Page 27 of Vesper Martinis
I start walking towards the gym doors, deciding I can shower back at my apartment since the gym is in the building.
I run my hand over my hair as I walk into the elevator back to my apartment.
Fuck, I can’t describe how pissed off I am at myself. But as I press the button that’ll take me to my floor I realize that I’ve never felt like this before. Not only the pull to someone but I’ve never been mad at my own fears. I never cared. It was something that I had and I felt no need to deal with it.
Now? Well, now it seems like I’m being forced to deal with it because I can’t stop feeling this ache in my chest. Every time I walk away from Wesley it’s like a piece of me stays behind with him. And now that I’ve had another taste of him, it’s stronger. I’ve been resisting him since the second I walked out of that hotel room six months ago but my resolve seems to be cracking.
The elevator doors open and I walk down the hallway to my apartment. As I step into my inside I begin to rethink every thought about love and romance I’ve ever had. Because whether I like it or not, something is changing inside me and I’ll have to face it one way or another. And if I’m smart and brave I might get everything I want.
Chapter 10
Wesley
When Pierce asked me to go to his office, I wasn’t expecting this. He has two sandwiches on his desk and asks me to take a seat.
“I thought we could have lunch together,” he says.
Cautiously, I take a seat opposite him. He’s taken his suit jacket and tie off. The first few buttons of his shirt are loose, and the cuffs of his sleeves are rolled up. He looks relaxed, which is the opposite of how he seems to feel because I can see the pulse on his neck and how he’s moving very stiffly.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
He looks at me. “Yes. Why do you ask?”
“You just seem a little tense. Also, we’re having lunch together.” I point at the sandwiches, and he chuckles as he picks one up.
“Yes. We are. I just thought that… you know, we don’t have to have sex every time we’re alone together, and I happen to have made an extra sandwich, so I thought…” Pierce’s eyes are unsure. They dart between me and his lap, and out of instinct, I reach out and cover his hand with mine.
“It’s okay. We can do whatever you want here. You’re the boss,” I smile, and I see his shoulders relax as his lips turn up.
“Yeah, I am.” He takes a deep breath and hands me one of the sandwiches. “Well, if you don’t mind having lunch with me, I’d like the company.”
I take the sandwich from him, my hand tingling from the contact, and say, “I don’t mind at all.”
After the first bite, Pierce hums like he’s just remembered something and gets up from his desk, heading to a mini fridge in the corner of his office. He opens it with his free hand, pulls out two small bottles of milk, and brings them back with him.
As soon as my mouth is free of peanut butter, I ask, “You have milk in your mini fridge?”
Pierce chuckles. “Well, it comes in handy when peanut butter is your favourite food.”
“Ah, so it’s not just peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It’s anything peanut butter?”
He nods. “Yes. Peanut butter cookies, Reese’s peanut butter cups, just a spoonful of peanut butter. I love it all. What about you? What’s your favourite food?” he asks as he leans back in his chair and takes a sip of milk.
I think about it for a moment and then say, “Chocolate.”
Pierce’s brow raises, and he nods in approval.
“Yep. I’ll eat anything chocolate. I once had a triple fudge cake for my birthday three years in a row. Thankfully, my mother made sure I didn’t eat too much at once so I wouldn’t end up hating it. And now, once in a while, I’ll get a chocolate bar or something, and I savour it. I break it up, put it into a bottle, and take a few out at a time to eat.”
“That’s a good sense of control you have there.”
“Yeah, you can thank my mother for that. My mom taught me that balance and moderation can be good for you, and my dad taught me that sometimes it’s okay to break the rules and have too much of something as long as you don’t make it a habit.”
I shrug, trying to keep things casual. This is personal stuff, and once again, I’m just sharing it with him. I could’ve given him a bullshit answer, and I didn’t even have to add the stuff about my parents, but I did anyway. It’s almost like the sort of spell makes me want to tell Pierce everything about me.
“Those seem like good lessons,” he says.
“What lessons did your parents teach you?” I ask, wanting to know more about this man. I wanted another chance to get to know him more, and I feel like I’ve been given one.