My eyes were wide as I looked back to the bathroom door, willing Caroline to stay in until I could shoo him out.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, shocked he would still come over.

Didn’t he get my text? I needed to get him out before Caroline found him.

He smirked and pulled me into his arms as soon as I was within grabbing distance. His mouth moved down my jaw to my neck, nipping and sucking as he went.

“Mmm, well a song on the radio said something about disrobing, then probing. I was thinking we could do a lot of that tonight.” His fingers made their way under my shirt to my nipple, tweaking it.

“Fuck,” I cried out.

In a sudden movement, he picked me up by my ass and sat me down on the counter, pushing his way between my thighs. Not that I minded, it was my favorite place for him to be, but he was sidetracking me from my mission.

His hand had made its way up my shorts and his fingers began teasing my clit and folds. “You like that, don’t you, my little whore?”

My eyes fluttered close. “I love your f**king dirty mouth.”

“Mmm, I love it when you say f**king. I like being in control, f**king you how I want. You’re so willing to please me, and I love watching you come. No one is as beautiful and sexy as you when you’re coming undone around me.” His fingers pushed forward with each word.

I stifled a cry, not wanting to alert Caroline and have her come out before I could get Nathan to listen to me.

“Nathan, didn’t you get my text?”

“You sent me a text? My phone died after lunch.”

My blood ran cold. “Crap!” I cried out, trying to calm the situation that was rapidly spiraling out of control.

This was a very difficult task as my body complied to his every request, silent or spoken.

“You taste so f**king good.” He thrust his fingers into me with slow, deep strokes, seeming to be lost to his state of lust.

“Nathan, please…wait.”

“You’ve made me wait all day; I’m not waiting any longer. Wearing that skirt to torture me…you little cocktease.”

“You don’t… ah!” I cried out as he pinched my nipple. “Hold on! W-what skirt?”

“The skirt you were wearing the first time I f**ked you in our office.” His tongue swirled around the mark on my neck, his teeth nipping at it, his hips grinding his hand further into me.

“Nathan, don’t be mad,” I said, the sound of the bathroom door closing hitting my ears, making my panic rise.

His hands and lips stopped, his body frozen. “Lila, is there someone here?”

“I tried to tell you…the text I sent.”

“Shit.” He growled, his grip tightening, his head buried into my neck.

“Oh. My. God!” Caroline’s voice rang from the hallway.

I lifted my head to glance over Nathan’s shoulder and saw her shocked face. The sound of her purse hitting the tile floor rang out, echoing off the walls.

“Fuck,” Nathan whispered into my ear followed by a sigh of resignation.

He turned to look at her, his fingers still buried in my now soaking wet pu**y. He removed his fingers, my body letting out a shudder as he did, and brought the fingers to his mouth as he stared at me. Sucking them between his lips, he cleaned his fingers off and returned his attention back to Caroline, who was staring slack-jawed at him.

“Hi, Caroline. Dinner?” Nathan asked, walking to the sink and washing his hands. He moved to the abandoned groceries and began putting them away in their proper place.

Caroline watched on, in stunned silence, while my attention volleyed between the two. I was wondering when she was going to snap out of it, and when I was going to have to explain what was going on.

In the meantime, Nathan moved about my kitchen in fluid motions, putting the groceries away before pulling out the cutting board, and a mixing bowl.

Boy, did I hope I had some sort of drink hidden in my fridge that would help me make it through the night, because I was going to need it and so was Caroline.

The situation was not how I had envisioned revealing Nathan to Caroline. A quiet, wine-filled evening as I slowly divulged the real identity of “Christopher” and explained what I could without exposing too much, too many of his secrets and pains.

Due to bad luck and dead cellphone batteries, I was sitting on my kitchen counter after having been fingered, watching him move around my kitchen with Caroline still staring in shock.

No, not how I saw the evening going at all. I was scrambling, wondering how to tell my best friend I’d been in a f**ked-up relationship with my work partner, against company policy, before she exploded.

CHAPTER 19

The scene in the kitchen was stagnant, waiting to unfold when Caroline finally found her voice. She turned and gaped at me, her mouth popping open and closed, reminding me of a fish. The sight would have made me laugh if the situation hadn’t been so serious.

With a deep sigh, I jumped down from the counter and walked to stand in front of her.

“Nathan?” Her voice was almost shrill.

I nodded and turned to find him already cleaning the chicken for me, letting me deal with my friend’s initial outburst.

Caroline struggled to string her words together. “How… I mean… Really?”

Again, I nodded.

“But…it’s Nathan Thorne. You despise him.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me closer. “He’s your Christopher?”

“Yes,” I replied. “I wanted to tell you, I did…I wanted… ”

Caroline silenced me, placing her hand up between us as she stared at Nathan’s back. Her fist grabbed the front of my shirt and she dragged me into the living room. Her eyes were still glued on the kitchen when she stopped and pulled me closer, her face mere inches from mine.

“Let me get this straight. You are f**king Nathan-fucking-Thorne?” she hissed.

I swallowed hard before responding. “Yes. Caroline, I…”

“Shush.” She slapped her hand over my mouth. I stared at her in shock. “You are f**king Nathan Thorne?”

I rolled my eyes and nodded. How many times did I have to tell her?

“Holy. Fucking. Shit. You are f**king Nathan Thorne.” She smiled, beaming at me.

I grabbed her hand and removed it from my mouth. “I wanted to tell you. It’s just…well… What are you smiling about?”