‘I love you, too, Henry,’ I say in a haze.
I close my eyes and allow myself to get lost in the echo of my mind.
I like it here. With Henry, who owns me completely.
Chapter Eight - Henry
She breathes like a newborn kitten, cuddled and cute. Her hair is all messed up and tangled in my face and neck. I like it a lot. I like how she’s slept all night and into the morning. I want her to wake up and suck my dick.
My balls are heavy already, and so I nudge her. One or three more rounds should do the trick. I nudge. She does not budge.
Then I will watch over her. It’s the least I could do after such a night.
‘Morning,’ she finally croaks. The lemon tea should help with that.
‘Good morning, Miss Cast.’ She brushes her tussled hair aside and blinks. ‘You didn’t.’
I actually did.
‘Breakfast in bed!’
‘You deserve some.’
She cracks a boiled egg, peels it off, splices it down the middle, adds some chili into it and dunks the bottom chunky part into the lemon tea. I watch her slurp then bite the edge off.
‘What?’ she asks.
‘You look great. You feel great. But what the heck is this supposed to accomplish?’
Stunned: ‘You mean the egg? What? Everyone does it like this.’
‘Everyone? Who’s everyone?’
‘I can be,’ she says smugly. ‘Anyway, aren’t you going to eat too?’
‘Not after seeing that.’
She chortles and pushes the tray into my knees. I take the cue and butter my toast.
‘How long do you think this is going to last?’ She asks after sipping her tea. I am no ready to have this conversation. ‘The pandemic, I meant.’
There. Did she see it, my hesitation? Her eyes suggest otherwise, focused on her tea and scratching her left arm.
‘Another twelve months, at least.’
Exasperated: ‘Another? I really miss the office.’
‘Me too. There are ropes and pleasure rooms and vibrators behind the stairwell on the eighteenth floor where I do this sort of thing.’
‘You do?’ Deflated.
‘No! Come on. I was joking. Why would I have those things in the office? I hate mixing pleasure with business.’
‘Then I guess I’m pretty special.’ Her face lights up. I think she’s blushing. I should tell her. Right now.
I hate how much I’m falling for her. I don’t ever do relationships, or commitment. But it’s all I’m thinking about, when it comes to her.
My ass vibrates. I pause and check it. It’s an email. Unknown sender.
‘Hmm.’
‘What?’
‘This is interesting.’
‘Do I want to know?’ she asks.
I slide the phone from my palm and into her lap. Her eyes widen. Terror. It has many names. Now I know it was not paranoia. She was hacked. Her privacy was defiled. So was mine. What Julia is watching, with tears in her eyes, is the two of us last night tearing it up.
I take the device from her and read the text that follows. Of course it wants money. Bitcoin, they say. Thirteen hours, I see.
‘What do we do?’ she whispers.
I take her hand and warm it with mine.
‘I’ve got this handled. Don’t worry. Finish your breakfast.’
The floor feels funny after not being in contact with it for a few minutes after seeing such a vile abuse of power. They could have done anything else but come between a hunt I’ve been planning and working on for years. Those fucks have no idea what’s coming to them.
‘Bo.’
‘Henry.’
‘I’ve sent you an anon email. Work on the IP and get me a location soon as you can.’
‘The project...’
‘I’ll double your fee. Whatever you’re working on can wait. If you can do it by the end of the day, I will gift you with that Utility contract as a bonus.’
‘Twenty four hours is all I need.’
‘Good.’
‘Who was that?’ she asks.
‘Professionals. Today we will need to stay off the digital grid as much as we can, just so that we can let them work and not get targeted anymore.’
She wipes her mouth and pads her right eye.
‘So what do we do all day?’
She is sore and I am chaffing. No way I’m having any more sex with her in this condition. Maybe…
‘I want to know more about you than what you shared with the company on your resume.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Whoever hacked you knows you personally. I want to have that same privilege.’ And also see if it is someone she overlooked from her past.
Julia grins and smacks her thighs off.
‘Okay. Let me shower first, okay?’
‘Okay.’
‘Alone, Henry. I need to understand what you did to me last night.’
Dangerous territory. I hide my satisfied smirk.
‘I’ll be in the third bedroom from this one, on the right,’ I tell her.
Tray in my hands, I move from the bed and plod towards the door. I hear the taps drain their frothy water into the tub. I catch a passing glance of her breast, her eye, her playful smile, her head shaking side to side, and the door closing behind her.