The Closer (18+) ✓

| 3.3 | dangling the bait

❝I go crazy 'cause here isn't where I wanna be
And satisfaction feels like a distant memory
And I can't help myself,
All I wanna hear her say is "Are you mine?"❞

Chapter Three:
Dangling the Bait
(cont'd)

Sexual hangovers are the worst. Its that pounding of your heart reaching your brain sending you into 'emergency' mode that does it. Oh, and the ache of your muscles all over is kind of a bitch too. Images from last night flew through my mind as I started to blink my eyes open; Hans shirtless, his head between my legs, the sweat lining his thick dark brows as he pounded into me. At first, I thought it was all a dream which is why I just rolled over and sunk further into the sheets...until I heard a voice go, "Good morning Tris Henderson."

An audible crack was heard as I shot up too quick, eyes wide as a cornered deer. Fuck, I may have just sprained my lower back. That was the least of my worries as I eyed the man stepping out of the shower with a towel wrapped around the lower half of his body.

I tried not to focus on the drops of water glistening on his bare chest...or on his biceps which flexed deliciously as he raised his arms to run a hand through his damp, dripping hair...or on the six-pack and perfect V-shaped formation of his hips leading down to...

Fuck me.

Much to my terror, I realized he already had.

"What are you doing here?" I said, bunching the sheets around my body.

He noticed me do so and chuckled. "After last night, I doubt there's anything left for you to hide Ms. Henderson."

Heat flushed through my neck, up higher until my face resembled that of a cherry. I did not like this man. I did not like him one bit.

Hans crossed the length of the room toward the dresser, opening it up without even a tiny bit of hesitation. My 'hey!' of protest went ignored as he sorted through my clothes, muttering under his breath all the while before finding what he wanted: a spare towel. Of course, he didn't take it out without commenting on my wardrobe, more specifically...

"Remind me to educate you with a Victoria's Secret catalog because old grandma underpants aren't going to cut it when you're working for me."

"Well, excuse me for preferring comfort over sexiness, okay? Besides, why should I- wait. What?"

Had I just heard him right?

Hans turned around, his eyes weighing me up.

"I cooked something up," he stated.

"While we were having sex, or while you were in the shower?" How is that even relevant? I was asking the wrong question but my brain waves weren't functioning properly. Not after last night.

Hans maintained his serious composure but the glimmer of humor in his eyes was unmistakable.

"While I was in the shower recounting us having sex."

Way to be blunt, man.

Hans stopped drying his hair with my small towel, tossing it aside. It landed on the floor messily and I wanted to reprimand him for not treating my goods with respect but stopped when he started walking toward me. I backed up super fast till my back hit the headboard, still clutching the sheets tightly around my chest. He didn't say anything to this and simply sat down on the edge of the bed. Despite the decent distance between us, I could still smell him. Mind you, I don't normally go around sniffing guys but one whiff was enough to tell me that Hans Castellan stunk of paradise (or something equally insulting to that effect).

"You're going to work for me."

It wasn't a proposition. It was a declaration.

My eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"

Hans must have been expecting this. In fact, he must have spent his entire shower planning how to phrase this into an offer I couldn't refuse, which is exactly what followed.

"Let's be honest here, Ms. Henderson. You're unemployed. Innovus is falling apart. The company could use a strong closer like you to help get us back on our feet. You could use the money and job security. I could use the sex. Everyone wins."

Seconds of pure silence followed. I stared at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. He was joking. Sex wasn't a problem for a man like him, and I knew it. Why was he so fixated on me?

I opened my mouth to tell him to go suck an egg when he interrupted, reading my answer from my face.

"And if you so much as try to get away from this and return to your former employer, I'll personally guarantee that Innovus comes after you with a lawsuit on some bullshit grounds." Hans smiled innocently. "And trust me, we'll win it. It'll be easy. Your company will want to have nothing to do with you, an employee that busted her ass off on a corporate espionage that went horribly wrong."

Deborah's words rung in my ears as if I'd just heard them. If there's one thing she had made crystal clear, it was that there was no coming back from this. Years of sleepless nights lost to stress and toil gone down the drain...

"So, which is it, Ms. Henderson?" The bed shifted slightly as he leaned forward, propping his chin on his open palm as he watched me. "Lose all the credit you've spent years accumulating or work for the man that put you in that position?"

He was voicing my fate out loud, in the most ugly, truthful way.

I licked my lips and met his eyes head-on.

"I'll take it."

_____

Song: R U Mine? by Arctic Monkeys

| 3.2 | dangling the bait is a restricted chapter. In case you missed it, remove the story from your library, follow me, then add it back!

The next update will be on Wednesday! I hope you're enjoying the story so far! Since I've submitted The Closer to be part of The Wattys this year, your every vote, comment and share counts so let's make this happen together! :D