揚ffft,?I hiss. 揌e wishes I cared enough to stalk him.?
Wyatt chuckles.
揑抦 right here, you know??Lincoln stiffens and takes another swig of coffee. He glances at me sharply. 揅an you check my office email while you抮e here? I抦 expecting a proposal.?
揝ure.?I pull out my phone and open the EA inbox.
I抦 pretending to focus on the screen, but I notice he leans closer to Wyatt. 揥hat the hell are you doing? I抦 her boss. Are you crazy??
I couldn抰 say what Wyatt is, but Lincoln is definitely off his rocker if he thinks I can抰 hear. If I suck at lying, he抯 a terrible whisperer. His voice has that deep, resonating boom that could carry through a thunderstorm梠r even the Fourth of July.
揑抦 trying to help you, man. Lighten the fuck up,?Wyatt growls back.
揙h, yeah? And how would you feel if I hinted to Miss Green Thumb that you抳e got a beating heart??Lincoln says, flashing me a conspiratorial look.
揃urns, you leave her alone. I swear to fuck…？Wyatt finishes that thought with a vicious glare.
I try not to giggle.
It抯 like watching two standoffish bears in a library trying to keep it down and failing comically.
Will they notice if I slide to the edge of the crate? This conversation isn抰 for me, as funny as it is, and I don抰 want to eavesdrop when I shouldn抰。 I抦 also well aware of how important it is to Lincoln when his friend has a good day.
It takes me all of one minute to see Lincoln doesn抰 have any new important emails.
I slide the phone back into my purse, taking tiny sips of the coffee. It抯 definitely too much for my taste. I try not to gag.
It抯 bitter without cream, but the smoky undertone is interesting. I抣l have to tell Eliza.
I drink half of it one baby sip at a time and feel like that抯 an accomplishment, considering it抯 black and strong enough to wake up an elephant.
?you抮e just too chickenshit to admit the obvious. Ask her on a real date and stop worrying about your little rules and that great big redwood jammed up your ass,?Wyatt says as I look up.
I bite my bottom lip to keep from laughing at that one.
Yeah, right.
Lincoln Burns might grind every gear I have, but he抯 one of the richest, hottest, and most eligible men in the entire city. Heck, probably the whole country when you consider the billionaire dating pool.
He抯 not going to date a girl like me who fights him at every turn and hails from flyover country. He抯 also not the dating type, even if that抯 something I seem to attract in men.
Even Jay Foyt needed a year to figure out he wanted me enough to ask me out. There抯 no way I抦 the kind of girl Burns dates. Never mind the whole he抯-my-flipping-boss factor and therefore off-limits.
揑抦 her boss,?he snarls at Wyatt like he抯 just read my mind. 揃esides the ethics breach, there抯 a thick fucking HR policy put in place by my mother, no less, against棓
揇ude, whatever,?Wyatt says slowly, flipping him the finger.
Yikes. That抯 one way to put it.
He抎 probably do a better job getting Wyatt off his back if he just admitted I抦 so far out of his league I couldn抰 buy tickets.
Wyatt looks at him again, an expression of brotherly annoyance on his weathered face.
揗an, an alligator-filled moat wrapped in barbed wire and guarded by pissed off HR hawks couldn抰 keep me from a chance at the good life. This is a golden opportunity梐 chance, at least梩o have a life outside the office with a beautiful woman. I don抰 get you, Linc.?
My pulse quickens as I wait for a response, but Lincoln just shrugs.
Torture.
Maybe if I remind them I抦 here, I can shut down the awkwardness and avoid a brawl over my non-dating life with my boss.
揟his is interesting coffee, Wyatt. My friend Eliza could learn from you.?
Lincoln looks up quickly and jerks away from Wyatt like they weren抰 just discussing me. He won抰 meet my eyes for a long second, but when he finally does, my heart stops.
Lincoln抯 eyes are as pitch-black as the smoked coffee swirling in my cup and infinitely stronger.
His look is fraught. Questioning. Conflicted.
A stare that splits me in two and strips me naked.
I may bury myself in words until I抦 crushed, but after Jay梑ecause of Jay桰 never believed in hot-eyed looks that could stop time.
Now, I wonder.
I wonder about a lot of things I should be chasing out of my head.
Ideally, before Lincoln damn Burns pulverizes what抯 left of my heart.
14
Each Separate Dying Ember （Lincoln）
揈liza, huh??Wyatt asks, pulling Nevermore from what looks like a trance.
Not just her.
It抯 the kick in the ass I need to rip my eyes off the mellow, curious thing next to me. I抳e been staring, and not politely. The only thing hungrier than my eyes tonight is my blood, which seethes like it has an active current every time I stare at Dakota Poe too long.
Even at night, she抯 like the goddamned sun.
This indecipherable, overwhelming sight that burns so small yet still has this undeniable power over my entire world.
When the fuck did that happen?
When did I start gnashing my teeth with denial? If I抎 never date her梚f I can抰 damn well date her桰 shouldn抰 be growling it like a man holding in secrets while he抯 being waterboarded.
Wyatt抯 practically a brother and always will be. Though after the shit he抯 been suggesting tonight, I抦 sorry I didn抰 write out a full-blown love declaration for Meadow to find with his signature forged at the bottom.
揈liza is my friend,?Dakota says vacantly, turning the coffee cup in her hands and staring into it. 揗y downstairs neighbor, really, but we get along great. She抯 obsessed with inventing new coffee flavors, and she抯 always experimenting.?
揟hey any good? The coffee itself, I mean,?Wyatt says, wagging a finger. 揌ere抯 my rule: if it抯 no good black, then it抯 no damn good at all. Don抰 think you can cover up a shitty weak brew with an assful of sugar and half a teat of cream.?
Dakota blinks at him and then bursts out laughing.
I shake my head like it weighs a hundred pounds.
He抯 always had a way with words.
揇akota wouldn抰 know good coffee. She likes her lattes sweet enough to kill and loaded with cinnamon or salted caramel,?I grind out.
Predictably, Nevermore glares, but ignores my crap.
揈liza hits the jackpot sometimes with her stuff. The rest could use some work, but I mean, that抯 part of the process. Darker roasts aren抰 her strong suit. I think she抯 been working on that, though.?Dakota fingers the corner of her lip, deep in thought.
I hate how adorable she is.
But not nearly as much as I fucking loathe the angry ache she puts in my balls. Why did she have to crack a joke about beating off with my right hand again?
I haven抰 jacked off in ages, but tonight, it might be the only way I抣l ever get to sleep with her up in my head.
揌ow would you know anything about dark roasts? I抳e gotten your coffee order before. It抯 milk and sugar with a splash of coffee thrown in.?
揝hut up,?she says, rolling her eyes to the moon.
揅reative. Remind me why I hired you to write copy again??I know I抦 being an asshole.
I抦 taking out everything Wyatt stirred up on her, and if I have any sense, I should sew my yap shut.
揢m, apparently so you could make me pull double duty as your assistant while your real one went on maternity leave??she throws back with the usual venom.
That shouldn抰 make me smile. I hide it behind my coffee cup as I take another long pull off the drink.