I shrugged, hoping the dim light and the beanie I wore would hide the evidence of hanky panky. "Nah. Been home for a little while, but I couldn't sleep. I was about to get ready for bed when I remembered the trash and took it out. You were right. Ben's a nice guy."
"You didn't have to do that," Cam said, yawning again and missing my comment about Ben.
"I filled it up, I need to take it out."
"Okay, well, I'm going back to bed. G'night," she mumbled as she disappeared back down the hallway.
"Night," I called after her, grateful she'd been too sleepy to realize I'd never really answered her questions about the time I'd spent with Ben.
I heard her bedroom door shut and breathed a silent sigh of relief. I knew Cam wouldn't judge me for sleeping with Ben, but she might not be happy that I was hooking up with her family friend. Or she'd start to get ideas and would be disappointed when I didn't fall head over heels in love with Ben Murphy.
God, what a mess. Why did I do this to myself?
A sliver of guilt pierced me at the thought. I should text Ben and tell him that we couldn't do this. That it was a bad idea.
Then I remembered his hands on my skin. The way his mouth devoured mine. How he played my body like a virtuoso, bringing me to orgasm after orgasm until I had no strength left in my muscles.
I wanted to feel that again and that urge, that desire, overwhelmed the guilt. Ben and I would have some fun over the next month or so, and then it would be over. Someday, I'd tell Cam and she'd be surprised, but not hurt. She would understand. She might not engage in no-strings sex, but she never condemned me for it in the past and I doubted she would do so in the future.
No one was going to get hurt. Especially if she didn't find out.
There was a small noise behind me and I turned to look out the back door. I didn't see anything at first until a shadow near the glass moved. I glanced down and jumped. Gary crouched by the back door, his face almost touching the panes, and he stared at me with his beady little black eyes. One of his paws came up and he dragged his claws over the glass.
"Are you threatening me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. Gary was a lot less scary with the door between us.
The tiny paw smacked the glass, making me jump again. Gary's mouth opened and I could almost swear I heard the little bastard laughing at me.
"Oh, fuck you, Gary. I'm going to bed."
But before I left the living room, I double-checked the lock on the door. Just in case. And I was pretty sure the fat asshole watched me until I turned down the hall.
* * *
A loud,annoying sound pierced the comforting veil of sleep. I grunted and turned over, trying to ignore it, but the obnoxious beeping continued. Finally, I opened one eye and glared at the nightstand. My phone vibrated against the wood and emitted the noise again.
Groaning, I dragged my heavy arm out of the covers and picked up the offending device. My new boss's name stared back at me.
Ugh. Why was he calling me during my vacation? I had six weeks I had to take before it expired and I intended to use it rather than lose it. Actually, it was more like eight, but I couldn't bring myself to take a full two months off from work. It felt too much like shirking my responsibilities. But, Jesus, it was before sunrise. The office better be going up in flames.
With a sigh, I slid my thumb across the screen and put it to my ear. "Hello?"
"Watkins, have you checked your email today?"
Thomas Barnes was my new boss and he wasn't big on greetings. Or pleasantries. Or calling me by my first name.
I bit back my annoyance and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. Six a.m. Well, at least I'd gotten a couple hours of sleep.
"No, Mr. Barnes. I haven't. I'm on vacation for the next six weeks." I left off the "remember" because I doubted he would have appreciated it.
"Well, I need you to check it. Something important has come up and I need your input."
"I'm afraid I'm not near my computer at the moment," I semi-lied. My computer was in the living room on the coffee table, which was only twenty feet or so away. Since I was lying in bed, it technically wasn't near me.
He made an irritable sound. "Fine. Take a look at the email and get back to me ASAP."
"Mr. Barnes, I can't commit to a project right now. As I said, I'm on vacation for the next month and a half so—"
"You don't have to commit to a project. I just need you to read the damn email and give me some input. Then, you can go right back to whatever it is you're doing."
