22.

Ryan

A lex and I have broken the boundaries of personally acceptable behavior, so I don't see a reason to pretend like we haven't. Each day for two weeks, we're inseparable. I use my lunch breaks to devour her pussy. We burn off steam after particularly tricky business meetings by fucking in my office. There are moments after work, too: stolen pieces of time where we sneak out to the parking garage and make love in the back of my SUV. It's something teenagers would do, which is fitting because she makes me feel young.

When was the last time I felt like this?

I can't remember the last time I felt happy or content. Ever since my father died, things have felt awkward and rough, but with Alex, the world seems lighter. Fresher.

We're in the elevator heading down to the car one day after work when I invite her home.

"Come with me," I say.

"Come with you where? A bar?"

"Home."

She turns, looking up at me.

"You want me to come home with you?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"What? I can fuck you at work but not my house?"

"That just feels like it's getting serious," she says.

"Maybe it is." I didn't mean to say that.

For a long moment, Alex is silent, but she finally nods.

"Okay," she says. "I'll come with you."

Once we're in the SUV, we start heading in the direction of my home. Downtown Siren City is still bustling.

"Where do you live?"

"In a house."

"North Siren City?"

"Yeah," I nod. It's where most of the business people live. There are larger houses up north, which means you can get a gated area and not have to worry about paparazzi or random people showing up from your past who want things from you.

"Cool."

"You?"

"I live with Beatrice," she says. "You know that."

"I don't actually know where she lives."

"Really? You two don't hang?"

"Not outside of Christmas and Easter."

"Interesting."

"My family tends to have its issues," I admit. "Then again, I think everyone does."

"True," Alex nods.

"What about your family?"

"Hmm?"

"You haven't told me much about them. Are you close with your folks?"

"No," she says. It's a solid sort of answer, and I've been around enough people to know that she's shutting down this line of questioning. That's fine. I can ask her about something else.

"Well, when you're not at work, what are you doing?"

"Trying to find a teaching job," she blurts out. Then she presses a hand over her mouth.

"What?" My blood runs cold. She's looking for another job? But I need her here. She's supposed to be my assistant. Together, we basically run the company, but I need her. There's even a part of me that kind of hopes Damien doesn't return so that Alex and I can keep on working together.

Only, she's basically just told me that's not going to happen.

"I shouldn't have said that." She sinks lower onto the seat. We're almost to the house, but I don't really feel like fucking anymore. "I just...I'm aware that this is a temporary job, Ryan." No more "Mr. Shadowvale." We're past that now.

"Who said it was temporary?"

"You, when you hired me."

"I'm sure that when Damien returns, we can find another role for you." I want her around. She's so damn talented. She's good at what she does, and she's polite, and perhaps most of all, she makes me feel happy.

She makes me feel free.

We arrive at the house. I park in the detached garage, kill the engine, and we leave the building together. There's a small pathway that leads to the mansion, but as we walk, Alex stops in the middle of the path.

"What is it?"

She looks up at the sky, gesturing.

"Aren't the stars so pretty?"

"What?"

"Ryan, look at the stars."

I can't stop myself. I've never in my life considered looking at the stars, but for some reason, she just draws me to her. I can't resist the lure. I need everything she's offering me. I need more.

"They're lovely," I say, turning my face upward.

"What do you think about when you look at the stars? I think about my brother."

"I've never looked at them."

"What?" Alex turns toward me like I'm crazy, like she can't believe what I've just said, and honestly, I can't really believe it, either.

"I don't really have a lot of time to look at the stars," I say. "I spend most of my days in a whirlwind of chaos. I'm always busy. Everyone keeps me busy. At no point am I ever free to just do what I want."

"Well, you're free right now," she says. Alex takes my hands, leans close, and presses her lips to mine. Once more, I'm brought into her web of pleasure, of wonder.

"So I am."

"I feel good when I'm with you, Ryan."

"You have no idea how good I feel with you," I whisper. It's been ages since I felt this good, this strong. I can tell already that this is going to be one of those core moments I never forget about, like summer camp in the fourth grade when I held hands with Brianna Bay. She was a year older than me. There was the moment I stood at a waterfall with my mother on a family vacation at age ten. She promised me she'd always take care of me. Or there was the moment when my grandmother hugged me tightly, teared up, and said she wished she'd be around on my wedding day.

These are the things I'll always remember.

Tonight.

Tonight is a moment I will always remember.

"I didn't think I'd ever meet someone like you." Alex is whispering,

"We're alone," I say. "No one is on the property. My housekeeper leaves at five, and I dismissed my chefs early."

"I'm not whispering because I think we're going to be overheard. I'm whispering because I think this moment between us is something that we should be quiet around."

"I think so, too."

Then Alex does something I don't expect. She presses her hands to my chest, and then she lowers herself to her knees. We're on the little walkway that leads from the garage to the house. I can't imagine this feels good on her knees, and I try to tug her back. Alex stays where she is, though, and she leans forward, rubbing her face against the front of my pants.

"Take your dick out, Ryan," she says. "I want to play."