He didn’t say anything else but she could feel his amusement as she opened the door slowly and stuck her head out. When she saw that the hallway was clear, she stepped out and walked back to her desk. She didn’t look back or wait for Hunter.
Hunter 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 he lasted being just friends with her this long? He was surprised he hadn’t broken down and told her how he really felt before now. But he was glad he’d waited. She needed to trust him, 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 him, maybe she wasn’t very happy with him right now either. She’d wanted him all right but knowing Bay, she was worried about how things would look.
She wasn’t happy about them taking this kind of risk at work and he 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. He could understand why they were wary to date anyone they worked with, based on that double standard. He would never want Bailey to be the subject of gossip. She hated that sort of thing. Just like she hated breaking the rules.
Yeah, he was going to be in for it tonight. He smiled. Bailey punishing him later sounded pretty good in his book.
He turned in the opposite direction to go back to his floor and then stopped short at the sight of Mr. Dent’s receding figure walking away. Oh shit. He glanced behind him 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 Hunter appear in the doorway a few seconds later.
Then a gross thought occurred to him. Had they been heard? Had that sick bastard stood outside the door and listened to him screwing Bailey?
People were starting to come back from lunch break, so Hunter started walking to the elevators. Mr. Dent was nowhere in sight and Hunter 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 he 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 he should just pretend he hadn’t seen him? After all, he 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 he got on, Hunter had a sinking feeling that wasn’t the case.
When he got to his desk, he noticed the message light on his phone blinking. After checking in with his boss, he sat down at his desk and grabbed the receiver. When he heard Bailey’s voice, his dick stirred in his pants.
Down boy. No more chasing that kitty cat until tonight.
Bailey sounded just as annoyed in the message as she had when he’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.
Hunter wondered what she meant about having a shitty day already when he’d first gone to her desk. Had her boss said something to her? Fuck. This was exactly what Bailey had been afraid of, and he’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. He wasn’t going to let some pervy bastard ruin that for her.
The thought of the video file that he had backed up on his cloud drive teased at the edge of his mind. Bailey would never want that out there. Hunter 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. Hunter had met many like him in his 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, he just needed to let him know that Hunter had some ammunition of his own. It would mortify Bailey for anyone to ever know about that video, so he’d only do it as a last resort. But Hunter had a bad feeling the video might be the only way to keep her safe.
Twenty-Three
Fuck a duck. This was the day from hell.
Bailey didn't know what had gone and 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 she would likely murder him.
All day she’d been imagining the scenarios in which she could make that happen. Apparently stabbing was a popular theme because she found herself eyeing pens and letter openers.
No. She liked this job. And no matter what that TV show said, orange was not the new anything. She wasn’t going to jail for him. To keep from completely losing her shit, she 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 her feel any better. Counting backwards from ten hadn’t helped either.
The worst of it was, she had actual work she needed to do. She didn’t know what was behind Dent’s sudden need to give her menial tasks, but she was a breath away from telling him to fuck off. She had actual project work. She was a senior intern. He didn’t manage her damn workload.
Yesterday he’d taken her time demanding project rundowns, and then if she tried to go into any detail, he’d constantly interrupt her. Then at the end of that meeting, he had the nerve to say he didn’t think she’d actually been doing much of anything. Therefore he’d be giving her a few things to do.
Over the course of the last six hours, she’d developed a deep hatred of him. And not hate like she might feed orange juice to his plant, but hate like she might run him over with her car.
So far today he’d had her run to pick up his dry cleaning. He also had her 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 The Bean six blocks away. And of course he said she could walk, instead of using one of the company cars or offering to reimburse her for that Uber ride.
The whole day had been shit. She should've known something was up when he came by her desk and leaned way too close. His lips had practically been on her ear. Bailey shuddered in repulsion. And he’d been giving her weird looks since the day she and Hunter had fought. Had he overheard them talking?
One second he'd be yelling at her, the next he was looking at her like he wanted to rip her clothes off with his teeth. Which of course made her think about that night.
Ew.
Yep, that taste in her mouth, that had to be vomit and bile.
The one saving grace of the whole damn day was that in a minute, she'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 her through.
If this shit continued, it was possible she wouldn’t be able to continue working here. She hated the idea of giving up her internship. Especially after all the work she’d put in, but there was no fucking way she could deal. The guy was a grade-A creeper.
When she finished the last of her project work, she saved it on her laptop before muttering a half-hearted, “See you tomorrow” to her desk mate, Michelle.
Michelle lifted her gaze. "Don't worry. Tomorrow can only get better. I don't know what the fuck is
up with Dent, but let's hope he gets over his bullshit. You know how guys are, they get all PMSy and they want a fucking cookie, and think they can just take it out on us."
Bailey gave her a small smile for trying to make her 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, she slipped off her shoes and grabbed an overnight bag, tossing in a couple of changes of clothes. She didn't dare leave anything at Hunter’s yet. Although, she had noticed that his toothbrush had suspiciously made its way into her bathroom. Nothing else. Just that.
Bailey didn't know what to make of it. She wasn’t brave enough to think she could have any space in his closet or on his countertops. But still, she packed enough for two days. She had a feeling she 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 her hair and curl it loosely on the ends, she was ready. She couldn't help but marvel at how different things had become in just a matter of weeks.
A few weeks ago, Hunter was just her friend. One of her best pals, but still just a friend. And now, everything was different. The giddy excitement made the butterflies low in her belly flutter and dance.
She grabbed her overnight bag and then her phone, making a point to snap up her charger. She couldn’t go forgetting that again.
She still couldn’t believe she’d almost thrown away what they had, all because she didn't get a text. Stupid. Granted, that little bit of pain had made the make up session in the supply closet totally worth it.
She still flushed thinking about it. They could've been caught any time. She wasn't in any way an adrenaline junkie, but there was something about Hunter. She just couldn't help wanting him.
It's because you're falling for him.
She knew that was the truth. It worried her, though. Because even though Hunter said that everything would work out, a small part of her listed all the ways this could blow up in her face.
Still though, it didn't mean she didn't want to try. Because she’d never felt like this before.
The moment Hunter heard the doorbell, he raced to open the door…Not that he’d been waiting for Bailey to arrive or anything. He tugged the door open with a smile. "Hey beautiful.”
But before he could lean in to give her a kiss, he could tell something was wrong. "What happened? You okay?"
Bailey shook her head as she passed by him 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 kiss me and tell me happy things about puppies."
"Fresh out of puppy stories, but, you are in luck.” He took her hand and kissed her knuckles softly before tugging her closer. His lips slid over her skin as he pulled her in and he could feel the tension easing out of her slowly.
When he pulled back, she gave him a dreamy smile. That was more like it. He 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. Wanna tell me what happened?"
"Dent happened. I don't know what it is. Like he’s got it out for me or something. He was fucking riding me all day."
Hunter 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, Hunter 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."
Hunter 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?"
He rubbed his hands over her shoulders, gently massaging out some of the tension before working his way up to her neck. His movements belied his internal turmoil. The fucker had seen them the other day. He was going to be a fucking problem.
It was one thing to have HR pull them 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. But oh no, not just any coffee. Coffee from The Bean. 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."
Hunter 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 him. "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."
Hunter bit his tongue. He didn't want to have an argument with her about this. And she probably wouldn't be too thrilled to find out that he still had a copy of that video. Right now, all he wanted to do was make her feel good. Okay, I hear you. What do you need?"
"Right now, I just want to be in your arms and have you kiss me. I just need to forget the whole damn day. Can you do that? Can you make me forget?"
"I think I have just the thing." He took her hand to the kitchen island and took the bottle of wine out of the ice. She watched him silently as he uncorked it and then handed her a glass. "Here you go."
She frowned at him. "Now I love a glass of wine as much as the next girl, but when I said make me forget, I was hoping for Hunter therapy not wine therapy."
His lips tipped up in a smirk. "Don't worry, sweetheart, I've got exactly what you need. You drink your wine. I’ll take care of the rest."
Hunter had been planning to wait to touch until after dinner. First, he wanted to do the romance thing with her. They’d done the friends thing, the blazing hot sex thing. But he wanted to give her romance and that had been the plan. And also, he knew if he touched her they wouldn’t get to dinner for…a while.
He had plans to christen every flat surface in his apartment. But, he could give her an appetizer now. A little something to take the edge off. He wanted her so bad his hands were shaking. And added bonus, it would help her forget her shitty day.
He stepped behind her, wrapping his hands around her slim waist and then kissed her neck. The moment his lips met her skin, she sighed into the caress, and even more tension rolled away. He slid the strands of blond hair over her shoulder gently as he nipped her neck.
While his lips were busy, his hands slid up her torso to cross her breasts and Bailey moaned deep.
"Hunter."
"Sssh. I'm making you forget, remember?"
“Yes, I prefer this method much better."
He smiled to himself as he kissed along the column of her neck, followed her spine all the way down, and finally sank to his knees behind her. When Hunter smoothed his hands up her thighs, she shivered. She was so damn soft everywhere.
Gently, he slipped one heel off, then the other until her feet were firmly planted on the ground. And then with firm strokes, he massaged her feet, then her calves, and worked his way up, stopping only to kiss, lick, and suck along the way. By the
time he reached the back of her thighs, Bailey was shaking.
"Hunter. Please."
"Hmm? Please, what sweetheart?"
"I'm begging you to stop torturing me. I just need to—"
"Come?" he offered helpfully.
She nodded adamantly. "Yes, that'll help me forget everything."
"Well, I feel like true forgetfulness and loss of brain function only happens on the second or third time around. So we’ve got a while to go yet."
Under her breath, she muttered, "Hunter Richards. If you don't bring your dick over here, I'm going to do something very, very bad."
He chuckled. “Do you promise?"
Bailey groaned as she wiggled in his grasp. "This is not a joke, Hunter."
"No. It's not. My girl asked me to help her forget. And now she's trying to direct the show. How do you think that's gonna go?"
"With a spanking?" she asked with a low whisper.
Was it him, or did Bailey really, really want a spanking? "Oh, we'll get to that. But right now I want to taste you. Then we can talk about all the spankings you might deserve."
"Hunter, do you want me to beg? I'm totally not above begging."
He chuckled as he kissed her inner thigh. "I will not be dissuaded from my task. Now open your legs wider and let me take care of you."
With every kiss and flick of his tongue over her skin, Bailey shuddered. And finally, she put her glass of wine down and laid herself across the island, her hands clenching the other side for purchase. Perfect. She was wide open to him, and ready for whatever he might bring.
Hunter teased his thumb over the seam of the lace thong barely covering her sex. God, she was so wet. She’d already soaked it through.
Instinctively he knew exactly where her clit was and he pressed gently, sending her into a low moan and restless wiggle of her hips. Hooking his thumbs into her underwear, he tugged the fabric aside, and took a small taste with the tip of his tongue. So goddamned sweet. Fucking heaven.
"Oh God. More please." Bailey made this low keening sound at the back of her throat and his dick was steel.
Bad Roommate Page 16
