by Sotia Lazu
The grin that blossomed on his lips stayed there until long after he left work. He ignored the night security guard wishing him a nice weekend, though he heard the guy mumble asshole under his breath.
Ric no longer cared who wrote the book. He had a plan.
****
He didn’t feel like going online or sleeping when he got home. What he wanted to do was take care of his throbbing cock, which had been rubbing against the inside of his baggy jeans for what seemed like an eternity. He left his laptop on the armchair and walked toward the bathroom. Without breaking his stride, he kicked off his sneakers, peeled off his T-shirt and jeans, and sent them to land on the floor in careless heaps.
He adjusted the temperature of the shower with one hand, the other caressing his cock slowly, almost absentmindedly. His mind couldn’t have been more present or more focused on his erection, but he loved the anticipation and wanted to enjoy getting off with thoughts of Lexi free of guilt, for a change. Now he knew she wanted him on a carnal level—that she was more than just flirting with him—all thoughts about staying away from her for Pedelty’s sake vanished. He’d go after her, and he’d make sure to treat her right, whatever that meant. He wouldn’t fuck with her.
He stepped under the water spray. What did he want from Lexi? He didn’t know. He just knew he wanted her and wanted to keep her best interest in the forefront. That would have to suffice. For him, for her, and for Pedelty.
It felt so good being able to admit he wanted her. So good to want someone again. And he wanted her right now, kneeling in front of him, looking up at him with those huge green eyes, the water soaking her hair and running down her naked breasts. She’d shiver and run her tongue over her lips.
He wrapped his hand around his thick, long shaft and dropped his head back against the tiled wall. Out of the water’s way. He drew his fist from the tip of his cock to the base and back again, swirling his thumb over the head and grazing the slit on the upstroke. He could almost see Lexi taking him in her mouth. Feel her licking the underside. Tracing the vein there. In his mind’s eye, she gave him that cheeky, infuriating look she’d given him earlier, when she was all snark and fire.
The look that said she knew she had him…
She had him by the short hairs, and he didn’t care. He trailed his fingers along the sensitive underside, before tightening his grip on his dick. His movements became faster, as he envisioned Lexi’s rosy lips stretching to encircle his width. Her tongue caressing him, as she sucked him as far as he’d go into her mouth. Her heat engulfing him, while she caressed up his inner thigh, finding her way to his balls.
He used his free hand to play out her part in his fantasy, cupping and tugging at his scrotum and putting pressure on the place underneath that always drove him wild, while he pumped his length furiously. His release approached, throbbed inside him, and he wished Lexi were there with him, so he could tangle his fingers in her golden locks and let go with her gaze locked to his.
He came harder than ever before. Harder than when the woman he’d deemed to be the love of his life used to ride him to oblivion. All because he was thinking of those green pools of fire staring up at him. He didn’t come with a yell or a roar, but with a chuckle that reverberated off the walls of the small bathroom. If it was this good when Lexi’s memory was with him, he couldn’t begin to imagine how the real thing would be. Then again, he didn’t have to imagine. He’d make sure to have the real thing soon enough.
He showered quickly, steering clear of thoughts of Lexi, lest he go another round, and went to bed not bothering to pick up his clothes or shoes from the hallway. The cool sheets felt tantalizing against his naked skin, his senses awakened from a deep, long slumber. He hadn’t paid attention to sensation since he came to the States. He’d only cared for the touch of anonymous strangers, before he’d given up on it all together two years ago. The single pleasure he allowed himself was smoking, and that was permitted almost nowhere.
“Sod it.” He shook a cigarette out of the soft pack he always had on his bedside table, and lit it. He folded one arm under his head and blew rings of smoke while he went over the finer details of his plan.
Lexi had given him something more than a way to get through the next day. She’d stirred things in him he’d thought long dead. It was time he started stirring things in her.
He left the cigarette in the ashtray and reached for his cock. With his other hand, he grabbed one of the bars of the headboard.
He didn’t think it weird that he called out Xandra when he let go. She was Xandra, and he was Rex, and there was nothing wrong about that.
Chapter Five
Lexi hit her alarm clock with the flat of her palm, but the stupid thing wouldn’t stop ringing. She tried again, with no success. What…?
Not the alarm clock. Her phone, and the sound came from under her bed. She must have thrown it to the floor sometime during the night. She half-mumbled, half-sang her ring-tone, while reaching for it. When she closed her fingers around the phone, she blinked the sleep from her eyelids and looked at the screen. She’d accidentally already accepted the call. “Shit. Hello?”
“Hello? Lexi? Good afternoon. Or is it still morning to you?”
“Huh?” Lexi didn’t know who it was, but she didn’t mind him repeating himself. His deep voice and British accent sent tingles from the back of her neck all the way down her spine.
“Is that little brain still sleeping? Want me to call later?”
She was all but swooning at a man she didn’t recognize. “Who is this?” she asked rather abruptly.
“Don’t tell me you don’t know.” The voice sounded familiar, but the accent sure didn’t.
“Well, I don’t.” She took the phone away from her ear and checked the Caller ID. Withheld. “Tell me who you are, or I’m hanging up.” She really, really didn’t want to hang up, because his gruff voice made her feel warm all over, but she would. Even crazy, loony stalker guys could have sexy voices.
“It’s Ric, from IT.”
“Ric?” She hoped she didn’t sound as astonished as she felt. She probably did.
“Yeah, it’s me. Sorry to wake you—”
“You’re not Ric,” she said. “You said sorry.”
He chuckled. “Miracles do happen, you know.”
“I guess they do. So, to what do I owe the displeasure?”
This time he didn’t laugh. His tone was all business, but his voice was still sexy. Why didn’t he talk like this at the office? “Wanted to ask if you’ve been having any trouble with your computer this week.”
She wouldn’t call it trouble. It had been providing her with delicious smut. “What kind of trouble?”
“Browser crashing or redirecting you to random pages? I know it’s weird, calling you about it on a Saturday, but I stopped by the office earlier, and my PC seemed to be acting up. My internet connection was especially slow.”
She frowned. “So you’re calling all employees, to ask how their computers are faring?”
“The system showed you left last yesterday, and since no issues were reported while I was there, I thought whatever happened must’ve been after I left.” He paused. “While you were the only one there.”
Lexi’s pulse thumped faster. If there was a virus, they might search everyone’s browsing history. She’d be found out. “Nope. Didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Not that I was online for longer than it took to check my e-mail.” She prayed to every deity she could think of that he didn’t check the internet log. “So, whatcha gonna do about it? About fixing it?”
“Don’t know for sure there’s something in need of fixing. I’ll let you know once I find out. Keeping all PCs tamper-free is the best way to ensure we have a smooth business operation, but some people consider internet safety to be some exotic beast.”
She sucked in a breath. It was a turn of phrase. Nothing more than that.
“You still there?”
“Yup. Thought—thought I saw a cockroac
h.” It was a stupid response, and she knew it, but couldn’t do much better for the moment.
His voice turned huskier. “And you went silent? I’d expect that to make you scream.”
The line went dead, and Lexi was left staring at her silent cell. Richard’s—Ric’s—words slammed into her conscious mind with force. Exotic beast? Make her scream? It had to be a coincidence. No way he’d know about her new… hobby and not rub her face in it openly. He didn’t know. Couldn’t.
Going back to sleep proved a lost cause, so she took her purple helper and went for a long bubble bath. The voice she imagined guiding her hand as she pleasured herself was Rex’s, not Ric’s. She repeated that to herself until she almost believed it.
Clean, relaxed, and a bit more satisfied than after her last session with the toy, she called Angie and arranged to meet her for coffee.
****
Angie was already at their favorite table. She fidgeted with an imaginary piece of string on her sleeve, straightened her neckline, sleeked chestnut hair down both sides of her face, and made sure the cornflower-blue stone of her ring was centered.
Lexi smiled. She knew and loved all of her friend’s quirks. The two had been friends since Angie straightened Lexi’s scrunchie in second grade.
Lexi snapped around and met two big blue eyes.
“I’m sorry. Your scrunchie—it wasn’t…” The girl took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly. “It was wonky,” she finally said, as if that summed up all that was wrong in the world.
Lexi couldn’t help but giggle. “I’m Lexi, and you can save my ponytail from wonkiness any day.”
And Angie didn’t stop at saving her ponytail. As the years went by, they grew closer instead of apart, despite the differences in their interests and the distance during and after college. Angie flew to New York when Andrew proved to be a two-timing bastard, and again to help Lexi pack for her return to San Francisco.
A couple days ago, overwhelmed by loneliness and lack of prospects, Lexi broke down in this café, and Angie once more helped her collect the pieces.
Lexi was glad to have something other than personal woes to share this time. She took a seat, and Angie beamed that brilliant smile of hers that still held traces of the shy kid she’d been. “Spill,” she said.
“Huh?”
Angie crossed her arms over her breasts. Her ring caught the light and cast a filigree of brilliant dots over her face. For a moment, she looked ethereal. “Don’t play coy with me, or I’ll turn you into a frog, and good luck finding a prince to save you in this century.”
Lexi giggled and held up both hands in mock surrender. “Oh, please don’t. I’ll talk.” Angie claimed she had magic powers, and Lexi always pretended to believe her. No harm done by letting Angie do her thing, even if Lexi thought mid-twenties was way too late for such fantasies. “Just lemme get my caffeine fix.” She asked the waitress for a latte and turned back to her friend. “Don’t you want to go first? My news could take a while.”
“Sure. Why not?” Angie shrugged. “The living together thing is working out perfectly, Sarah is as much of a keeper as they come, and I couldn’t be happier or more in love. Your turn.”
“I’m so happy for you two.” Lexi’d seen the sparks fly between them when Angie introduced her to Sarah at Lexi’s Welcome-Home party. “She’s wonderful, honey, and you seem to be made for each other.”
“Yes, yes. She and I are soul-mates. Now tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
Angie twirled her right index finger in the air and squinted at Lexi. “Frog.”
Lexi widened her eyes in mock-fright, before she leaned in closer. “Can you keep a secret?” At Angie’s raised eyebrow, she scrunched her nose. “You’re so gonna think I’m crazy, once I’m done telling you.”
“Lexi. Seriously. Have I ever judged you?”
She never had. Hoping she wouldn’t now, either, Lexi told her all about the book.
“I have no idea what’s up with it,” she said finally. “I’m so hooked, and I’m afraid someone at work may find out.”
“Then just stop visiting it when you’re in the office.” Angie bit on her lower lip. “Oh, but you can’t access it anywhere else. It can’t be a coincidence that your nickname is there, and I don’t know why anyone would go through so much trouble… We’ll get to the bottom of this. I’ll have to do some research. Find the IP address, the site administrator—something. Everything leaves traces on the internet. I’ll just follow the trail.” And there was that class-nerd-slash-whiz-kid sparkle in her eye.
“I love it when you go into research mode.” Lexi grinned. “We have to figure it out soon, ’cause I’m getting paranoid. Just this morning, I freaked out when Ric called because something he said was too close for comf—”
“Wait. Ric? Who’s Ric?”
“You know. Richard. From IT? Annoying Brit? I told you about him over the phone.”
“Yes, you did. But on Wednesday he was IT-Richie. Now he’s just Ric?” The arching of both eyebrows was meant to show incredulity, but Angie’s eyebrows were so round, the expression gave her face a cartoonish quality.
“Yes, well, he’s still IT-Richie. Still a jerk. But maybe we can coexist.” He said she was too good for her current job, so at least he was perceptive. “He may not be as determined to get me out of there as I thought. It doesn’t mean I like him, of course.” Though he was easy on the eyes, and his accent during that call made her want to—
“Ah, I get it,” Angie said.
“What?”
Angie gave a lopsided grin. “What what?”
“Why do you have that look? You know I don’t like the guy.”
“Did I say you did?”
“No, but you said, ‘I get it,’ when I said I didn’t.”
“And how did agreeing with you mean I didn’t agree with you?”
“Oh, I know all your acting-like-you-believe-me-till-I-snap-and-tell-you-the-truth techniques.”
“What truth? I thought you were telling the truth.”
“Well, I was. I don’t like IT-Richie.”
“Good for you, sweetie. Now about the site…”
Angie obviously itched to solve the Internet mystery. She hated anything being beyond her understanding.
“All I need is time with your PC,” she said.
“I’m just as eager to find out what’s going on, if not more. I want to make sense of it. To see if this is the mother of all coincidences”—
“Yeah, right.”
—“or if someone’s messing with me. But we need a cover story. Not like I’m so swamped, I need to be there. And I can’t just bring my BFF with.”
“But I need that computer, to look into this thing. Weekends are the only time I can come by without people asking questions.”
Lexi’s resolve crumbled. Angie’s persistence and stern voice were her most trusted weapons, once she made her mind up about something.
“We’ll still have to explain it to security. There’s always someone there, even during the off hours. And I’d like us to get it over with as soon as possible. I have plans tonight.”
“Interesting plans?”
Lexi shook her head. “A couple friends from college are in town. Said I’d meet them for drinks.”
“Alexandra Adams”—there was the stern voice—“drinks can wait. Now finish your coffee, and let’s go.”
“Okay, okay. But if we’re caught looking at that stuff, you’ll be the one coming up with an excuse to give Edmund.” Lexi paid for both of them, and then spent most of the ten-minute cable-car ride to Pedelty Electronics grumbling about what they were about to do.
She ran her key-card through the slot at the right of the door, and they went inside, both squinting to adjust their eyes to the sudden change in lighting. Lexi couldn’t hold back a groan when she saw the security guard standing behind the front desk.
“What?”
“You and your brilliant ideas. This guy’s been hitting o
n me from day one. The big lump’s too stupid to understand no, and now we show up on his shift? God.”
“Then it’s a good thing it’s his shift. Go and charm our way upstairs.”
“But—” She didn’t get to say more, because Angie elbowed her forward. Putting up more resistance might make Chad think they were making a fuss over him. With a huff, Lexi dragged her feet in his direction, with Angie hot on her heels.
“Hi Lexi,” the ogre said, while she was still several feet away. “Come to keep me company on a long, lonely shift?”
His grin was so goofy she felt the urge to smack it off his face but for the thousandth time this week, she restrained herself. It would be inappropriate. Plus, if she were to smack anyone in there, it should be IT-Richie. “Um… No, actually. Just wanted to copy some files from my PC.” She held up her keychain for him to see her flash drive. “Do you mind if my friend comes with me?”
“I don’t know. You two ladies may be planning a heist.” Ugh. He was irritating as hell.
Lexi batted her eyelashes and forced a giggle, like she thought he was the funniest thing since the Three Stooges. “Oh, come on, Chad. Like I would do that to my own company?” She sounded like a brat, but the end had to justify the means.
“Can’t say no to the boss’s daughter, can you?” Angie tilted her head.
All mirth left Chad’s face. “I suppose I can’t. You may go upstairs, Miss Pedelty.”
Lexi ignored the formality, except to make a correction. “It’s Ms. Adams, but thank you.” She graced him with a beaming smile, took Angie’s hand, and all but dragged her toward the stairs.
An hour later, when Lexi’s office phone rang, Angie had come up with zilch.
Lexi frowned. Nobody knew she was there. “Hello?”