Page 314 of Billionaire Beast

She laughs. “Fine, you don’t have to go out with my cousin. Actually, he’s not really my cousin. Joe just wants us to double with someone. Can you believe it? He says that when we go out alone, I just dominate the conversation and never let him get a word in. He tells me that I’m always trying to tell people what to do…”

She starts to trail off as I roll my eyes.

“Listen,” she says, “things aren’t that bad, okay? Yeah, we’ve got shitty jobs, but we’re working for a company that moves millions of dollars around every day. The whole economy can rise or fall depending on what mood the boss is in—yeah, that’s terrible planning on a societal level, but this is where it all happens, and we’re a part of it.”

“Atkinson wants me to help him lance a blister between his toes.”

All right, I’m smiling.

“Okay, that’s disgusting,” she says, “but you know how good this place looks on a resumé. Hell, getting kicked out of the lobby will land you a couple hundred thou anywhere else.”

“I guess.”

For all her flaws, this is why I love Annabeth. She always knows how to cheer me up when I’m starting to look at the edge of the building too seriously.

“There you go,” she says. “Now you get in there, and you lance the shit out of that old dude’s blister!”

I laugh. “You almost had it there,” I tell her.

“Took it one too far, didn’t I?” she asks, smiling back at me.

As I’m walking back into the building, the strangest thought comes into my mind.

I think it started as a way to comfort myself and keep Annabeth’s pep talk going, but the direction my brain just went is strange and I don’t like it.

At least I have Dane to go home to.

; Chapter Six

The Building across the Street

Dane

She doesn’t really talk to me, so I can’t be sure, but I’m starting to get the feeling that Leila doesn’t like me.

It probably didn’t help that I only learned her name last week when I was going through her mail. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if she hadn’t caught me in the act.

After knocking that lamp off the table in the living room last night, it’s probably best if I don’t go home tonight. As I open my eyes and take in the gorgeous view that is this naked redhead, I think I’ll be fine.

“You know,” she says, pulling me down to her mouth, kissing me softly, “I never do this.”

They never do.

“Well, I’m glad you made an exception,” I tell her.

The next thing I know, she’s somehow pulled me down onto the bed, rolled us both so she’s now on top, and she’s sliding me inside of her with a greedy look in her eyes.

Her muscles wrap around me, holding me tight, and I kiss her neck as she breathes, “You feel amazing.”

“So do you,” I respond. It’s not the most romantic or clever option, but it’s close enough.

She leans back slightly, positioning her breasts directly in front of me, and I take her nipples into my mouth, each in their turn, drawing little circles with my tongue.

She leans back further, and now I’m running my hand between her breasts and down the front of her body, her skin so warm to the touch.

“I love the way you fill me up,” she moans, and I place my hands on her hips, guiding her smoothly up and down my erection.