Page 85 of Tempt Thy Neighbor

I wrap my hand in her hair, pulling her back to me, resting our foreheads together.

“Always,” I tell her truthfully.

Then I seal my mouth to hers.

I’ll tell her tomorrow.

It’s beenthree days and I’m still sitting on the news that I got the promotion. My chances to tell Holland are dwindling by the minute.

We’ve not fucked at work again.

Or at home.

In fact, every night when we get home, all I want to do is hold her.

I can’t bring myself to say goodbye just yet, and I know the moment I bury myself in her again, it’s going to be for the last time.

If she’s noticed anything is off with me, she hasn’t said anything.

“You wanna go grab dinner at The Gravy Train?” she asks, tossing her tablet onto my bedside table. “I’m starving.”

“What if we had something delivered?”

“That works too. Want Chinese or pizza? Oh! Maybe we can try that Thai place?”

“Whatever you want,” I tell her, not looking away from the TV.

I honestly have no idea what’s even on. I haven’t been paying attention at all.

Suddenly a leg is slung over me and Holland’s sitting in my lap.

“Okay.” She wraps her arms around my neck, fingers combing through my hair. “What’s going on with you?”

“What do you mean?”

She gives me a look that says she knows I’m full of shit. “You know what I mean, Sutton. You’ve been kind of in this…daze. Fordaysnow.” She nibbles on her bottom lip. “Is it…is it because of what happened between us at work?”

I hate the worry and uncertainty I see in her eyes.

But most of all, I hate that she’s not wrong.

What happened between us was nothing short of amazing, but it was just more proof that when it comes to Holland, I’m not able to keep myself in control.

I can’t keep handing over control to other people.

I did it with my family my entire life, and I can’t do it again.

I don’t have it in me.

I rest my hands on her waist, keeping her close.

“It’s…it’s not that.” The lie tastes sour on my tongue. “But we definitely shouldn’t have done it.”

“Do you regret it?”

“Not in the way you’re thinking,” I tell her. “I just regret that we weren’t more careful and more aware of our surroundings. Anybody could have seen us. I regret that I was so careless.”

“It wasn’t just you,” she assures me. “I was there too. I was part of it too. Don’t beat yourself up over it. I knew exactly what you wanted the moment you texted me, and I’m the one who agreed to meet you.”

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