Page 60 of Nefarious
As she left for the next group of co-workers, Dane looked at his watch and counted the minutes until he could go home.
Val sidled up next to him, eyes following Noelle’s trajectory. “You two are so cute. Maybe you’ll be holding hands by Christmas.”
Leanne clapped to get everyone’s attention. “Rosamund couldn’t make it today, and unfortunately she had our group assignments. We’re going to improvise.”
Dane’s brow creased. “Huh. Wonder what’s wrong with Rosamund.”
Val shrugged. “She’s old. Old people get ill.”
“Right.” Dane worried his lower lip with his teeth. “Still.”
He recalled seeing Rosamund coughing the day before, but he pushed it from his mind. Nothing he could do.
Leanne called out, “Anyone who’s an Aries, form a group over here.”
Dane’s heart sank at the realization the groups would be based on astrological signs. He wouldn’t be partnered with either Val or Noelle since their birthdays were months away from his. But when they called the Scorpios together and he saw Selena step into the group, he smiled. One friendly, familiar face always made these things less of a chore.
A bearded twenty-year-old wearing a visor and a whistle approached Dane’s group. “Good morning. My name is Kevin, and I’ll be leading you through some exercises today. Please stay close to me at all times and listen to the instructions I give you. I don’t just talk because I like the sound of my voice. There will be times when my instructions hold keys to how to solve the exercises. So pay attention.” He scanned all the faces. “Who can tell me my name?”
Patricia, the nearly retired sales representative, spoke out first. “Kevin!”
Dane rolled his eyes. He’d never understood the urge to be the teacher’s pet. He knew the answer, but why set high expectations from the beginning? It was easier to impress when you came in from behind.
Selena caught his attention and made a grimace of solidarity. Dane shook his head in like-minded disgust of the whole situation.
Kevin took them about a hundred yards into the forest and stopped. The first exercise was to toss a ball around, introduce themselves, then lob it at the next victim. This exercise was further complicated by having to name something they liked. “I’m Dane. I like bourbon,” did not go over well. But Selena laughed.
The next series of activities involved figuring out how to move the whole group along a narrow log, around a stationary object without falling off. At first, the group couldn’t speak, but they could communicate through gestures. After failing long enough, the guide told them they could speak, but they had to come up with a universal decision before they made any moves. Dane had no intention of taking the lead on this until he became so frustrated with the disorganization that he started barking out orders.
The leader gathered them together to ask what they’d learned from the activity, and they all said some variation of, “Don’t cross Dane in games of organized team cooperation.”
If it meant they finished all this an hour earlier than everyone else, he didn’t care.
But then the next event was more hands on, literally, as they helped each other up and over a wall. Everyone had to get over somehow. He ended up in the position of lifting the smaller team members which became a weird sanctioned gropefest. He hoisted Selena by the upper thigh and placed one hand on her butt to push her to the top of the wall. He barely resisted throwing in an added squeeze. He wasn’t sure she’d respond well to it. Then when it came time for the group on the far side to help pull him up and over, he made it halfway over and was about to jump to the ground when he felt a hand sliding up his inner thigh. When he landed, Selena shot him a saucy wink.
Throughout the rest of the activities, Dane and Selena made a game of trying to find ways to inadvertently touch each other in places that would be off limits in the office. He had no idea how many people were aware of their misconduct, but he figured it went over their heads. Everyone was pinching each other by the time they got to the last obstacle.
The final task wasn’t as intensive as the rest and seemed simple enough. They were only required to lower a hula hoop from waist height by supporting it on one finger per team member. It was a good final exercise because everyone kept laughing at how impossible it seemed to keep the hula hoop from rising up higher and higher until it floated above their heads.
Finally, Kevin brought them all in together and praised them for working hard. He went over a few of the things they’d learned together and then told them that they’d finished a little early, but they were also farther into the woods than all the other groups and needed to head back.
As the rest of the group moved away, laughing and rehashing some of the funny moments, Selena grabbed Dane’s hand. He held still and watched the others disappear around a bend in the trail, then turned toward her.
Her lip caught between her teeth, as though deciding on her next action. Without warning, she reeled him closer and slid her hand under the hem of his shirt, tracing the skin along his back.
He sought her eyes for any sign of hesitation. Finding none, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. He broke the kiss and said, “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help it. I’ve been wanting to do that all day.”
“I thought you were afraid it would be inappropriate?”
“I thought I taught you about loopholes?”
She glanced behind her at the empty path, at the isolation of the forest. She hooked her index finger around his and led him deeper into the woods, behind a wide tree and drew him closer. She pressed herself hard against him, and he shivered. He pushed her back against the tree and kissed her deep. She responded with a soft moan. It was the more exciting because he hadn’t even imagined this possibility out here.
Encouraged by her reactions, he touched the edge of her T-shirt and pulled it up, exposing the pink lace of her bra. With a snap, he popped the front clasp and ran his thumb across her nipple. The sounds she made in response had him completely erect, and he bent his head to suck on her tits. He couldn’t believe she was letting him. This wasn’t the shy girl he’d met a week ago.
Her hand dug into his hair then began reeling his shirt up his back, and he straightened up so she could pull it over his head. She touched his chest. “God, you are even more beautiful than I imagined.”
Any thoughts he had of stopping this before it went any further were completely upended by her admiration of his body. He gave her a questioning look and touched the button on her shorts.
