Filthy Virgin

Chapter 14: Liam

She sniffed and blinked rapidly, gulping down some more water before she answered. Her voice was a little rough from holding back her emotions, but we both ignored it. "I want to be an artist. It's one reason I enjoy this job so much, because even if I don't get to create the art, I can appreciate it. Be involved in the community. It's a good steeping stone."

"Why not just go for it?"

She looked away from me this time. "I was studying art in school, but I haven't been able to finish yet. I want to go back and learn more, figure out where my true strength and passion lies in the art world, but it's on hold for now."

Before I could ask her why she'd had to stop school, our plates of food were brought in by Sinbad himself.

"Liam Alexander Whiscombe! I thought you'd forgotten all about me! I haven't seen you in forever, but I'm glad you're here now. And with such a beautiful woman, too." He turned the charm on Celeste, and I grinned as she blushed when he took her hand and kissed the top, introducing himself and praising her beauty and grace in French, his native language.

"I have no idea what you said, but I'm sure it was very flattering," she said with an appreciative smile. "So thank you."

"No mademoiselle, thank you. This gentleman here does me the favor of providing me with art for my restaurants, and I haven't seen him bring anyone such as you into my fine establishments. I'm very happy you have given him a reason to use the table I save for him."

The last part was said with slight disapproval, and I flushed guiltily. Celeste tsked, winking at me before turning back to Sinbad. "I'll have to bring him more often then, don't I? Now, as much as I appreciate all the compliments, I smell something absolutely divine behind you and my mouth is watering for a taste."

I watched Sinbad puff up in pleasure right before my eyes, his face happier than I'd ever seen it. God, this woman was incredible. She knew exactly what to say to get him back on track and compliment him in the same breath.

"Oh la, you are correct! I have added a few extra things to your order, on the house, for you two to try." He began to explain the foods to us, but I barely heard a word as I watched excitement and happiness play across Celeste's features. I was mesmerized by this woman from the inside out, and I knew if I wasn't careful, I'd fall hard for her. Then again, I thought as Sinbad bid us farewell and left the food to us, would that be so terrible?

"Holy hell, I don't even know how I'm walking right now," Celeste moaned while clutching her stomach. She leaned back against the nearest wall as we entered the office, closing her eyes and breathing. I laughed quietly, knowing how she felt. We'd both eaten way too much, the food accompanied by wine that Sinbad had sent to us. We hadn't planned on drinking since we were supposed to be going back to work, but neither of us had been able to resist the call.

"I think I burst something in my stomach getting those last bites of cake in," I agreed.

"Oh god, that cake," she moaned. My cock jumped to attention at the sound, just like it had when she'd done the same thing with every bite of cake. It had been delicious, but I'd mindlessly eaten bite after bite just watching and listening to her enjoy her piece. I'd nearly come around to her side of the table and tasted the cake on her lips. The mental image still swirled in my mind, tempting me to take the taste now, but I held back.

I wanted to kiss her more than anything, but I didn't want to take away from the friendship we'd built at lunch. That'd been the purpose of today, after all. To know each other on more than a physical level. And we'd succeeded, talking about our lives since I left her house until we'd met up again through the job.

Celeste was brilliant, fascinating, self-sacrificing, and she cared a great deal about her friends. Every little piece of information I learned only made me want her more. In my bed, in my life. And if I didn't stop thinking about it now, I was going to take that pouty little mouth with mine right here, in the middle of the open office, for anyone to see.

Her eyes opened and found mine, hazy contentment very similar to what she'd looked like when I'd made her come days ago making me nearly lose control.

"Thank you for lunch, Liam. I really appreciate it."

I smiled back at her. "It's no problem. Thank you for letting me take you."

We stood there smiling at each other in silence, neither of us sure what to do next. We both jumped a little when Travis came from nowhere, his voice ringing out and startling us.

"And where have the two of you been? Getting up to no good, I bet!"

I felt heat rise on my face at the same time Celeste began to blush, despite the lunch having been completely innocent. Well, mostly, I thought to myself at the memory of all the times I'd nearly kissed her.

"I took her to lunch as a thank you for helping out so much around here," I supplied casually.

"Mhmm." Travis hummed noncommittally, and I wondered if he knew something was up. I hadn't told him about my slight obsession with Celeste yet, but I had a feeling it wasn't going to stay secret for long. "I'm just messing with you guys, I just barely got back like 5 minutes ago. Go ahead and get settled Celeste, and then come see me so I can give you an update on the next shipment we're getting."

"I'll be in in a few minutes," Celeste said pleasantly and headed towards her desk to put her stuff down. Travis stayed by me and thankfully waited until Celeste was out of sight to grill me.

"Anything I should be worried about?"

"Not at all. We're just figuring out where we stand, what with our history and all." And the making out. And touching. And tonguing. I kept that last part to myself.

"Alright. I trust you, but that one's dangerous."

I snorted. "You have no idea." Travis clapped me on the back in sympathy and then headed over to his office. I turned with a mental sigh, heading off to my own. Noelle would be gone for the rest of the day, so I had a few things to cover for her so she wouldn't be behind when she got back. I knew I'd be able to get lost in the work and not over analyze the shit out of what was happening between Celeste and me.

Not to mention the fact that with Celeste's first bite of cake and the following moan, I'd figured out exactly what had been niggling the back of my mind earlier. I'd nearly tossed the idea at the ridiculousness and plain coincidence, but when I'd closed my eyes with Celeste's second moan and listened to her quiet "Oh my god, that's so good", I'd known it was true.

Cassandra from my late-night phone adventures and my step-sister Celeste were one and the same. What I was going to do with that knowledge other than ignore my hard-on from the realization, I had no idea. Did I tell her I knew? Did she know who I was? She'd never let on that she had any clue, so maybe she was as oblivious as I had been.

Shaking my head to clear it, I knew this was something to contemplate for another day. I grabbed a stack of folders from Noelle's desk as I passed and lost myself in my work until I had to go home. Something that didn't seem as appealing as it used to, now that I knew I wanted someone there with me. And it was no mystery who that person was.