Whispered Desires

Chapter 13: Consent

JASMINE

"You look tired."

I look over to Florence, her eyes narrowed as she hands me her cup of coffee, obviously trying to figure out what I spent the night doing.

Or who I spent the night doing...

"I am tired." I shoot her a wink, taking a large sip of the hot coffee in her cup. "Ew, what the hell?! What is that?! Is that... chili?"

Her laugh echoes through the conference room, earning herself a skeptical glance from the few dozens of men sitting at the large glass table with us. I have to stifle a laugh when she just glares at them, and every single one instantly looks away, obviously afraid of her gaze when they start another conversation themselves.

"Well," she addresses me with a smile now, "Yes. That's chili. Pumpkin spice chili latte to be exact."

She shrugs as she takes the cup away from me, taking a sip from that horrendous drink as if it was remotely humane to consume something like that.

"I really didn't think you were one of those." I speak my mind, confused about the stark contrast of her oil-stained overall and the way-too-healthy-looking avocado bagel in her hand.

"You mean one of those who drink disgusting stuff like this to get their circulation going in the mornings? Yeah, awful how it affects your life, huh?" Flo shoots me a wink, but even though I hear the amusement in her voice, I have a feeling she's only partly joking about this.

Note to myself: Do not mess with this woman...

"Now, what kept you up last night?"

I sigh, gladly accepting the bagel she hands over to me before I take a firm bite.

I have no idea how to answer that question. All I know is that I ran off this morning, the second I heard Kilian speaking in the bathroom. I was late for this meeting anyway, and I honestly wasn't looking forward to the awkward morning-after-talk. It's not like either of us expected this to last longer than a night, so why not make a clean cut now?

But damn, even though we both got what we wanted now... I can't deny that what we wanted was damn good. I haven't been touched like this before; With so much fervor, so much intent and possessiveness. Kilian, just like me, knows what he wants in bed, and that confidence is sexy as hell.

"Or should I ask, who kept you up last night?" Florence almost laughs when she asks the question, raising an eyebrow at my flustered self.

"I take it back. I don't like you," I retort.

"Oh, but you do!"

"God, you're full of yourself, aren't you?"

"Must be the horrendous coffee."

Both of us can't contain our laughter now, and I must admit that I'm glad about the distraction from the topic at hand. The men in the room stare at us again, but I just look every single one of them right in the eyes, and that's enough to scare them off.

God, men are pathetic sometimes.

"Nyx!" A deep voice echoes around us, and within seconds the entire room falls silent, the attention now focused on the glass door behind me.

"What?!" Florence narrows her eyes at the man in the door frame, and with the way she's shooting daggers at him, I get the fair idea that she doesn't particularly like the man. "I have a meeting in a minute. What is it?"

I don't have to look at the guy to know that he must mirror her glare, her entire posture now even more confident and self-assured.

"It's an emergency." His dark voice rumbles through the room, and now I can't help but turn around, but I only see the back of a tall man with toffee brown hair walking off, his tall frame seemingly bursting out of the racing suit he's wearing.