Page 15 of Thorn Evermore
We both fall into laughter once we’re away from Neal. “You’re so bad, Sandra.”
“He deserves it. Loser.”
“I doubt he cares.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. He’s always looking at you when he thinks you’re not paying attention. I think he misses you and realizes he let a good one go.”
I scoff. “Again, I doubt that, but even if he did, I’d never go back. My self-esteem couldn’t endure another round with that man.”
“Ugh. I hate that this happened. You deserve so much better.”
“Very few people deserve Neal’s bullshit.” I glance behind us to make sure he’s not around. “I just wish I could get his words out of my head. Boring, dull, vanilla. Ever since he got promoted, suddenly I wasn’t living up to my potential anymore.”
“Neal has a superiority kink, but guess what? He’s gonna end up alone and you’re going to find the man of your dreams. Know why?”
“Why?”
“Because you’re an amazing person, and someone out there is gonna recognize it.”
“I really hope you’re right. I’m tired of being alone. I just want someone who…” I pause and swallow the lump in my throat. “I want to be loved back. I want my love returned, you know? I’ve picked two men who just kept me around but never returned my love. I’m not gonna settle again. I swear it.”
“Sucky as it is, I think the experience with Neal opened your eyes to your worth.”
“Turning forty played a part in it, for sure. I feel like I should be more ambitious, but I love what I do. It makes me happy.”
“Which is more than most people can say. Besides, what would Onyx Treasures be without our resident historian?”
Smiling shyly, I nod. “Thanks, Sandra. You’re a good friend.”
“So are you. Neal is an idiot. We’ll both be here long after him. Sooner or later he’ll go chasing prestige somewhere else, and we won’t have to see his smug face anymore.”
“Sooner would be great.”
“Agreed.”
We finish our walk and enter the warehouse where today’s shipment waits to be unpacked. “I guess we should get started,” she says.
“Yep. This one ought to be good. The owners got it from an auction in England.”
“Great.”
As I start my work, memories of last night flit through my mind, sending tingling shivers through me. My dick twitches more than once when the image of Thorn hovering over me lingers. His thick cock glistening with precum, his eyes focused on my face. I swear I can still feel his kiss on my lips.
Maybe I can find him again. I probably shouldn’t though. A night like that is best kept as a memory. I’m sure a guy like Thorn is out meeting new people all the time. The best plan is to keep him in my thoughts. I can always jack off to him. If that’s the most I can get from a guy like him, I’ll take it.
Several hours pass while Sandra and I tackle the new shipment. We have a good system down. She unwraps and reads me the details off the packing slip, and I catalog them and add them to the inventory. It’s hard to stay focused though. Some of these items are truly amazing.
“Colonizer loot is so fascinating, isn’t it?” Sandra says, studying a small Egyptian statue.
I snort a laugh. “Sadly, yes. In my dreams, there’s a Robin Hood that goes around to museums and steals things from countries and returns the items to where they belong.”
“Ooh, that would make a great book. You should write it.”
Shaking my head, I finish typing the description into the computer. “I’m not much of a writer.”
“There you go again not giving yourself credit. Our newsletter subscribers went up twenty percent when you took over writing them.”
“You sure that wasn’t Manny’s marketing efforts?” I turn to Sandra, leaning on the desk behind me. “It’s a team effort.”