Page 13 of Decoding Emma
In my mind, I heard Asher’s voice telling me how he’d caress my skin.“Oh yes,” I whispered.“More Asher.”It was his fingers caressing my pussy, bringing me to climax.
“Asher,” I cried out his name.
I took a shaky step back.Oh, damn that was good, but not good to be fantasizing about the man I’m working with.I lowered my leg and my head, breathing hard and praying I’d relieved some of the sexual frustration.I turned off the water and stepped out.
My nerves tingled as I dried off and slipped on a lounging outfit.I stared at myself in the mirror.
Was that me?My eyes were bright, my skin glowing.I quickly brushed my hair, before making my way to the kitchen.I needed a glass of wine.
The delicious scent of beef filled my senses.Thank goodness I’d put beef stew in the slow cooker before I went to work.Grabbing the bottle of wine out of my fridge, I poured a glass and took a seat in the family room.
My mind went right back to Asher.What was I going to do about him?
His emphasis on consent echoed in my mind.I would give him consent to do just about anything.I shook my head.What was I thinking?I was there to do a job, and I needed to remember that.
I didn’t need a relationship with any man, let alone one like Asher.Besides, men were always out for themselves.Was Asher any different?It seemed like it.I watched him today.He didn’t hover when I was working or ask me what I was doing.I also noticed that, when people stopped him on our way to the café, he was more than willing to help or chat.I didn’t know many in my office who would do that.
Asher was an extrovert.I shivered.I was an introvert, more comfortable being alone.I’d been that way since I was a child.My parents trying to force me into situations I wasn’t comfortable in hadn’t changed that.
All their misguided—albeit likely well-intentioned—efforts had done was push me further into myself and make me avoid being around people or going to parties.I escaped into books and my own little world as often as possible.Sometimes, it made things worse with my parents, and at other times, they didn’t seem to care.
I pushed those thoughts away as I sipped my wine and picked up the book I was reading.Time to live through imaginary characters.Yes, it was a fantasy book, but there was quite a bit of romance in it.Spicy romance at that.
Snuggling down, I began to read, trying hard to forget Asher and my childhood.
Chapter Six
Asher
“Tell us about this software developer helping you,” Marcus said after I sat down at the table with him, Cassie, Lucas, and Miles at the local watering hole after work.
“Emma?What’s there to say?”Emma had been very distracted this afternoon; so was I, and her honeysuckle fragrance still tickled my senses.
“Evasion,” Miles said.
“You met her; what’d you think?”Lucas asked Miles.
“Nice lady.Kind of shy.She had no idea what kind of company Fantasies, Inc.is.”
“What?”Marcus’s voice rose, and he leaned forward.“And you—” He lowered his voice and waved his hand at me.“—brought her to R&D first?”
Okay, that might not have been the best idea.
I shrugged.“It seemed like the logical choice.”Actually, it had given me some valuable insight into Emma.I was attracted to her, but it seemed to be more than a simple attraction.I liked the way her eyes widened at the array of toys, how her skin flushed when I told her how I’d use the massage oil.Maybe I liked her a little too much.Taking her to R&D gave me a chance to see how she would react to the company and what we did.
Oh, some might argue with me about it, but she’d been aroused from my words.And I noticed how her skin flushed, and how she’d shifted from one foot to the other and wouldn’t raise her gaze to meet mine.
“Logical?”Miles stared at him.“You’ll be lucky if you don’t get an HR complaint against you.”
“We were talking about what was needed, and she asked me about R&D.I decided to show her what they did.In order for the IT expansion and reconfiguration to go smoothly, she needs to understand what FI does from the inside out.”Sure, I could’ve started gradually with Cassie’s department or even Lucas in finance.
Marcus shook his head.“We’re lucky she didn’t run screaming out of the room.”
“Emma is made of sterner stuff.”My gut told me she was tougher than she wanted anyone to know, and she didn’t seem to shy away when we walked into the room.
“Bring her up to my department tomorrow,” Lucas commented.“Finance would be a good place to start.We’re getting buried in paperwork right now.”
“I can do that.”
