Now, with my erection throbbing on the verge of release just from how close she is to me, I’m no longer so sure.
Annie’s gaze flicks away from mine, and for a second, I feel like I can breathe again. "I have those quarterly reports you wanted to review."
"Perfect timing," Ronan says, gesturing for her to hand them over. "Elio, you should probably see these too. This will give you some insight into how Annie handles most of the financial coordination between our operations and yours."
Our operations and yours.The easy way he says it drives home just how much has changed. We're not one big family anymore—we're business partners, allies, two separate organizations with shared interests.
Annie moves to stand beside Ronan's chair, spreading several folders across the desk. As she leans forward to point out specific numbers, there’s that waft of her perfume again, and I briefly close my eyes as my cock throbs dangerously.How does she still affect me like this?The hollow pit of longing in my stomach is familiar, like a long-forgotten memory coming back. It’s been eleven years. We’re adults now, but nothing has changed.
"The dock revenues are down eighteen percent from last quarter," she's saying, her finger tracing a line on the spreadsheet. "But if we factor in the... irregularities... that Elio is going to address, I think we can project a full recovery within six weeks."
"That's optimistic," I say, mostly because I need to contribute something to this conversation that isn't just staring at the way her dress pulls tight across her hips when she bends over.
"Is it?" She looks up at me, one eyebrow raised in challenge. "I seem to remember you being very good at solving problems when you put your mind to it."
There's nothing overtly flirtatious about the words, but the way she says them—the slight emphasis onvery good—makes heat pool low in my stomach. This is dangerous territory, and I know it.
I try to look at the numbers on the spreadsheet. My cock is throbbing, my boxer briefs too tight, soaked through with the pre-cum flowing from my swollen tip. Every slight shift in my chair is agony as the fabric rubs against my sensitized skin.
"Some problems are easier to solve than others," I reply carefully. My voice sounds tight, and I try to take a slow breath and let it out without seeming too obvious. I sound like I’m coming apart at the seams, and I see Ronan glance over at me, his eyes narrowing slightly.
“You alright?” he asks, and I nod.
“Just… getting a cold. Keeps flaring up.”
Annie’s hand pauses on the spreadsheet, and I try not to look at her long fingers. If I do, I won’t be able to keep myself from imagining her hand wrapped around me. She has several thin, dainty gold rings stacked on her hand, and I can imagine that they’d feel cool against my heated flesh, slightly rough as she moved her hand up and down?—
I just barely manage to stop myself from making a choked sound as my cock throbs again.I am not going to fucking lose it in Ronan O’Malley’s office. It’s bad enough that I can’t stop thinking about his sister while I’m in a business meeting with him.
“I have faith that you’ll figure it out,” Annie says after a moment. Her voice has a slight edge to it, and I wonder why. Is this affecting her the way it is me?
Holy Christ, don’t think about that.If I let myself imagine that she’s turned on too, if I let my thoughts go down that road?—
My cock throbs painfully again.
Ronan is looking between us with a slight frown, and I force myself to focus on the numbers in front of me instead of the woman explaining them. But it's harder than it should be, because Annie seems determined to torture me with every small movement—the way she tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, the way she worries her bottom lip with her teeth when she's thinking, the way she crosses and uncrosses her legs when she finally sits down in the chair next to mine.
We spend the next hour going over financial projections and territory agreements, and I manage to contribute meaningfully to the discussion despite being distracted by Annie's presence. But when she reaches across me to grab a calculator from the desk, her breast brushes against my arm, and I have to bite back a groan. The half-hour long discussion about shipping metrics eased my erection somewhat, despite Annie’s participation inthe conversation and the fact that her long, slender legs are a few inches from mine, but that brief graze brings it roaring back to life.
She flinches back as if I’ve burned her. “Sorry,” she murmurs, and I see pink rise in her cheeks as she looks back at the files spread out in front of us.
Ronan glances at her, and I see his jaw twitch, a line appearing between his eyes. But he says nothing as Annie runs through the projections again, before finally sitting back and looking at me. "I think we've covered everything for today. Elio, why don't you take those dock reports with you? Look them over tonight, and we'll discuss your approach tomorrow morning."
It's a clear dismissal, and I start gathering the folders. Annie stands up, smoothing down her dress in a way that draws my attention to the curve of her waist. My cock pulses, and I suck in a slow breath.
Somehow, I have to stand up. I try to think of last season’s Red Sox scores, the numbers Annie just rattled off, anything to soften the ridge straining against my zipper. Icannotstand up in front of Ronan like this.
"I should get going too," Annie says. "I have a conference call in twenty minutes."
I reach for my leather messenger bag, pushing the files into it. Somehow, I manage to angle it so that I can stand up without anyone getting a view of my erection, and I awkwardly maneuver around the chair, nearly tipping into Annie in my haste to turn myself around and head for the door.
Fuck. Real smooth, Cattaneo. I’m sure Ronan is looking at me as if I’ve lost my mind, but I don’t turn around to find out. All I can think about is finding a guest bathroom to take care of this. I have a meeting with my realtor after this, and I cannot focus on purchasing a place to live until I’ve gotten some relief.
But Annie has other ideas. We step out into the hall, and we’re not fifteen feet from the office when she puts her hand on my arm to stop me as I start to hurry ahead of her.
It feels like her touch burns through my suit jacket, all the way down to my skin. I can feel my cock twitch and strain.
"You look like you're about to jump out of your skin," she says, her voice low and amused. “I’m sure you have this all under control, Elio. Ronan will be patient with you while you learn the ropes.”
