Page 36 of Midnight Wishes

‘So it’s Viking forno bad vibes?’

Alex laughed, a little quieter and looser than normal, and something loosened in her at the sound. At the glimmer of reality beneath the bluster. ‘Something like that.’

‘How about that—’ she began, nodding at the black lines adorning his right arm.

‘Larsson’—Alex’s office door swung open, startling them both—‘do you want to go to the conference room for this call, or—Hello.’ The slightly familiar, horrifically sleazy voice dropped as his eyes raked over Sarah. She went rigid as she imagined how the scene must look. But as she shifted to get up, Alex’s arm tightened around her. ‘Who’s this?’

‘Sarah, Pete. Pete, Sarah,’ Alex gritted out. Then, in a voice that was louder but no less standoffish, he said, ‘We don’t need the conference room. I’m staying here.’

‘I’ll bet you are.’ Pete was somewhere close to leering now. ‘And you, beautiful? Some of the guys are going out after this meeting. Are you joining us?’

His eyes passing over her felt like oil seeping through her clothes, coating her skin.

‘No,’ Alex said quickly, leaving Sarah torn between relief and something like disappointment. She had less than zero interest in spending the evening with more of Alex’s suited cohort, but the immediate dismissal stung.

Pete’s eyes lingered on her, and it turned out Alex had been right. Showering rocketed to the top of her to-do list once she arrived home. His attention didn’t wane, even as he directed his next statement to Alex. ‘I have a few things I wanted to go over before we log on.’

Sarah hopped up before it could be requested. Alex squeezed her wrist before she could move too far.

‘Can I see you tomorrow?’ he asked, his voice low and his eyebrows furrowed.

She faltered. They’d never madeplansbefore. Their situation was a string ofYou up?texts and convenient encounters after activities. But if she was being honest with herself, she wanted to see him the next day. Wanted more of their frenetic, intense, slightly rough coupling. And a smaller part of her—one becoming harder to tamp down—wanted to know if she could make him laugh like that again.

So she nodded, and calm settled on Alex’s face as he kissed her on the cheek. Another thing they didn’t do. But if she was pretending to be his girlfriend, he was playing the part. She was out the door, trying to ignore the feeling of Pete’s eyes following her ass, and a few steps down the corridor when she heard that awful voice again.

‘You’re with the same girl more than once? Does she have a magic pussy or something?’

A full shudder ran through her body as she stepped back. And again, careful not to allow any noise from her shoes to echo on the shiny floors.

‘Don’t talk about her like that,’ Alex snapped.

‘So sensitive, Larsson. I just want to know if I can have her when you’re done.’

Gross.

Sarah was right outside the office again, her back pressed to the wall next to the open door.

‘You want my sloppy seconds, Pete? I’ll gladly give you a list. But she’smine. Back off.’

Her heart thudded through her body.

‘Not really your type though, is she? Great pair of tits, don’t get me wrong, but—’

The sound of a door slamming elsewhere on the floor had Sarah jolting and hurrying back down the corridor, seriously questioning her sanity. And fighting disappointment at missing Alex’s response.

After a too-longtube ride with one question repeating through her head—whatisAlex’s type?—Sarah had curled up in her bed with a glass of wine and a plate of cookies for dinner—because she was an adult, dammit—and trawled his social media.

Like any self-respecting younger millennial, his Facebook was a barren wasteland, save for a few photos his mother had tagged him in and a handful of birthday wishes posted the previous November.

His Instagram yielded little more insight. The white walls of art galleries stared back at her, occasionally punctuated by a European landmark or a shot of a new tattoo. His content curation would have made a professional influencer drool, but it felt lifeless. Impersonal. A perfectly aligned reflection of everything he showed the world. Until a rare photo featuring him made her pause her scroll. It was a candid shot with Erik, both clad in black suits, Alex’s hand on his brother’s shoulder as they laughed in each other’s faces. The date stamp marked it as the night Erik and Abby had got engaged.Stunning, inits most literal definition, was the only way to describe Alex. Mouth stretched wide with the genuine happiness beaming out of him, that slightly crooked smile making an appearance again. His eyes sparkled, but with pure joy rather than their usual sly amusement. It became another little piece of truth she tucked away deep inside.

She was about to switch to his tagged photos when the turn of her door handle saw her dropping her phone, then fumbling to lock the screen before shoving it under her comforter for good measure. Abby’s face appeared in the crack, completely casual, as if she hadn’t just caused a near heart attack. ‘Are you ready to give me details yet?’

Sarah shook her head, hoping the swish of her hair and the rustle of her bedding would cover the pounding of her blood.

‘Ugh, fine,’ Abby groaned. ‘We’re going to watch a movie, if you want to join us.’

‘Yeah, sure, I’ll be right out.’

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