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The bed dipped when he settled back between my legs.

  At the first puff of his breath I let out a sigh. When his lips

  brushed my already erect clitoris, I put a hand over my

  mouth to hide my smile, and when he sucked gently on me,

  I bit down hard on my skin to keep in the groan.

  Austin ate my pussy like it was his last meal on earth, and I

  gave up to the pleasure without hesitation. Aside from

  murmured yes or two, I gave him no instructions. I didn't

  have to. He didn't need me to guide him, because he

  already knew how to do everything I liked.

  I came softly, a slow and subtle rippling of my cunt under

  his tongue rather than a ful-out blast of climax ripping me

  apart. It was good that way. Smooth.

  He moved up my body and looked into my eyes as he slid

  inside me. So wet he had no resistance, I couldn't hold

  back my cry of delight when Austin's cock filed me. He

  gathered me close. His every thrust rubbed my clit and I

  wrapped my legs tight around him to keep him close

  enough to bring me off again. We came within seconds of

  each other, me without words and Austin shouting my

  name in a passion-strangled voice.

  He roled off me, and I didn't jump out of bed to get in the

  shower, or even to grab a cloth from my nightstand.

  Boneless, sated, I didn't want to move. Fragile, too,

  because I couldn't look at him. I was afraid of what I might

  see in his face.

  It was probably too late for us, and love realy didn't

  conquer everything. We'd tried to be together and hadn't

  made it work. It hadn't hurt for years, but that didn't mean

  I didn't remember how much it had.

  "I'l drive you to work if you want. Pick you up after. We

  can swing by and get Arty and go visit your mom. Get

  your car."

  I studied my ceiling as Austin's warmth trickled down my

  thighs. "You don't have to do that."

  "I know that."

  I turned my head to look at him. "What about work for

  you?"

  He yawned and stretched. "That's the benefit of being the

  boss."

  I sat. "Since when are you the boss?"

  "Since I bought the business," Austin said with a strange

  look. "What's the big deal?"

  "You just never told me, that's al."

  "Paige," Austin said. "You never asked."

  This changed things, and I didn't know why. I got out of

  bed and stripped out of my pajamas, tossed them in the

  hamper and got into the shower, where I contemplated my

  stubbled knees and underarms and thought about the ways

  life could sneak up on a person.

  Just yesterday, Austin was eighteen, captain of the footbal

  team, apple of his mother's eye. My boyfriend. A day after

  that he'd been my husband, and for a while but not too

  long, my enemy. And now…now he was a man who

  owned a business and was there when I needed him.

  Yesterday I was a scrappy, tough-punk girl who had no

  money and wore too much eye shadow. Yesterday I was

  young and stupid and thought love could take care of

  everything else. So who was I today?

  Austin joined me in the shower and I soaped his back. He

  soaped mine. He used my razor to shave his face and cut

  himself in a few places. I didn't make him breakfast, but I

  did make him coffee. It was the nicest morning we'd had

  together in a very long time.

  Even so, I braced myself for him to question me about "us"

  when he dropped me off at work, but Austin didn't say

  anything. He only kissed me and tweaked the single strand

  of hair escaping from my braid. He waved as he drove

  away, and I stood at the front doors and watched him until

  he was gone.

  Paul didn't ask my reasons for why I'd changed my mind

  about the job working for Vivian. If he had, I'd have told

  him the truth. That even though I hoped I wouldn't ever

  have to take custody of my brother, I had to be prepared

  in case I did. And that I was meant for more than being a

  secretary, even if I'd never believed being a secretary was

  being less of anything.

  "Do you want me to cal her?" He was already reaching for

  the phone, but put it back in the cradle when I shook my

  head.

  "I'l just walk down and talk to her." I smiled at him, even though my insides were hopping like rabbits on crack.

  Paul nodded and sat back in his chair. We didn't say

  anything at first, just looked at each other, but we didn't

  need words to share our thoughts. In some ways, Paul

  would always be more than a boss to me, which was even

  more reason why it was time for me to move on.

  "Paige, I just want you to know…" He hesitated, and I

  gave him the time he needed to say what he had to say.

  "I've realy enjoyed working with you."

  "Me, too, Paul."

  "And I wanted you to know, too…that if not for you, I

  don't think I'd have made it through the past couple of

  months."

  I shook my head. "You're giving me too much credit."

  "Maybe." His tone said he didn't agree, but he wasn't

  going to fight me on it. "I just wanted you to know, though,

  that every day I knew I could come in here to work and

  find everything the way I wanted…no, needed it…every

  find everything the way I wanted…no, needed it…every

  day I faced knowing I didn't have to worry about anything

  because it would al be done…I appreciate that."

  He could've offered me a raise, a better computer, more

  vacation time. He could easily have kept me, then, just by

  asking. Paul could've kept me without much effort, but he

  didn't.

  He let me go.

  "I'm not sure there are any slots left in the program."

  Vivian, for al her bravado, couldn't meet my eyes when

  she spoke. She toyed with her files, her pen, the pad of

  paper on her desk where she'd ostensibly taken notes

  during my interview, but where she'd realy only scribbled

  and doodled. "I'm afraid you should've applied sooner,

  Paige."

  "Vivian," I said calmly. "I know why you wanted me to take part in the program."

  She looked up, her eyes narrowing. "Oh?"

  I nodded and let it sink if for a minute before she spoke

  again.

  "Your qualifications are average," she said flatly. "But you come highly recommended."

  I happened to be confident my qualifications were not

  merely average, but I didn't push her on it. "I'm also the

  best candidate you have for this program."

  "You can't know that."

  It was only a guess, but her answer told me I was right.

  No matter how much she'd wanted to get me away from

  Paul and under her thumb instead, she also had to hire

  candidates who could do the work. I also knew this was

  an in-house program, open only to current employees, that

  even if it was "better" than being an executive assistant, it was stil considered entry level, and I could've counted al

  the people working there who'd be interested in applying. I

  didn't care if it was arrogant to say I was the best choice.

  It wa