Page 42 of Mated To My Boss

We stay in silence for a little longer, as I cannot deny his claims. “It's complicated,” Nate finally says.

“It always is,” Graham responds, nodding knowingly. “Look, I'm not telling you what to do or anything, but I feel obligated to help you the way you helped me.”

I raise an eyebrow. “How did I help you? If anything, I wasn't even in support of you chasing your girl.”

“I'm definitely not talking about your advice,” he laughs. “I mean by being a friend. Madeline loves you and I know you're a good guy. It'll be a terrible thing for you to string her along. You'll hurt her and feel worse about yourself.”

“What am I supposed to do?” I groan. “I can't avoid her because we work together. It's so difficult to stay away from her because of this stupid bond. It was much better when she was too far away for me to think about her constantly.”

“I'm not sure I can help you figure this out,” he admits. “I think you'll do the right thing when push comes to shove.”

Graham punctuates this with a pat on my back before walking away. I stay by the car a little longer, letting my friend's words play over and over in my head.

I stare down Madeline's shirt as she talks on and on about the document we're to send out. I bite my bottom lip, missing how her skin tastes against my tongue.

It's been days without having sex, thanks to my new vow to not sleep with her. It's getting harder to keep that vow and even the slightest contact between us makes me want to explode.

Madeline notices my gaze and meets my eyes with quiet confidence. "See something you like?" she asks, her tone direct but not teasing.

I turn away, fixing my eyes on the desk.Fuck, I'm going to give in.

I pull Madeline close, kissing her deeply. My tongue wastes no time making her mouth my possession. My hands move to her clothes, gripping the fabric.

Madeline moans into my mouth, smiling at my sudden aggression. I tug her firmly against my hardness, sinking my hands into the soft flesh of her ass.

“I want you right now,” I growl. My lips move to her neck, sucking hard as she cries out in joy. I place a gentle bite at the base of her neck, making her shudder.

No, no, what am I doing?I halt everything, leaving her breathing heavily. I shake my head and push my chair back to move her off me.

Madeline's face registers shock. “What?”

“I think we should try to keep a professional air here at the office.”

"What're you saying?" She stands at full height, not bothering to fix her clothes. "You want us to leave here and go to the hotel again?" There's no desperation in her voice, just a straightforward question.

“No, not that either. Look, I know we have an arrangement, but we need modifications.”

She scoffs. “So you don't want to sleep with me anymore?”

I will always want to sleep with you.Frustrated, I stand up, and search for my keys. “I’m going out to lunch.”

Madeline moves out of the way, allowing me to continue my search. “Do you want us to have lunch together?”

“No, not right now. For today, I need to be on my own.”

My mate folds her arms, her expression thoughtful rather than angry. "You're back to being the lone wolf, huh?" There's understanding in her voice, but also a clear boundary being set.

“I never stopped, Madeline.” I walk out of the office, pausing at the door. “I'm not coming back today. You can take the day off.”

I close the door behind me and leave the floor. I almost pause at Graham's door, but the scent coming from his office shows that he definitely shouldn't be disturbed right now.

My search for lunch ends up with driving aimlessly around town. I drive slowly, looking around even though I have no clue what I'm searching for.

There's too much uncertainty about several things. If I can't do anything about my situation with Madeline, then maybe I can do something about the hunters.

I’m on alert, searching for the car that's been stalking us for a while. That's part of the reason we stopped going to that hotel.

Madeline hasn't mentioned it since the day it happened, but something tells me that the car and the hunters are connected.

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