The Office Rival: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance

I’m fucking seeing stars, exploding inside her as the sensations ravage every part of me. I let out a deep, rumbling groan, tightening my grip on her shoulders. I don’t want to hurt her but the marks I’ve left, they are red.

Our heavy pants echo through the confined room, and with a gentle kiss on her shoulder, I ease my way out, slowly causing her to flinch. Untying the belt around her mouth, I throw it somewhere into the pile of coats as she turns around and adjusts her dress.

“You okay?” I ask while helping her with her dress.

With a wicked smile, she fixes my shirt and straightens my tie. “If that’s the reaction I get out of you for wearing this dress, then I picked the right one for tonight.”

I stare into her eyes with a stern face. “No, that’s what happens when other men are trying to take what’s mine.”

“We talked about this. You’ve got to control your jealousy,” she reminds me gently.

“No, you talked, and I refused to listen.”

“And I told you there’s nothing I can do to stop that from happening.”

Oh, there is something she can do. I just need to get her home.

“Let’s go home,” I tell her, shutting down our disagreement.

On the taxi ride home, she quietly leans her head against my shoulder, trying to stay awake. Her eyes begin to droop. I’ve learned that when you make Presley orgasm, she gets knocked out quickly. It is cute, and many times I just have to go for round two with her half asleep.

The lights are off as we walk up the garden path and onto the porch. I fumble for my keys, nervously taking longer than usual.

“You want my keys?” She yawns.

I shake my head, finally getting the door open. She kicks off her shoes at the front door and bends to pick them up. God forbid you leave a pair of shoes at the front door. Miss OCD would have a heart attack.

“Come outside with me.”

“Now?” She yawns again. “I love you, babe, but you took it out of me in the cloakroom. How about you wake me up in a couple of hours, and we’ll go again?”

“I don’t want you outside for that. I want to show you something,” I answer, slightly anxious. “And I’ll take you up on that offer of waking you up.”

She lets out a tired laugh and follows me to the back porch. I flick the back switch that lights up the entire garden. I’m proud of this fucking garden. Who would have thought that Haden Cooper had a green thumb? This backyard was a complete dump when we moved in, and I turned it into something amazing. It isn’t huge. Enough to have a small grass area for Masen and our dogs to run around in. The trees are trimmed, and because California has warm nights, I decorated with fairy lights so we could enjoy being outside longer.

“Have I told you how much I love what you’ve done with our yard?” She beams.

I lean across to kiss the side of her neck. “Yes. But you can tell me again.”

She gently swats my arm as I walk her along the pebbled path to Masen’s swing set.

“Stay right here. Actually, close your eyes.”

“Okay,” she says with a curious smile, sitting down on the swing.

Around the back corner, I have hidden the two surprises that terrify me to the point that I’m going to have an anxiety attack. I grab the small one first and walk back toward her, placing the box in her hands.

“What’s this?”

“Open it.”

She cautiously unties the pink bow and lifts the lid of the box. With a loud gasp, she says, “It’s my Peaches ‘n Cream Barbie! How did you get this?”

Her beautiful eyes light up as she admires this precious childhood memory.

“Your mom sent it to me. Now that you have a proper home, she thought you needed something that means a lot to you.”

“It does mean a lot. My God… she was everything I wanted to be.” She hugs the box and closes her eyes for a moment. Seeing how happy she is gives me the confidence to move forward with the next part of my plan.