Chapter Thirty-two
Lillian took in deep breaths as she tried to hold it in. There was no way in hell she was going to cry in front of Margaret.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Margaret said from behind her.
Lillian took in another deep breath. "Home." She could hear the snort of the other woman and shook it off.
"You think you're so special that you get to go home whenever you want to?”
That was it. She'd wondered what it would take to reach her final limit, but that was it.
Lillian whirled around to glare at the Dragon Lady.
"No," she said. "Apparently I'm not that special. Apparently, I'm the sort you can just toss off to the side, and no one will care about. Are you happy now? You win.” She threw her hands in the air.
Margaret frowned at her, clearly confused about just what was going on.
"Lillian," Erik shouted.
Everyone in the office turned to stare at her. She still stood right in front of the elevator. The ancient thing was taking forever to even reach their floor. Lillian turned back around, hoping the blasted elevator would make it there before Erik.
The bell dinged loudly, and her heart hammered in her chest. She just might stand a chance of making it out without more humiliation.
The door slid open, and she stepped inside.
"Lillian."
Not quite fast enough. Erik slapped his hand on the door to keep it from closing.
"Let me explain," he said.
She shook her head. She didn't need an explanation. She'd gotten it with that piece of paper. That told her everything she needed to know.
"It's fine," Lillian said, tears already starting to well up in her eyes. "I get it. Now just let me leave."
Others in the office started to murmur as they watched them. Nothing like a little office gossip before she left. Her glaze flicked to the back of the room where Gwen stood watching, a sympathetic look on her face.
"I can't let you leave," Erik said softly.
The tears slid down her cheeks now freely. "Why?" Lillian cried. "Why can't you just let me go? Isn’t humiliating me enough? Do you have to crush me as well?"
Erik stepped into the elevator and pulled her sobbing body into his arms. She pushed against his chest, struggling to get away from him, willing to take her comfort from anyone but him.
"Because I love you."
The elevator buzzed loudly as the doors slid shut and started to make its way down.
Erik let her go and pressed the stop button. The giant rust bucket jerked to a halt.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she stared at him. "You what?"
Erik stepped over to where she was and took her hand into his. "I can't let you leave because I love you."
She stared into his dark brown eyes as he said the words she longed to hear. Lillian shook her head. "I don't understand.”
Erik chuckled as he pulled her back against his chest. This time she didn't resist his warm arms around her.
"I filled out that paper when you first came to work here," he said. "Before I knew you. Before I’d been captivated by you. And most definitely before I fell in love with you."
Lillian pulled back from his chest, still not quite sure what to make of the whole thing.
"But when I said it to you," she said. "You didn't seem ready. What changed?"
Erik ran a hand through his hair. She loved the way he looked when he did that. A sort of boyish gesture on such a rugged man.
"My parents died in a car accident when I was very young," he said. "In fact, there are a number of us with a direct lineage to the original berserkers who have lost their parents. We call it the curse."
She had known something happened to his parents, but had no idea otherwise.
"Many of us decided long ago that it was too dangerous to be with one of our kind," he continued. "So we never get close to anyone. That is, until I met you."
Lillian placed a hand against his chest. She could feel his heart beating through the button-up shirt he wore.
"It’s still just as dangerous to be with me," he said. "And every instinct in me is telling me to let you go. But I can't."
Lillian heard all she needed. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. Her mouth pressed hard against his as she slid her tongue into his mouth. After a few moments, she pulled back to stare at him once again.
"I never believed in destiny until I met you," she said. "But I believe we are meant for one another. And that we are better together than we are apart. I love you. And I don't want to be anywhere else but in your arms."
This time it was Erik that leaned in for the kiss, walking her back until she was pressed against the wall of the elevator.
He hiked up her skirt and ran his hands over her ass, pulling her forward so she rubbed against his hard length.
Lillian moaned against his mouth. Her center pulsed with need. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed her way to his ear.
"I need you," she whispered.
A low growl filled the small room, and she shivered with need at the sound.
Erik lifted her with ease. She was surprised to find he'd already unbuttoned his pants. His long length pressed against her wet center.
She stared at him as he pulled her panties to the side and pushed in with one swift motion.
Lillian couldn’t believe it. They were about to have sex in an elevator. This was something she would have thought was even less likely than werewolves if anyone had asked her weeks before. On top of that, the shift from sadness to desire had been so fast that it felt like the strength of her earlier emotions was only heightening her current lust.
Lillian moaned at the feel of him deep inside of her. She was already so close to her own climax.
Erik moved quickly inside of her, slamming his hips against her thighs as she writhed in his arms. Her nails bit into his shoulders as she came around him, squeezing him as he continued to hammer into her. A moment later, Erik found his own release and rested his head against her shoulder.
"Stay with me," he murmured. “I need you.”
Lillian placed small kisses against his neck, happy to have his love and to return it without worry.
Erik kissed her lips once more and grinned against them after a moment.
"What's so funny?" Lillian said.
He pulled his head back. "If we go back up, we have to face everyone in the office who likely just heard us."
A blush spread across her face. "Looks like we're going down."
Erik laughed. "If we go down, we have to face Dave, and he might be able to tell what we were doing from the flushed look on your face.”
Lillian’s face burned. She wanted to hide in a hole.
"So what do we do?" she groaned.
Erik grinned and moved his hips. She could feel him growing inside of her once again.
"Well, damned if we do and damned if we don’t, so I say we go for round two."
Lillian laughed. They really did work well together.