"Love is a burning thing, and it makes a fiery ring, bound by wild desire, I fell into a ring of fire…"

I change the song with a quick tap on my phone.

"Oh, and baby I'm fist fighting with fire, just to get close to you, can we burn something, babe? And I run for miles just to get a taste, must be love on the brain, that's got me feeling this way …"

Tap. Tap.

"Mind in one place. Heart in another…"

Tap. Tap.

Fuck. Since when did everything on my music streaming remind me of Athena? And why is everyone singing about love, anyways? I can't fucking escape her. No matter what I do, no matter where I'm at, no matter how hard I try, she's always there, a ghost haunting every corner of my brain.

Except, she isn't a ghost at all. She's real. Flesh and blood.

And I can't get enough of her.

I stand up from my chair, and pace my office, forcing myself to stretch and move. I look out the windows and across the city skyline, hoping to clear my mind, but every fucking skyscraper looks like a hard cock reaching toward space.

Great. Now I'm thinking about sex too.

But a deal is a deal. I have to keep seeing her … or I could dismiss her and see someone else. That's the nature of this game.

The smart thing to do would be to let her go … but I can't. And normally, the word 'can't' isn't even a fucking part of my vocabulary.

Athena is even infiltrating my dreams.

Last night I dreamt that we were in the middle of an ocean—maybe the Pacific? And beds of kelp were wrapping around our ankles as we swam, naked and vulnerable. In my dream she kept slicing her legs through the water, effortless, her hair floating and following the current, her tits buoyant. She kept turning back and looking at me, with a teasing smile on her face, and I was swimming after her, always at arms length, reaching out, moving forward.

And the fucking funny thing about it was the sense of serenity in it.

You think that they opposite would be true, right? But no.

I shake my head and pull my phone from my pocket because honestly, I don't know what's come over me.

I scroll through my contacts—Alexis, Angie, April, and then I see her name—Athena.

The three sweetest syllables ever assembled in one package.

I press her name, and the phone starts to dial.

I have no idea why, but I can't sit still. I pace my office, waiting for her to pick up, and with every ring, my pulse quickens.

"Hello, Mal."

Oh fuck, just hearing her voice makes my cock twitch.

"What do you say we do dinner tonight?" I ask, hopeful that she's available.

There's a pause, and then she answers. "I like the sound of that."

"Good. I'll text you with a time, and send a driver."

"And where are we going?" she asks.

"Leave it to me; that part's a secret."

"I do love a surprise. I look forward to it."

We hang up, and I crumple a stray piece of paper into a ball and shoot it into a nearby wastebasket. It bounces on the rim, and falls in, and I pump my fist in the air.

Score!

Is this what falling for someone feels like? Better than any drug-induced high?

If so, how do I pump the breaks when it feels like I'm taking a ride on a runaway train?

I'll find a way. Malcolm fucking Bane doesn't fall in love. Not now. Not ever.

Just as I start to send Athena a text with the details for our dinner, the door to my office opens.

I look up and see a man I never expected to see.

He's wearing a suit that looks a size too big, and I wonder to myself if he's ever considered seeing a tailor. He has a wide grin on his face that seems to animate his already comical eyebrows. I think he has more hair on his eyebrows than he does his head.

"I can picture it now," he grins with his caterpillar eyebrows knitting together. He holds his hands up in an expressive gesture. "I'll be kicking my feet up on that desk. Yes, right there. The chair will never do—I'll have that replaced. But the desk can stay."

"What do you want Ben?"

"Want? That's funny, Malcolm. I'm just making an observation—taking stock, if you will because soon all of this will be mine. You can go ahead and kiss this view good bye."

"Get the fuck out of my office," I say, flexing one hand into a fist and shoving it deep inside of my pocket.

"Oh come on," Ben laughs, "There's no need to get bent out of shape. Let's face it; everyone knows you don't have the money to cover your debts."

"You don't know anything about me," I say, "Other than the fact that you lost to me once before, and you'll lose again."

"That's funny. Go ahead and live in that fantasy of yours, but this time, there isn't some small town businessman that you're going to turn into a hero. No, this time, you really fucked up. So, tell me, was she worth it?"

"Fuck you."

"And from what angle did you bend her over this desk?" he grins, pointing across the glossy mahogany. "Was it from here? Or over here? No—no, I bet it was from this side so that you could look out across the city that's about to chew you up and spit you out."

Now he's gone too far.

I step up close to him, and I can feel my heart kicking in my chest. I shove a stiff finger into his chest.

"I'm not going to say this again," I say. "Get the fuck out of my office right now, before I make you."

"Soon to be my office—remember that," Ben says, turning on his heels and walking out the door. "Revenge is sweet."

As soon as he's gone, I take a few deep breaths, trying to steady my pulse. I'm mad enough to put my fist through a wall, but I won't.

I can't allow myself to stoop to his level.

Besides, I have a date with Athena.

And if there was ever a time that I needed to keep a cool head, it's now.