Page 68 of Love Under the Microscope
“And then I want to fuck you from behind. How does that sound?”
I smile in anticipation. “Like pure perfection.”
CHAPTER 16
JACK
A sudden beeping wakes me. I open my eyes, blinking at the early morning light streaming through the crack in the curtains, and immediately squeeze my eyelids shut. The beeping continues. I listen closer, realizing it’s an alarm.
I don’t remember setting my phone—sleep was the last thing on my mind when I got into Zelda’s bed. What a night. Zelda Lowe is an absolute siren.
She’s such a contradiction, dressing at work like a prim librarian with a pen stuck in her hair and presenting herself as an organized and no-nonsense professional. Then she does a one-eighty making impulsive, even reckless “plans” to recover her stolen pages, but I’m coming to think that’s more because of the extraordinary circumstance she finds herself in when she’s in a panic. Then again, there’s her wild abandon during sex. The woman is an incredible, energetic lover, and I don’t believe that’s something new. Not with her…skills.
All I know is Zelda intrigues me.
The alarm continues to beep.
The last thing I want to do is get up. The sheets are high-thread count, too, and her pillows are so comfy. I can almost imagine myself at a five-star hotel for the night, but those are nothing compared to spooning Zelda with my morning wood tucked between her ass cheeks. She’s warm and soft, and I’m filled with a surprising contentment that makes me wish today was a Saturday or Sunday so we could stay in bed all day and fuck more.
At least I keep telling myself we only fucked. That’s the safer line of thinking.
Still, reality intrudes my thoughts. That being she is Mr. Z, not simply a personal assistant. Not that one job is more important than the other, but being a co-CEO comes with a more significant set of responsibilities. She must have set the alarm for a reason, but she has yet to move or say a word.
Did I wear her out that much? I grin at the thought, but I can’t let her just sleep if she’s supposed to wake up.
What if she has an important meeting to attend or needs to do something else that’s critical to Zentello?
Everything in me stills, including my breath.
What the fuck am I thinking? I’ve been a huge critic of the pharmaceutical industry since that asshole Dr. Fields killed two of his trial participants, including my Aisha. We didn’t start dating until after I quit because of the company rules, but I wish I’d left as soon as I met her. The six months I was officially with Aisha were the best six months of my life.
Some coworkers, especially Gordon, call me a vigilante—but the pen is mightier than the sword. I used my research and my words to take down Dr. Fields and make sure the weight-loss pill never went to market.
A bitterness coats my mouth, something far worse than morning breath.
Given my past and how I lost my future, putting the needs of a pharmaceutical company ahead of a story—or anything else—should feel more wrong. Yet I’m wrapped around the founder of one, my arm slung over her hip possessively, not wanting to move because I’m so damn cozy.
This is a problem.
Worse, knowing Zelda’s true role at Zentello makes me wonder if the company isn’t as evil as I initially believed. I can’t believe I’m even considering that because I’ve spent years in my pursuit to bring the truth about the dangers behind these new drugs to light. Yet I want Zentello to be different because of Zelda. Because of—
Us.
But there isn’t a fucking us.
There can’t be.
The alarm keeps beeping. I have no idea how she’s slept through it this long.
“Hey,” I whisper in her ear, and then I can’t help but shower kisses along her earlobe and neck. It means nothing, I tell myself. Absolutely nothing. “Your alarm’s going off.”
“No!” she whines, staying in the same position. “I don’t want to get up. Keep kissing me, though. That’ll help me go back to sleep.”
How I want to please her. “Do you have to be somewhere important this morning?”
She groans. “Ugh. I do.”
That’s what I thought. I give her ass a little pat. “Come on, get up.”
