The rest of the day dragged by as I got on with work with Emilia peering curiously over my shoulder, asking a question now and then. Sometimes she would place her hand on my thigh as she leaned in to get a closer look at the screen. I knew I was the envy of the office at that point, especially since she'd left the others to join me for lunch.

By the end of the day, it was hard to believe I'd only met her for the first time this morning. Her touch, subtle thought it was, was familiar and welcome, and my heart fluttered every time she laughed that carefree, musical laugh at one of my dumb jokes. For the first time, I was a little disappointed when five o'clock arrived, and everyone began to pack up their things to head home.

We took the elevator down together, pausing for a moment in the parking lot.

"Thanks for all the help today," Emilia said, offering me a smile like I'd just have saved her cat from a tree, and not just explained some basic things to her.

"Don't worry about it. My pleasure."

She looked like she was going to say something at that, then thought better of it, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," I replied dutifully. I watched her hips sway as she walked away, her skirt pulled tight over her rounded ass. I turned away, feeling dirty for staring.

That evening, Emilia was on my mind more than I'd like to admit.

My mind kept drifting back to the moment in the park in particular...

"Do you really think I'm beautiful? Or do you just want to fuck me?"

What had she meant by that? It had seemed straightforward enough, but there was no reason the answer couldn't just be both, right? Maybe she was just teasing me, and the interpretation I took away and whatever answer I gave would tell her more about me. I wasn't sure. But I was damn sure that I was eager to get into work and see her again tomorrow.

So I wiled away the evening reading Felines and Felicity. When I touched myself before bed, it was Emilia who came to mind, her curvy body draped in the glittering chains of the cat-queen. My dick exploded at the thought, leaving me gasping. She was the first woman who seemed interested in me in a long time... I needed to find some way to progress things between us.

Luckily, the next day brought even better news.

"How are you getting on, Emilia? Is Larry here a good teacher?" Brian said, approaching us at our desk.

"Oh, Lawrence is just lovely," Emilia cooed, "I feel like I'm learning so much already."

"That's fantastic." Brian leaned against the desk, meaning I was uncomfortably close to his protruding gut as I craned my neck up to look at him. "Larry's project could use an extra pair of hands, if you'd like to join on as his assistant while you're getting the hang of things."

I tried not to let my lips curl into a smile as I waited for Emilia's response. This was exactly what I needed.

"Oh, absolutely! I'd love to!"

"Well, that's settled, then," Brian said, "Larry, enjoy your new assistant. But not too much." he chuckled as he walked away.

I pretended I didn't hear that and turned to Emilia, letting my smile show on my face now, "Welcome to the team," I said.

"At your service," she grinned at me. Good lord. It looked like my luck was finally turning around. But I didn't have much time to enjoy her attention - a short ping from my computer made me turn my gaze away from her. It was one of the managers on the project, informing us that we urgently needed to get some documents out to the client by 9AM tomorrow. Which was code for - sorry, but you're probably going to be working the evening. Wonderful.

As we got started, that message only became clearer - this was going to take a while. We took a quick lunch break at our desk, but there wasn't much time for conversation, and certainly not for reading (not that I'd have ever pulled out that book while in the office), and then we burned through the remaining hours of the day. We were still hard at it when the office started to empty out, and even Brian called it a day shortly after 5PM. Soon enough, we were the only ones left in the office. I glanced over at Emilia - her dark brows were furrowed in concentration, and her eyes were slightly red from staring intently at the screen all day. Poor girl, it was only her second day here.

"Hey," I said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder, "let's take a quick break."

"But we've got so much to -"

"I know. But we need to keep our cool." I got to my feet, stretching, "Do you want a coffee or something?"

"I'm okay, thanks," Emilia said, "Coffee will probably only make me feel more stressed." she let out a nervous chuckle. Goddamn, she was really feeling the pressure, even though we were making good time.

"That's it, come on," I said, offering her my hand, "you're taking a break whether you like it or not." My heart picked up as she glanced at my hand and then back up at me. Was I being too brazen? Then she smiled and placed her hand in mine. I helped her out of her chair - though she was short, I was no giant either, and her nose was about level with my lips. I had the urge to kiss it... I let go of her hand before I could do something so foolish.

I led her to the small lounge area by the kitchen, getting myself a coffee and her a glass of water, "You haven't drank all day," I said, as I placed it before her. We settled down on opposite sofas - which were plain, corporate and far from the comfiest, but a relief after spending all day in an office chair. Emilia sipped at her water thoughtfully. She sighed, "Gosh, what a day. I'm sorry, I feel like I've been slowing you down. You even missed out on your reading at lunch."

"Don't worry about it, you're doing great," I said quickly, trying to change the subject before she brought up Felines and Felicity, "Do you, uh, do you read much?"

"Sure I do. I'm currently just finishing up A Pairing of Pleasure and Purpose."

I'd made the fatal error of taking a sip of my coffee after asking the question, and I nearly spat it out now. "Wait, isn't that the one where -"

"Yep. A woman is married to one of the King's advisors, and has to use her..." Emilia smiled, "well, let's say, charm... to help him fulfil his political aims."

My mouth hung open. I'd heard lots of discussion about this book online - it made Felines and Felicity look like a Pixar movie. One scene in particular, where the female character entertains several high-ranking nobles (at the same time, and in a horizontal fashion) had become infamous.

Emilia chuckled, a faint blush now starting to emerge across her cheeks, "I just like the setting, really."

"Oh, absolutely. I just like the setting in Felines and Felicity, too."

I said it with a straight face, but as our eyes met, we burst out laughing.

"Look, we're both reading smut, there's nothing to be shy about," I said.

"No, no," Emilia said, still giggling, "I really do like the setting."

"The setting of being surrounded by horny men, you mean? I thought you get that experience in the office."

"Not at all," she smirked, "the horny men in the book are attractive."

"Ouch. No need to rub it in."

"Well, I didn't know you were one of those horny men, Lawrence. Are you...?"

Her eyes met mine, a playful expression on her face. The light from the window cast a golden glow over one half of her face.

  "I..." her eyes were distracting. I didn't know if I was supposed to play along or deny everything, cross myself and take a vow of chastity. "Well, I've been thinking about what you said yesterday." I swallowed. I reasoned, if I was only using her words and responding to a question she'd asked me... it couldn't be so bad... "You are beautiful," I said, forcing myself to keep my eyes on hers as I said it. "I really mean it, too. You're beautiful like the ocean is, or the sky at sunset," I glanced at the window, where the sky was streaked with pink clouds, "Beautiful in a way that's undeniable." I cringed after I said it, but she didn't flinch, smile, or even laugh. I took that as a sign to continue. The rational part of my mind was screaming that this was a bad idea, but I was in too deep to not say my piece now.

"You are beautiful." I said again, "And I want to fuck you. Goddamn, I do. All day and night. I want to devour you, pound you, and most of all... please you.." I took a deep breath, tearing my eyes away from hers, and got to my feet. "I'm, uh, gonna grab another coffee," I didn't even want one, but just needed some excuse to turn away. I could feel the warmth in my cheeks and alarm bells in my brain. What the fuck was I doing?

As I filled up my cup at the machine, I heard her heels behind me, and then her arms snaked around my waist. I felt her body against my back. She rested her head on me, "Did you mean all that, Romeo...?" she was whispering, but it was loud and clear in the silence of the office.

"E-every word," I managed to mutter uncertainly. A bulge was starting to appear in my pants.

"How touching," I felt her jaw move as she spoke, "It's been a long time since I've been told anything so pretty." I felt her breath against my ear, "And a long time since I've been... pleasured..."

One of her hands started to massage my bulge gently.

Fuck... it was really happening...