at how different things had become in just a matter of weeks.

  A few weeks ago, Hunter was just my friend. One of my best pals, but still just a friend. Now, everything was different. The giddy excitement made the butterflies low in my belly flutter and dance.

  I grabbed an overnight bag and then my phone, making a point to snap up my charger. I couldn’t go forgetting that again.

  I still couldn’t believe I’d almost thrown away what we had, all because I hadn't gotten a text. Stupid. Granted, that little bit of pain had made the make up session in the supply closet totally worth it.

  I still flushed thinking about it. We could've been caught any time. I wasn't in any way an adrenaline junkie, but there was something about Hunter. I just couldn't help wanting him.

  It's because you're falling for him.

  I knew that was the truth. It worried me, though. Because even though Hunter said that everything would work out, a small part of me listed all the ways this could blow up in my face.

  Still though, it didn't mean I didn't want to try. Because I’d never felt like this before.

  Hunter

  The moment I heard the doorbell, I raced to open the door…Not that I’d been waiting for Bailey to arrive or anything. I tugged the door open with a smile.

  "Hey beautiful.” But before I could lean in to give her a kiss, I could tell something was wrong. "What happened? You okay?"

  Bailey shook her head as she passed by me and let herself into the living room. "No. Everything is not okay. I had a shit day, and all I want to do is forget all about it. So maybe you could kiss me and tell me happy things about puppies."

  "Fresh out of puppy stories, but you’re in luck.” I took her hand and kissed her knuckles softly before tugging her closer. My lips slid over her skin as I pulled her in, and I could feel the tension easing out of her slowly.

  When I pulled back, she gave me a dreamy smile. That was more like it. I didn't like seeing her stressed or worried.

  "So, I have wine chilling and dinner warming. And I have my hands ready and available for all the foot rubs and back rubs you need. Want to tell me what happened?"

  "Dent happened. I don't know what it is. He’s got it out for me or something. He was riding my ass all day."

  I choked back a laugh that had Bailey slapping her hands over her mouth.

  "Bay, God, that is so gross."

  "Right
? Ew. Especially after everything." She shuddered.

  Still laughing, I said, "How about we go with ‘being a total pain in the ass’?"

  "Sure. That sort of works, but if you ask me, it’s too mild a term. I prefer ‘asshole with the heel of a Louboutin shoved up his ass’."

  I frowned. That didn't sound good. Bailey didn't usually complain about Dent. Or any of the senior execs. "Okay, so he was being an ass. Exactly what was he doing?"

  I rubbed my hands over her shoulders, gently massaging out some of the tension before working my way up to her neck. My movements belied my internal turmoil. The fucker had seen us the other day. He was going to be a fucking problem.

  It would be one thing to have HR pull us in for a conversation about fraternizing, but it was another thing for pencil-dick to take out his annoyance and jealousy on Bailey.

  "He had me running around doing his personal errands for starters. Dry cleaning, coffee. And he wouldn't reimburse me for the Uber. Then he called a special meeting to review my progress, but it was how he asked for the meeting that gave me the ick vibes. It was so creeptastic. He leans over my shoulder while I'm working, right? And then whispers that he wants to speak to me. But he’s right next to my ear. I could feel his breath on me." Her whole body shook with revulsion. "God, he's such a dirt bag."

  I spoke through a clenched jaw. "Did he fucking touch you?"

  "No. Thank God. But he’s been giving me that look. Like he keeps picturing me naked and can't wait to play whack a mole with his tiny dick again."

  A bark of laughter choked out of me. "Jesus, Bailey."

  She shrugged. "It's true. That's the look. Like he's totally picturing me naked, or worse, picturing undressing me with those pudgy hands of his."

  "We've got to go to HR."

  "And tell them what? My boss is acting creepy. That he was jerking off in the office and said my name?"

  “For starters.”

  “No. I just want to forget the whole thing ever happened."