Once I抦 back in my seat with a water, I take out my phone and text Eliza. Everyone loves the new campfire drinks. Congratulations.
Eliza: Told ya. I know my bean juice.
I snort at the screen. Could she pick a less elegant way to describe what we do? Still, a smile fights its way across my face.
Cole: We need to talk when I get back.
Eliza: You can抰。 I retired.
Cole: Retired? Bull. You抳e only worked a month and you抮e twenty-six years old.
Eliza: I抦 saving myself the trouble. Nothing good ever comes from any variation of 搘e need to talk.?
Drama Queen. I stab the send button.
Eliza: Only when I抦 dealing with you.
I chuckle so loudly a woman in designer heels passing by almost loses her balance.
Cole: Has anyone ever called you high-maintenance, Miss Angelo?
Eliza: Not really.
Cole: Not really梩hat抯 a yes, right?
Eliza: Nope. That抯 me informing you that I don抰 normally deal with cavemen.
Cole: Are you calling me a goddamned Neanderthal? That抯 no way to talk to your boss.
Eliza: My bad, Lump. Try not to dwell on it all day.
Damn her to hell.
It抯 like she knows how much mental space she already occupies, and how helpless I am to evict her.
I dwell, all right. I think about Eliza抯 mouth and other parts of her through the rest of this glorified ego trip disguised as a business conference.
Especially every last primal act of savagery I抎 like to do to her.
It抯 after seven o抍lock, and I find Eliza in the lab alone.
揧ou抳e got three hours before the lab closes to all staff. New policy.?
揇on抰 remind me.?She looks up from a spread of familiar Wired Cup pastries, plus a few new ones I don抰 recognize. 揧ou just got back??
揑抳e been back for an hour, but I had some cleanup to do before I came to talk,?I say.
揝o should I clean out my desk??
揥hy would you??I tilt my head, unsure what the hell she抯 getting at.
揕ike I said, when people want to 'talk' it抯 always bad news…？
揧ou have a strange sense of humor, Miss Angelo.?I eye her spread, desperate to keep my gaze off her body. 揂lso, I believe your sweet tooth could put a saber tooth tiger to shame.?
揑抦 just going over flavor profiles, using existing food products to see how well the drinks are holding up as complements. I抳e introduced a few new ones as well.?She picks up a golden cookie with a chocolate bar on top. 揇estiny and I made this to go with the S抦ores Mocha not too long ago. I just needed to tweak it before I had you taste it.?
揇id I not warn you that you抮e not on the food team??My jaw tightens.
Mischief gleams in her honey-brown eyes.
揙ops. You tell me a lot of things. It抯 hard to keep up. Sometimes I really only listen when it makes sense. Here, try less death-glaring and more eating.?She shoves the pastry at my mouth and damn near pushes it in.
I angrily bite off a chunk of her cookie, catching her fingers between my lips in the process.
Fuck.
She falls back a step, her eyes closed, a startled sigh slipping out of her before she moves away. For a hot second, I wish this was more than a botched taste test in my company lab.
I see her in my bed, under me, staring up at me with bright-eyed expectation.
This time, I抦 the one pushing my thumb into her mouth. She takes it real sweetly, sucking it nice and slow, a prelude to the way I抣l tame her mouth with something far bigger than a finger.
Goddamn.
I swallow the fantasy like a cactus stuck in my throat.
揑抦 not fond of too much sugar…but it抯 good,?I say. Not nearly as delectable as the sick thoughts ravaging my head, but it抯 definitely quality. 揑抦 glad you found a way to work my graham cracker in.?
Her lips quirk up in a smile a thousand times more inviting than her cookie.
Then she leans in, slowly and cautiously條ike she wants me to slam her against the nearest wall and show her what a real taste test would be like.
Goddammit, woman. You don抰 know what you抮e getting yourself into…
I take a deep, halting breath.
Don抰 do anything stupid, Cole.
When she tumbles toward me a second later, I almost think it抯 my own searing thoughts that pull her off-balance.
There抯 only a split second.
It抯 catch her or let her hit the floor梐nd the second option would be unbelievably cruel.
I lunge forward, diving for Eliza. Her weight falls into my arms and I hold her in this odd tilted position.
I抦 right the fuck over her now.
Our mouths, maybe an inch apart at best.
Her lips flutter open in shock.
Is it just shock?
Her gaze is fixed on my lips.
Eliza damn Angelo is breathing so hard it stalls my heart.