Hold Me Down

chapter 15

Light fills the room, coaxing me awake. I stretch my arms and open my eyes. It's a beautiful morning, the city of London at my feet. Next to me, Will Herondale is still asleep. He's facing me, so I take the opportunity to observe him. His beautifully sculptured face looks younger and his black hair is a wild mess. He's so attractive it hurts.

I slip out of bed, carefully and quietly so as not to wake him. I flinch when my feet come into contact with the cold floor. I locate his shirt on the floor and shrug it on.

As I walk I notice that there's a faint ache in between my legs that intensifies when I move. I try to limit my movements to not hurt myself. The dulled pain serves as a reminder of what I did last night. I can't believe I lost my virginity to him.

I should feel shocked and horrified, but even more horrifying is the fact that I'm content. It was a mind blowing experience. I recall the way he pleasured my body last night and my muscles clench.

I look for the bathroom. I walk through a door thinking that it might be the bathroom, but I find myself inside a walk-in closet instead. I look around and see neat lines of expensive suits, shirts, shoes and ties. The endless amount of clothes reminds me of Clary's closet.

Clary! I didn't think about her all evening. I was supposed to text her when I arrived here. I wonder briefly how her date with Jace is going.

I return to the bedroom and try the other door. It's the bathroom, and it's bigger than my own bedroom. Why does one man need so much space?

I stare at myself in the giant mirror above the sink. I feel different. Sore. My hair is a tangled mess. I comb my fingers through the strands and try to make myself presentable.

I'm starving. I head back out to the bedroom. Will is still sleeping, so I leave him and go to the kitchen.

Before I go to the kitchen, though, I must text Clary. I remember that I left my purse on the dining room table. I note that the job contract is still there. I open my purse and hunt through it for my phone. I see that she's left me two messages: Where are you? Are you okay?

I call her. When she doesn't answer, I leave a message in her voicemail assuring her that I am okay.

I have to try and make sense of what happened last night. I also have to decide what I'm going to do with Will's job offer. The contract stares back at me from the table. I have yet to read it. But before I make such a big decision, I want to make breakfast first.

I am intimidated by his kitchen. The surfaces are sleek, shiny, and modern. There are buttons instead of handles on the cabinets. I experiment with the cabinets and finally figure out a way to open them. I take out a carton of eggs and bacon from the freezer.

As I put the bacon under the grill and whisk eggs, my mind wanders to last night. My body contracts at the recollection. I still can't believe I really did that.

I turn to pour the eggs onto a pan and find Will perched on top of a barstool, watching me. He's still wearing the t-shirt he's slept in and he hasn't bothered fixing his hair. It's endearingly attractive.

I freeze and stutter, "Good morning."

"Good morning babe," he smirks at me. "Sleep well?"

"Yes," I respond. His lips try to mask his smile.

"I can't imagine why." He grins.

"Are you hungry?" I ask him.

"Very," he says with an intense look, and I don't think he's referring to food.

"Pancakes, bacon, and eggs?"

"Sounds great."

Will rises to take out plates and cutlery from the cabinet. He opens a drawer and takes out two black placemats and sets up the table. I pour the eggs into a pan, pull out the bacon and turn it over, and put it back on the grill.

When I turn back around, Will is making coffee.

"Would you like tea or coffee?" he asks me.

"Tea's good."

I plate the food as Will reaches into a cupboard and pulls out several tea bags. I glance up at Will, and he's waiting for me to sit down.

"Tessa," he motions to one of the bar stools.

"Will." I nod in acknowledgement. I climb up and wince slightly as I sit down.

"Just how sore are you?" he asks as he sits down.

I flush. "Is it obvious?"

"I was quite rough with you, last night. I did say that you wouldn't be able to walk the next morning."

"Will! We're eating!"

He laughs. "Are you okay though?"

"I'm fine, for the most part. Why"

"I was wondering if we could go again."

I stare at him dumbfounded as I stop breathing and everything inside me clenches tight.

"Eat, Tessa.

My eyes go to the yellow envelope holding the job contract. His eyes follow my gaze.

"We'll talk about that later. I'd rather we eat first. This is delicious, incidentally." He grins at me.

I put my teabag inside the small cup of hot water and watch it turn brown. My mind is in a whirl.

"Can we discuss the job?" I ask.

"Well you would be my secretary. I need someone to be my right hand."

"What would that entail?"

"You would organize my meetings, put together portfolios and manuscripts and represent the company. You get vacation benefits too, and flexible hours."

Will continues. "I looked into your portfolio before. I saw that you wanted to get into publishing. My company would help you get there. We have connections. And you would make much more with my company than with any other as a recent college graduate."

I sit, silently stunned. "That sounds great." I look down at the envelope and read the contract. When I see the salary my eyes widen.

"That's way too much! There's no way a person could make this much straight out of college."

"I upped the salary because I wanted you to accept the job."

"You could literally find anyone else though."

"Yes, but I wanted you."

"That's ridiculous! Why?"

"Because."

"Because what?"

"I always get what I want."

I sigh. I didn't want to play into Will's plan, whatever it was, and I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of accepting the job. But it was an excellent offer.

I swallow my pride and consider the job. "What am I again?"

Will shrugs. "You're the secretary, meaning you're part of the board. Your position is pretty high up, and you're more than qualified."

I purse my lips and thoroughly read the papers once more. This really is the perfect job.

"Okay. I'll do it." I sign the line on the bottom. It feels like I'm binding myself to Will. I have to see him everyday now.

Will grins. "I'll look forward to working with you, Tessa Gray."

"We shouldn't hook up anymore though. It's unprofessional."

"I'm the CEO, I can do whatever I want."

I roll my eyes. "But I want to remain professional. It feels wrong to be having sex with my boss."

"If it makes you feel better. Though, may I add, I am irresistible."

"Keep telling yourself that," I laugh. He grins triumphantly.

Suddenly, my phone rings. It's Clary. I brace myself for the oncoming lecture and pick up the phone.