"That’s a scary look you have ther-hmph."

Madelyn’s teasing remark abruptly ended when he pulled her into a searing kiss. It didn’t take long for her to lean into it.

“Hmm~” moaning against his lips, she gleefully parted hers as she felt his tongue prodding.

That wasn’t the only thing prodding her, and Madelyn’s hand cupped his erection through his pants with one hand. The other she hooked behind his head while draping her legs around his waist. After a short but intense makeout session, they finally parted with faces flushed red (hers more so) and panting.

"No need for foreplay," she said breathlessly as her crystal blue eyes smoldered with lust.

There was a noticeable tug, and Roland looked down in time to see Madelyn pull down his pants and boxers, revealing his erection. Somehow, in the literal few seconds they had been making out, Madelyn was somehow able to finagle his trousers open with a single hand without him ever noticing.

‘How did she…?’

Thoughts of the woman’s supernatural speed and dexterity left him when she started stroking his erection, causing him to hiss out a groan.

“Hah, it’s even more magnificent than I remembered” Maddie cooed.

‘I can say the same for your hands... god damn’ He gritted his teeth.

Masturbation will definitely become totally obsolete after this. His hands will never be able to do it for him. With a growl, he pulled her forward, lined himself up, and plunged himself into her awaiting cavern, drawing mutual groans of pleasure from them both.

“Oh, by the GODS, yes!” Madelyn cried and continued to gasp and moan as he started going to town on her.

It’s been a few days since he had sex with Madelyn, but Roland felt himself slipping back into that night. Madelyn is a special woman whom he wanted to make the best impressions on, so he actually paid attention to her actions when he could. He managed to pick up on a few things that she really liked from their first time, things that he incorporated while he built a steady tempo as he fucked her on the table.

Abruptly, his hands grabbed her shapely rear, forcing them closer and him deeper, and eliciting a pleasantly surprised squeal out of her even as her legs locked themselves completely around his waist. Her moans intensified as he fucked her standing up, each lift and drop sending all kinds of pleasurable sensations through her. Roland wasn’t any better off, though he tried his best to concentrate on not immediately blowing his load, at least not before she did.

Roland would ultimately fail in this, as in a fit of pique; Madelyn grabbed the sides of his head, forcing him to look her in the eyes, and what a sight it was. Once again, Roland is reminded that Madelyn is a lady in the street, freak in the sheets kind of woman, as he beholds the lustful fire in her eyes despite her serene expression. Then he pushed up extra hard as he dropped her down, hitting that sweet spot and pulling a wide-eyed gasp from her.

"You beast!" she exclaimed as the mask of serenity cracked.

Next, he switched up the tempo, slowing down to slow, deep strokes that end with a sharp drop, making sure to hit what he’s pretty sure is Maddie’s G-spot every time. After the tenth or so stroke, he started building up again, fucking her faster and harder while hitting that spot continuously.

"Ah!" he shouted as he was suddenly pushed back by an invisible force that sent him back into the chair with Maddie still on top of him.

"You’ve had your fun, Roland; now it’s my turn," she crooned while her hips rolled.

"Oh fuck!" Roland couldn’t help but hiss as he felt her walls tighten around him.

She then brought him in for another kiss, this one surprisingly tender yet all the more searing. That, along with a sudden tightening of her walls, managed to bring him to the edge, breaking his concentration, and he ended up ejaculating inside her. Madelyn released a sigh of contentment as Roland groaned into the crook of her neck. The two rode out their orgasm while grinding against each other to squeeze as much pleasure from each other as possible.

By the end of it, the two silently embraced with one last kiss before separating, though their foreheads were kept together.

"That was wonderful, Mr. Wayne," she crooned while caressing the side of his face.

Roland continued panting for a bit before replying, “c-cool... cool-cool-cool."

Madelyn chuckled as she eased off of him, causing Roland to shiver as the air conditioning hit his wet thighs. Looking down at his suit, Roland couldn’t help but sigh at its wrinkled state.

‘Note to self: next time, take off suit before sex.’ he registered the thought he paused, ‘next time? There isn’t going to be a next time, right?’

His thoughts were interrupted by a pale hand holding wipes.

Roland blinked, looking from the offered moist towelettes to the woman, who had not even bothered to fix her clothes, leaving her chest and nethers exposed. Swallowing, he accepted the wipes wordlessly, not sure whether or not there would be a next time.

"Thanks."

"It’s the least I could do since I am the one who seduced you into doing this," she replied. "I’d offer to clean you up myself, but I think further stimulation is the last thing you need right now."

“Yeah,” he said slowly as he wiped his crotch clean.

After that was done, he pulled up his pants (and underwear) before tossing the used towelette inside the waste basket.

"Don’t forget this,” he heard Madelyn say, and he turned around to find her dangling a familiar piece of red fabric from her finger.

Roland winced, "uh, no thanks, you keep it."

Madelyn tilted her head. "Are you sure?” She held it up by its edges. "I’m sure it will make for an interesting addition to your collection," she said with a smirk.

‘Oh hell nah!’

Yeah, I’m sure," he nodded. "I’m not that kind of guy."

The kind of guy who thinks collecting various women’s underwear is proof of conquest, that is. He found that type of behavior to be cringeworthy alpha-douche dude-bro nonsense of the highest tier. He still has her underwear from their first encounter and has kept that thing locked away somewhere deep. He’d have gotten rid of it, but for reasons that could only be attributed to ‘male lizard brain’ shenanigans, he kept it instead.

‘If I knew I was going to meet her again, I probably would have brought the damn thing.

How that would have worked out was conveniently sidestepped in this hypothetical situation.

Madelyn held his gaze for a moment before humming with a shrug, "suit yourself."

She slipped on the undergarment, and Roland realized with a start that she had already fixed herself up to the point where she looked presentable again. Everything about her was just as immaculate as before they started. No wrinkled clothes, no tussled hair, and not even the barest hint of sweat It was as if she hadn’t just been having sex five minutes ago.

"I believe that concludes your interview, then."

‘Really?’

"Oh, so what now... ma’am?"

"Now you go home and report back for work on Monday."

That was almost a whole week away.

"Why so long?"

“As you’ve no doubt witnessed when coming here, the building is still undergoing a bit of construction. There is still work to be done, of course, but that can be done remotely, so for the time being, you’ll be working from home.”

"Oh that’s…"

"Unorthodox?"

‘Lucky,’ he mentally corrected.

Verbally, he nodded, “yeah...”

“As I’ve mentioned before, we do things a bit differently here at Valentina Inc."

‘If this interview was anything to go by, then...’

He didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.

"I see…"

"As you are my assistant, I will be leading your orientation personally." Roland swallowed both her tone and the look she gave him.

"O-okay."

"Keep an eye out, for I will be commencing your orientation later today."

"Yes ma’am"

She paused to give him a smirk, saying, "how fortuitous that you get to have me teach you the ins and outs of this company from the comfort of your home."

Something about that sentence doesn’t seem right, but before he could ponder more on it, Madelyn extended her hand.

"Your phone." Following her order, he took out his phone and held it out to her, to which Madelyn looked at it for a moment, then quirked a brow. "Passcode?"

"Oh right!" Fumbling a bit, he unlocked the phone and held it out again.

Madelyn took the offered item with a brief hum that had Roland wincing at his fumble.

Suddenly, with a click of her tongue, Madelyn spoke, "You didn’t save my number."

Roland opened his mouth reflexively to explain, but thought better of it before deciding to remain silent.

"I’ve fixed that oversight," she said before

~Bury the light deep within.

‘What in the-’

~Cast aside, there’s no coming home.

His eyes widened. No freaking way...

~We're burning chaos in the wind.

"And now I have your number."

She held up her own phone, but Roland was still stuck on what he just heard.

‘Was that what I thought it was?’

Either unaware of his thoughts or (more likely) ignoring them, she gave him back his phone.

“Goodbye, Roland. I look forward to your contribution to the company."

Roland hesitated for a bit before he nodded. "I’ll try not to disappoint."

"You won't," Madelyn said.

Her casual yet confident assurance only served to make him feel even more awkward, and coupled with everything else, he decided to make his exit.

"Right, um, I will see you next week then."

For some reason, her smile grew larger upon hearing his words and she let out an amused chuckle.

"Take care.”

Before he turned his back, he could have sworn he saw the smile she had widen as her eyes literally flashed crimson for a moment. He might have hustled a bit more than he wanted to get through that door, but once he was on the other side, making sure to close the door behind him, he released a breath. It appears that the events of the interview caught up to him, and he sagged.

"What the fuck did I just get myself into?" He muttered under his breath.

Movement from his peripherals had him turning to the pretty redhead, who was staring at him with an expression he could not place.

“Uh...” He didn’t know how to proceed.

Thankfully, God saw fit to show mercy as she initiated the conversation, "Finished with your interview?"

There was an inflection there on the last word that had Roland stiffening, "yeah."

"When do you start?"

‘Not, did you get the job?’ he thought with a frown.

The question itself would have been weird either way, considering it would imply he would have the answer as opposed to said information being at the interviewer’s discretion.

‘Is this what she meant by doing things differently?’ somehow doubted it but at the same time believed it in this instance as well. ‘Or does she know?’

As for her question...

"I start Monday."

"I see,” she replied with pursed lips and pinched brows, but said nothing else.

There was a brief lull before Roland cleared his throat, saying, "I’m going to go now."

The woman only gave him a hum in response: "see you."

“Right,” once again he found himself hurrying to escape the awkward atmosphere.

He really hoped this wouldn’t be a theme going forward with the rest of his co-workers.

‘I need to lie down.’

He has so much to think about right now.

Meanwhile, Loraine watched him leave with hurried steps that he tried but failed to mask, causing the woman to wince a bit, but only for a moment. Once the elevator doors close, the auburn-haired woman stood up and marched into the office, forgoing all decorum. Inside, Madelyn leaned against the table with her phone in hand and a self-satisfied smirk on her face as she looked at the screen.

"What in Hel’s name was that!” she yelled.

Madelyn looked up from the phone, her smirk growing wider. "Did you enjoy the show?"

For a moment, Loraine’s anger gave way to embarrassment, but only for a moment, as she scowled, "Don’t get the wrong idea!"

"What wrong idea?"

"I only peered to confirm my suspicions about why that man was here. I am not a voyeur!"

“So you say," the vampire shrugged, "though that’s an interesting choice of words."

Loraine realized her mistake but refused to get flustered, saying, "Shut up!" and failed miserably.

"If you wanted to join, she paused, "I would have been amenable to a trio."

Ugh," the other woman scoffed. "I’m not interested in your sloppy seconds."

"Then what are you interested in?" Madelyn frowned. "For all their faults, at least the others are actually trying to find husbands."

Loraine scowled. "Don’t try to make this about me, Maddie."

“Well, you can see why I’m concerned, can’t you?” The vampire insisted, "there are so many men in this world that even the most obstinate mamono with ludicrous selective standards can find someone."

"You mean like you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," a fond smile made its way onto the vampire’s face, "he is quite an exceptional man. When will you find one, I wonder?"

"What I do in my personal time is none of your business, Madelyn."

"…fair enough."

Getting back on topic, the redhead folded her arms as she directed a stern glare at her superior. "I thought we agreed not to mix business with pleasure."

"Who says I am?"

"You invited a guy here on the pretense of a job interview and fucked him."

"Believe it or not, I actually did conduct a proper interview."

"And the sex?"

"That was just me having a bit of fun."

"…you just proved my point"

“Oh, don’t give me that look," the vampire said, rolling her eyes. "I have needs."

"You know, I thought he looked familiar. Wasn’t he that guy you met at Elysium?"

“Well...” Maddie trailed off.

"Oh my Gods," Loraine massaged her brow, "you hired your boy toy as your assistant!?”

"I am quite appalled with you insinuating I hired Roland because I am infatuated with him.”

"I don’t know since you never bothered telling me about him before inviting him for a booty call!"

"It was a job interview," Madelyn corrected, only to receive a silent glare, to which she added, "at least it started as such."

"You see how this is a problem, right? Having a single man working in an office with only mamono?"

"He is not single," Maddie corrected, "and you won’t have to worry about him being distracted. Roland has an uncanny will. I almost had to use my allure just to get him to lay with me despite bearing myself to him."

Loraine’s eyes widened “really? That’s…" she shook her head. "I don’t know what’s worse. That you went behind my back to set this up or that you’re the one who ended up coercing him into fucking you in your office.”

Strange, isn’t it? Madelyn adopted a thoughtful expression. "I practically threw myself at him, but he didn’t take the bait until the very last moment. I can’t tell if his resistance is born out of genuine cowardice or uncertainty."

"You ever think that maybe he’s just being considerate of the fact that he’s in an office for an interview and you’re his boss, so he’s trying to be professional?” Loraine stressed.

"I know, it is as frustrating as it is wonderful," Madelyn grinned. "If he can resist me now, then you won’t have to be worried about him being distracted in his work."

"Work, right" Loraine scoffed with a roll of her eyes before her brows furrowed, "is he even qualified?"

From the expression on her face, Loraine could tell Madelyn had been waiting for her to say that and reached over to her desk for a folder before handing it to her "here."

Loraine took the folder and perused its contents. The more she read, the more her skepticism turned into shock before she once again scowled and shut the folder.

“Okay, so he’s qualified.”

"Of course he is," Madelyn chided with a roll of her eyes. "Contrary to what you believe, despite my newfound infatuation with the man, I have no intention of jeopardizing this company for him, Loraine," she stated before turning her nose up at the other woman. “Frankly, I am offended you would think so little of me."

The redhead winced and said, “alright, I’ll concede fault on that, but my point still stands; he is a distraction, and that’s not even mentioning how the others will react once they catch wind of this."

"You can leave the others to me," Madelyn assured.

“Oh, trust me, it was never in doubt that you’d be the one to deal with them,” Loraine chuckled sardonically.

"And as for being distracted," Madelyn pinned the other woman with a look. "Who do you think I am?"

"You know, I would have never doubted you before," she paused, giving the vampire a once-over, "but then again, I’ve never actually seen you in love."

"That is irrelevant," Madelyn dismissed. "I’m not some young, hopelessly romantic, love-struck little girl."

"The age defense doesn’t really work since the latest studies show that the older and more conservative-seeming Mamono are almost always the most degenerate."

Madelyn gave her an annoyed look, cursing the Hakutaku researcher who published that study…because it is absolutely true most of the time.

Folding her arms and glancing away with a huff Madelyn replied, “I know how to control myself, Loraine.”

Uh-huh," the redhead hummed, not looking convinced at all but shrugging all the same, "so you say, but then you had sex with him right after the interview, in your office, and right outside."

“A calculated ploy, and it’s not as if you were chained to your desk," Madelyn waved dismissively; "you could have left at any time."

“And let you keep him here for the entire day? No way.”

"Your confidence in me is truly aspiring, Loraine," the vampire deadpanned.

"Why thank you, milady," the redhead offered a mock curtsy, "so what’s the plan with your new husband?"

“Boyfriend," Madelyn corrected, and at the mildly shocked expression on the other woman’s face, she added, "for the time being. I need to get Roland up to speed on his role as my assistant post haste."

"If you’re going to do that, why bother sending him home and telling him to come back Monday?"

Madelyn offered nothing but a cheeky smile, and after pondering for a moment, it finally clicked for the redhead.

"No…" Loraine breathed

"Don’t be a drama queen."

Loraine’s eye twitched.

"Drama queen!?” Then she cut herself off: "You know what? I’m not going to say anything, and just trust that you know what you’re doing."

"If only you had come to this conclusion sooner," Madelyn dryly noted.

"Just remember we’re running a business."

"And remember who signs off on your salary cheque," the vampire shot back.