Try Me (Extracurricular Activities #2)

by Neve Wilder

I jerked my thumb toward the files. “Want to take these back to our desks and check ’em out? We can split them down the middle.” “Sure.” Mark’s tone was distant, but as I straightened, he watched me arch my back in a stretch, gaze skipping down my torso, then climbing slowly back up. I felt each landing like a thumbprint, a tiny pinprick of heat that rippled through me. Then he turned away, tossed the rest of his lunch in the trash, and shoved the file cabinet closed. “I’ll bet we can get it done in under a half hour if you—” I was going to say if you stop moving like a grandma, but the rest of the sentence flew away when Mark touched my shoulder to stop me. All week in the office, I’d been tense, holding my breath until he walked in in the mornings, noting how the cocksure gait to his desk made the corners of my mouth instinctively tug upward, or how he bantered with Houston and Liza, watching her gradually give in to his boy-next-door charm. But there was none of that casual aloofness right now, and I was tense for a different reason altogether. My insides coiled tightly, and I felt every inch of space that diminished between us. Mark’s gaze moved slowly over my face as he licked his lips. I hadn’t resisted the touch. I didn’t resist when he slid his hand from my shoulder to splay over my chest. He made an aggravated noise, closed his eyes briefly, then exhaled. “You were fucking with me that night. When we met up after Nate’s, I mean. I know that. I know what you were d...