Chapter 137

I put my hand against his chest and shook my head. I can feel the strong thrum of his heart beneath my palm.

"We are at work."

The protest was weak. He knew it. I knew it. And the way his hands were squeezing my hips, pulling me closer told me that he wasn't falling for it. More than I didn't really want him to, either. His scent filled my nose and made me a little dizzy. The low-burning fire that he was setting beneath my skin started to blaze.

"The door's locked," he murmured, his breath a soft ghost against my neck. "No one can get in and my office is soundproof."

"I really need you to be a voice of reason." I clenched my fist in his shirt. "Between this morning and Neil acting weird, this is not normal."

He smirked and grazed our lips together. "Sorry, Renee reasons all out the door right now. He must be rubbing off on me. Are you going to reply to him?"

Yes, if only the stall.

He chuckled and leaned back, watching me.

I quickly typed back, How did you know?

Neil: I could feel it. I’ll get you food.

I tucked my phone away, heart racing for entirely different reasons now. How much could he feel?

Dominic kissed the side of my face and smoothed a hand down my back. “Let me take you on a real date again. A proper one. Soon.”

I smiled. “I’d like that.”

"As for the rest of this particular fifteen minute meeting… Have some mercy on me. Its been a rough morning. And I'm almost certain that Neil is partly to blame."

I bit my lip and went still as I felt the hard line of his erection beneath me.

"Uhm…"

He grinned. "Don't worry. We're not doing anything more than what you're ready for. But I would really like to taste you."

The fifteen minute meeting ended in twenty because I needed some way to make sure my lips didn't look like he had spent the last fifteen minutes making out with my boss. The fact that he looked so satisfied when I left was a little irritating and exhilarating. I didn't think he had a devious side, but it was nice that he showed this side of himself to me.

Dominic definitely had experience. Way more experience to me. They said he was a total bachelor before he got married to his wife. And for him to look so satisfied just kissing me made me feel capable, sexy. Desirable. I remember that being a problem with Tyler. In my past life, he'd been the only man I'd ever been with, and he had complained often about my having no skills in the bedroom. The other shame I felt trying to give him a blowjob for the first time still ricocheted through me.

He'd laughed at me. It had been cruel. Crueler now knowing that I'd never even had a chance to make him happy. Sure, I knew now that he wasn't even interested in me in any way, shape or form, and was just following orders, but it still hurt.

I try not to think about it as I got back to the office. And plop down in my seat. Assuring the team that it was just some follow-up things with my guardianship transfer. Neil looked at me with this sly grin and leaned close.

"So when's my turn?"

I huffed and nudged him away. "Where's my lunch?"

He promptly put down a takeout bag, winked, and went back to work.

Later that evening, after work and a surprisingly filling meal from Neil, I headed home. Well, almost. I got sidetracked with this deep desire for cake. And given that my entire life had changed, I was no longer having to count every dollar I didn't have. I was going to stop for cake. I deserved it. Surprisingly, Neil had something to do that evening. What it was exactly, I had no idea, but I was grateful that I didn't have to figure it out what his turn would even look like, or explaining what had happened in Dominic's office.

I found myself wandering to the café bakery again. I’d been thinking about Maya. And thoughts of Tyler were definitely coming up again. To my surprise, the café was hosting a cupcake decorating night.

It looked like it was supposed to be some kind of benefit for a local nonprofit.

There were sprinkles, frosting stations, themed decorations, and soft music playing overhead. Maya was behind the counter, hands dusted with flour and powdered sugar. She looked up when she saw me and smiled.

“Hey,” she said. “… I didn't think you'd be here."

“I have zero skills for decorating,” I said. “But I do like cupcakes. And I really did want cake. So I guess I'll pick up a new skill and get my cake too.”

She handed me a smock and a tray. “You’re in the right place.”

I settled into one of the decorating stations and chatted casually with a few of the other people there. Even across the room, I could tell that Maya was more relaxed than before. So was I. It might have been that my anger towards Tyler was dying out, considering that I had just made out with Dominic earlier that day. But I also liked her. Genuinely. Despite the awkward Tyler connection.

But just as I started piping icing onto a cupcake, I felt the air shift.

My stomach twisted. I looked up and there he was.

Tyler.

He looked… tired. A little worn down. But his eyes landed on me like he hadn’t seen me in years.

He approached the table slowly. “Renee.”

I stood straight, already on edge. Maya tensed too, coming over, hovering nearby. Before she could speak, he raised his hands.

“I’ll go soon,” he said. “ I didn't even know you would be here, but I’m not here to make a scene. I just need to tell you something.”

“I don’t want to hear it,” I said tightly.

“It's not about us. It's about you,” he pressed. “There’s a man. He’s asking about you. I don’t know what he wants, but he’s… not good. I could feel it. And I am sorry, Renee. For everything. For how I treated you. You didn’t deserve any of it. I get that you shouldn't believe me, but I wouldn't just stand by and not warn you if I thought you were in danger.”

But he'd thrown me overboard… Killed me. Was… Had that been Vivian's compulsion alone?

I blinked, stunned. I didn’t even know how to process it.

Tyler… apologizing?

Before I could speak, Maya reached across and gently squeezed my arm. Tyler backed away, giving us space.

"Wait."

He went still. I glanced at Maya. "You're here to see her, right?"

He flushed and looked away. "Coffee…"

I looked in Maya and she didn't look like she believed him at all, and neither did I.

"You're a terrible liar. You came to support this event. You came to support her so… just pay the fee and decorate some cupcakes…"

He looked surprised, but he glanced at Maya, glanced down at the trail, cleared his throat and asked if she would register him. I nudged her away and went on decorating my cupcakes.

The one thing I didn't anticipate was the fact that the only open spot was next to me. So that's where he ended up. It was so odd to see him in an apron with a bag of icing in hand, a tray of cupcakes in front of him. In the future, he'd always been too manly to do things like this. He couldn't cook to save his life.

"Is this a new talent you have?"

His lips twitched. " No… You? You said you hated baking."

"I like cake."

He bobbed his head. " Look, if I'm making you uncomfortable---"

"I think you owe me answers."

He nodded. "Case is over. What do you want to know?"

"… What's it like having a mate?"

His eyes widened. He glanced back towards where Maya had to be in before looking back down at his cupcakes and starting to ice them with oddly smooth movements. It was irritating to see that he was so good at something like this. I can only imagine how many times he'd been in a kitchen with Maya, helping her with her work to get so good.

"At first, it was hard…" His lips titled into a wry smile. " I didn't know how to react. I didn't know what was going on. I was just drawn to her. And I could feel when she had a bad day. And it made me want to make her not have a bad day… Looking back, I realized that. She probably felt the same way. And I feel incredibly guilty because I had a lot of bad days…And she didn't."