Flawless Desire

“What?” Caleb looks thrown. “No. I have someplace I need to be. Cancel all my meetings for the rest of the afternoon.”

“But—yes, Mr. Sterling,” she says with confusion, as Caleb stalks to the elevators.

And doesn’t even look at me.

I sigh. This guy runs so hot and cold, I shouldn’t be surprised. And at least with him out of the office, I can focus on my workload, and not his sexy teasing games. So, I buckle down with the filing, and try not to think about his sexy texts.

By two, Caleb hasn’t returned—but my stomach is rumbling.

“OK if I take my lunch?” I ask Victoria. She sighs. “Be quick about it. Oh, and you can pick up my dry cleaning while you’re out.”

I open my mouth to protest, then close it again. “Whatever you need,” I say brightly.

She hands me the ticket and waves me off. It’s an address in a shady neighborhood on the Lower East Side, but I know there’s an amazing dumpling place right around the corner, so I figure, two birds, one stone, ten dumplings to go.

I get off the subway, and pick up her clothes, but I’m just waiting outside the dumpling place for my order, when I see a familiar face on the other side of the street.

It’s Caleb.

I pause. What’s he doing in this part of town?

He’s just walking out of a dim, old bar on the corner, glancing around like he’s worried he’s been seen.

He catches sight of me, and stops. Then he crosses the street, frowning. “What are you doing here?” he demands in greeting.

“I could ask you the same thing,” I reply, sassy. I hold up the dry cleaning. “Running errands, what’s your excuse?”

“Just… Meeting an old friend,” he replies vaguely. He relaxes, assessing me with a now-familiar smile. “What a lucky coincidence. The two of us. Out of the office…”

“But only one of us has someone counting every minute until their return,” I remind him. “Victoria has probably calculated the exact time it will take me to ride the subway here and back.”

“Then we better free up some of that time.” Caleb taps his phone, and a moment later, his car pulls up.

“What does your driver do, waiting around all day?” I ask, amused.

“He loves Sudoku,” Caleb replies, smiling. “Don’t you, Henri?”

Henri laughs as he opens the door for us. “Wait, I have food,” I say, gesturing to the dumpling place—just as the kid brings my order out.

“Perfect timing.” Caleb gestures me in ahead of him, so I slide into the backseat. Caleb gets in after me and hits a button. The driver partition slides up, leaving us private and alone.

I arch an eyebrow. “Now, why would we need privacy?” I ask, with a jolt of anticipation.

“Oh, I have plans…”

My pulse kicks at the possibility of those plans, but before Caleb can show me, his phone ring interrupts us. He glances at the caller and winces apologetically. “I have to take this.”

It’s a business call, something about East Asian profit projections, and Caleb chats away about data and figures as I sit there, restless. The city streets are passing outside the windows, and I’m impatient, our window of privacy rapidly closing.

I don’t think I can take another afternoon in the office with Caleb teasing me.

But maybe it’s time he felt what that teasing was like.

I look at him, an idea forming. He’s been the one calling the shots ever since we met. Tormenting me. Seducing me. Turning me on.

But it’s always been on his terms. His choice where to wind me up—and when to leave me panting.

What would it be like to be the one driving him crazy? Making him moan my name?