Submission: Guilty Pleasures #3 (BBW Erotic Romance) by Adriana Hunter Read Free Book Online

me.
    When we were done, when I’d come
so hard I thought I’d shatter, after Chase had almost pushed me off the couch
as he sought his release, we lay in a sweaty tangled heap, trying to catch our
breath.
    I finally pushed myself away from
Chase, sitting up to button my shirt, searching the floor for my jeans. He sat
on the other end of the couch, his face flushed, hair damp from our encounter.
    “What are we doing to each other, Abby?
Why do we keep doing this?” He watched me struggle into my jeans, my hands
shaking as I fastened the snap.
    I sat on the edge of the coffee
table, pushing my hair out of my eyes, looking down at my hands, clutching them
together to try to stop them from trembling.
    “I don’t know. I really don’t.” I
took a ragged breath. “I’m not sure I can keep doing it, Chase.” There was a
moment of quiet in the room.
    “Do you love me, Abby?” Chase’s
voice was low, questioning.
    I looked up, meeting his eyes.
“Yes. I love you, Chase. I do...probably more than is good for me...for you.” My
voice broke.
    “Come here.” His voice was soft
and he held out his hand, an open invitation. I hesitated and then I saw the
hurt in his eyes, hurt that mirrored mine. And that undid the tears. I crawled
up on the couch and Chase wrapped his arms around me, holding me while I cried
against his torn shirt.
    “What we do to each other, Abby,
what we do. Love shouldn’t be this hard, should it?”
    ––––––––
    I left Chase feeling betrayed...by
myself. I hadn’t wanted to give in to myself, to the overwhelming attraction I
have for Chase. But it’s so damned hard. He’d told me once he was irresistible
and he’s right.
    But as confused as I still was,
each man had a claim on my heart. And each claim was tearing me to pieces.
     I spent Sunday in bed,
trying to sleep, convincing myself I needed to recharge instead of admitting
what I really was doing... burying my head under the covers, trying to escape the
swirling emotions inside of me. Trying to avoid the whole situation. Denial can
be the perfect dominant, if you give yourself over to it completely. I
couldn’t.
    The following week began badly and
went downhill quickly. Burke called me into a meeting Monday morning, asking
for updates on all my clients, something he’d never done before. Afterward, in
my office, I had the nagging sense I was in trouble, although he’d never said
there was anything wrong. I’d spent the rest of that day working on proposals
and dealing with emails.
    Later in the week Burke called another
meeting, this time telling me one of my clients had requested a new account
manager within the company. I was stunned. I’d never lost a client like this.
Burke laid it on the line for me.
    “Abby, there’s been a real decline
in your quality of work lately. I don’t know if it’s because of personal
reasons, something medical, or if you’re not happy here, with the company. But
something’s got to change. I’m here if you need to talk, if it’s something work
related I can help you with. But if you’re not happy here, it may be time for
you to consider a change.”
    Burke looked at me over the top of
his glasses. “I really enjoy working with you Abby, truly. You’re a fantastic
employee. I’d like to help you if I can. But I also need to let you know your
performance has come to my attention, and not in a good way.”
    I left Burke’s office in shock.
Burke was right; something did need to change. But he had no idea what that
was. And I certainly wasn’t going to unload my personal problems on my boss.
But I did need to do something.
    Sometime after the meeting with
Burke, Leslie called to see if I was free for lunch. When I declined, she came
to my office, bringing the requisite salad and large iced tea.
    “I won’t tell you how you look
today, Abby. I’ve run out of colorful terms.” She sat down, pushing the salad
and iced tea in my direction. I pushed them back, and her eyebrows