Page 21 of Alex

I glance down at her left hand. She’s not wearing a ring, so he’s not a husband or fiance. Not that I expected her to be married, especially after finding out I’m the only guy she’s been with.

Is Peter her boyfriend? It’s entirely possible. She smiled when she saw his name. Even though it’s clear that she’s attracted to me, maybe she’s also attracted to him.

So if I know she wants me, why is jealousy bubbling up inside of me like a raging inferno threatening to explode like a volcano?

Chapter Six

ELISE

Laughingwith Kate is nothing new, especially when alcohol is involved, but having Alex a part of the group warms my insides.

He fits in like he is a vital piece of my puzzle. Like he and I belong together.

My phone dings with a message a second before it rings. Who could be calling me this late? It’s Friday and there’s no outstanding work that needs to be done.

Can’t a girl just enjoy a night out with friends?

Reaching into my purse, I dig my phone out and smile when I look at the caller ID and see it’s Peter.

I push the answer button and hold it up to my ear. “Hey, Peter. What’s going on?”

His normal confident and easy going mood is nowhere to be found. He’s panicking and frantic. “The silent alarm was triggered and I’m calling to see if you’re still in the building and you accidentally triggered it somehow.”

My gaze moves over to Alex, who’s looking at me with jealousy swirling in his eyes. Does Alex think I have a thing for Peter?

Shaking that thought away, I get back to the problem at hand. “No, I’m not at the office. I left over an hour ago. I’m at the bar with friends. Is Mr. Strickland still inside? Maybe he accidentally triggered it when he came back to finish up some work? He comes and goes a lot.”

Peter lets out a shaky sigh. “No one is here as far as I can tell. My car is the only one parked in the parking lot. That’s why I thought maybe it was you.”

Peter seems freaked out, but we’ve never had a problem with the alarm before.

“Unfortunately, it’s not me setting off the alarm. Maybe there’s something wrong with the alarm system. It could have glitched if there was an update today. I wouldn’t think anything of the alarm. This is a safe town.”

Alex quirks his eyebrow at my statement. Is he thinking that something is really wrong at the office? Or is he saying the town isn’t safe?

How would he really know what the town is really like? He lives in a mansion that’s gated and far from other houses with his own section of private beach.

I’ve seen the “wrong side of the tracks” hell, I live there now and nothing bad happens if you keep your nose out of others’ business.

Beeping sounds from the other end of the callbefore Peter continues with his freak out. “Elise, I can’t get the alarm turned off, and now I’m going to have to call Mr. Strickland this late at night on the weekend. Pray for me.”

“Wait. There’s no need to be so dramatic. I know the system override code, so we can restart the alarm system. I’ll come help you. The last thing we need to do is pull Mr. Strickland away from whatever he’s doing.”

Peter lets out a long sigh of relief before chuckling. “He’s probably busy buying another business.”

I let out a laugh that surprises both Alex and Kate. She looks like she’s ready to continue drinking the night away, while he looks like he wants to throw me over his shoulder and remind me of the night we had together.

I’m more than willing to let him rock my world for another night and give me several orgasms before he gets his, but I have responsibilities to handle first.

Peter’s voice brings me out of my daydream. “I don’t want to pull you away from your friends, Elise. I can just call Mr. Strickland.”

That would be a huge mistake.

Mr. Strickland looks like the type of man to be all work and no play. Not that I want to think of him playing. I’ll leave that to Kate’s imagination since she has a thing for older men. But disturbing him this late on a Friday night won’t end well.

For any of us.

I glance at Kate and Alex before saying, “Peter, just sit tight. I’ll be there in like fifteen to twenty minutes.”

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