Page 45 of Code Mages & Empty Pages
Dawn
Luc spent most of the day poring over his keyboard with that expression on his face that I’d come to associate with him fixing a stubborn bug.
“Hey,” I whispered in his direction after three hours of him sitting, unmoving, at his desk. “I’m gonna go. I just…”
“Yeah, okay,” he told his screen. I rolled my eyes but didn’t say any more.
He didn’t even realise that I’d gone up to Froth & Flurry and come back until I stood next to his desk and addressed him directly.
“Luc?” He didn’t react. “Comte?”
“Yeah.” His head snapped around. “Well, it’s good to see you at least respond to your screen name, dear,” I fake scolded him.
He gave me an embarrassed grin. “What is it, Roe?”
“I grabbed you a cinnamon bun and a cup of coffee. I thought you needed a little break. Even though it’s not in the server room,” I added in a whisper and gave him a tiny wink.
I didn’t want to taint the time we had together, so I decided to push my sadness, and the dread of Gerry’s call, back and relish what I had, while I had it.
“Is the bug not cooperating with you, Code Mage?” I asked him. I settled on the edge of his desk, making the best of the fact that Desmond had just gone to help one of the realtors with their plotter.
He’d muttered more to himself than to us when he left the department a couple of minutes ago, “If I had a crown for every time someone in this fucking company caused a paper jam, I’d be rolling in the dough.”
Luc turned in his chair and rested his ankle on his knee, leaning back and groaning a little with pleasure when he bit into the cinnamon bun. The baker, who we’d found out was Gregor the Hare shifter, had refined his recipe, and they were just so bloody delicious.
“Thanks, Roe. That’s better. I didn’t even realise how hungry I was.” He took a sip of his coffee, then set both down on his desk. “I’m working on a fix. It shouldn’t be that big a deal, but it involves a lot of accounts and a lot of roles I need to reassess and streamline. It’s a mess, but more annoying than difficult?”
“Okay, well, if there’s anyone who can fix it, it’s you, isn’t it?” I bit my lip.
Oh God, I wanted to kiss this man so bad.
Luc’s grin turned wolfish. “What’s on your mind when you look at me like that, Roe?” he asked.
“What am I looking at you like?” I tilted my head and shifted so my dress rode up an inch or two.
Luc’s eyes dropped to my thighs. “Unfair, Roe.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said in a sweet voice.
“Tell me what’s on your mind when you look at me like you want to eat me.”
“Maybe I do want to eat you, Big Bad Wolf.” I winked at him. Teasing him was so much fun.
“Maybe I am a bad Red Riding Hood, and the Wolf should be scared of me.”
Luc chuckled. “Mmm, that’s an idea for a RPG I’d be into.”
I sobered up. “Maybe when we’re at home. I was just thinking that I really want to kiss you when you talk nerdy to me,” I confessed.
Luc straightened up. He leaned past me to see if Desmond was approaching, and when he saw the area was clear, pulled me into his lap. He slanted his muzzle over my mouth and kissed me so long and hard, I swooned in his arms.
“Wow,” I sighed when he finally let me breathe. “What was that for?” I lazily blinked my eyelids open and sank into his molten silver eyes.
“That was for you being so freaking adorable.” His furry hand brushed up my thigh until he reached the hem of my dress. “And for being as hot as you are,” he added with a tiny wink.
“Thanks,” I said breathlessly. We were moving fast, but every moment with Luc felt inevitable, like we were catching up to where we were supposed to be—together.
“You’re welcome. Right, I need get back to work. I want to fix this. It’s been bugging me for a while, and I hope it will make things easier for our colleagues.”
