“Work,” I agreed, just as unenthusiastic about the prospect. I felt foolish now for wasting the weekend when we could have been spending time together, wrapped up in bed for lazy hours between the sheets, or else curled up together on the couch, talking about anything and everything.
But there would be more weekends in our future, I was sure.
“Can I shower?” I asked Daniel.
“Only if I can join you,” he said, his eyes gleaming wickedly.
“Work,” I reminded him, but I grinned at the thought of showering together with him. I could already picture him in my mind’s eye, the water running down his firm body, his hair slicked back and wet. I would be able to trail my fingers so easily down his body, tangling them in the soft, curly hairs at the base of his cock, the water easing my movements as I wrapped my fingers around him and pulled my grip along his length.
I blushed at the very thought of it. We had just had sex the night before, long and slow, and I had gotten off a couple of times. There was no reason why my body should already be this desperate for him, why my craving for him should already be this strong. With the way my body was reacting to the closeness of him, it fe
lt as though we had gone weeks since the last time we had coupled.
But then again, I loved him. I guess maybe that was the difference between sex with him and sex with any other guy I had ever been with. The very thought of him could excite me.
I loved him.
We rolled out of bed, and Daniel chased me into the shower. He had his hands all over my body as we waited for the water to warm up. He kissed me until I was breathless, then moved me back beneath the spray. He continued to touch me, though, soaping up his hands and rubbing them along my skin, taking care not to miss a single spot.
I shivered, leaning into his ministrations, even though I knew that it couldn’t go any further than this, these simple touches. We had to get to work. We had a lot to get done that day, even if I hadn’t needed the extra time to catch Daniel up on everything that had happened at the end of the previous week. But it was nice, his naked appreciation of my body.
It didn’t stop once we were cleaned up either. He held out a towel for me as I stepped out of the shower, and he rubbed me down with the soft material, using just the right amount of pressure to dry me off without rubbing too hard. “Why don’t I get coffee and breakfast started while you get dressed and do your hair and makeup?” he suggested, hugging me close for one more moment.
“Sounds like a plan,” I said, but I couldn’t keep the wistfulness out of my voice. Another day.
Daniel smiled at me. “The trouble with dating the one person who can take my place while I’m gone is that there’s really no way for both of us to play hooky without massively screwing up the schedule for later in the week,” he lamented.
I laughed and gave him a nudge toward the door. “Get out of here before I drag you back to bed, then,” I told him.
“Isn’t that supposed to be my line?” he joked.
We headed into work like we had been every day prior to the trial: together, in Daniel’s car, holding hands as we walked into the building. The press were out in droves that day, but it didn’t sound like they had caught wind of anything that Duncan might have told them. Instead, the bulk of the attention seemed to be on Daniel. Everyone wanted to know more about the trial, as though they hadn’t already grilled him on his way out of the courthouse on Friday.
Daniel answered a couple of questions good-naturedly and then led me forward with a hand at my lower back so that we could get in the building and get to work. He greeted a few people around the office as we entered, people he hadn’t seen since before the trial. Everyone wanted to congratulate him on getting out relatively unscathed.
“So did you want to talk to me first about Thursday and Friday, or did you want to talk to Erin about the Duncan thing?” I asked in an undertone as we neared Daniel’s office.
“I want to talk to Erin, but I want you to be there,” Daniel said, smiling over at me. “You’re my advisor, after all. I want to hear your read on the situation.”
“You’ve already heard my read on the situation,” I pointed out. “I let the guy go.” I couldn’t help sounding defensive about it.
But Daniel shook his head. “I’m not questioning what you did,” he assured me, his hand at my lower back again for one brief moment. It was the most we’d touched in the office, and I noticed a couple of grins out the corner of my eye. But I forced my attention to remain focused on Daniel.
He lowered his voice even further. “I know the guys around the office trust me. But in light of what Duncan was asking about, I think it might be for the best if I’m not alone in my office with any of the women I work with if I can help it. Other than you, of course. Let them think what they will about that.”
I snorted and shook my head. “If you keep the door open, though, surely no one will question that,” I said.
Daniel shook his head as well. “I wish I could believe that. But the number of absurd things that the media has said about me at various points makes me a little worried,” he admitted.
“That’s fair,” I said, nodding. I hadn’t thought about things that way.
We headed into his office, and Erin followed after us at a word from Daniel. Daniel looked around with a grimace on his face. “I am so sorry I put you through all of this,” he said to me, gesturing around at the mountains of paper.
I exchanged a look with Erin, and we both giggled while Daniel laughed. “All right, have a seat,” he said to both of us. “Erin, I’ve heard something about Friday’s incident, but I was hoping you could tell me exactly what Duncan said to you.”
Erin nodded and outlined the situation again. I could feel my face flushed; I was still so embarrassed that I had let things happen the way they had. But I clung to the fact that Daniel said he would have done things exactly the same way if he had been the one in charge that day. I couldn’t let it bother me.
Daniel nodded when Erin was finished, and I could tell that he was thinking long and hard about the situation. Finally, he shook his head, a grimace on his face. “I really wish there was more that we could do. But I’m afraid that Abby is probably right that it’s all press we don’t want at the moment.