Page 52 of Shifted Desire

Scrubbing a hand across my face, I force a few deep breaths.

There’s a gentle knock on the door, and Samantha peeks her head in. “Rough call?”

I scoff. “No worse than usual.”

The only difference was that I let him get a rise out of me.

Maybe he’s right. Maybe I’m not in control as I’d thought. Things have been going well and my curse hasn’t been riding me nearly as hard now that Samantha is helping, but maybe I’m deluding myself into thinking I’m doing better.

“I know something that might help,” Sam says, waggling her eyebrows.

I shake my head. “Not really in the mood right now.”

She mock gasps, placing a hand on her chest. “You don’t want to have sex after being infantilized by your asshole father? What a shock!” She chuckles to herself and steps inside the office, closing the door behind her. “I’m thinking of something else.”

With a flourish, she produces a handful of candy bars from behind her back. “Nothing helps me more after talking to someone insufferable than a sweet treat.”

On instinct, I shake my head. “No thanks.”

She shrugs as if she expected that answer. “Suit yourself.”

Samantha plops down in the chair across from my desk and rips one of the wrappers open.

“What are you doing?” I ask with a slight glare.

“Sitting?”

I roll my eyes. “No, I mean, what are you doing in here? You have a chair out at your desk.”

“Yes, but I want to sit with you.” She takes a bite from the top of the candy bar, and despite my words to the contrary, my dick perks up at the sight of her lips around the bar.

My frown deepens. “I’m not going to fuck you.”

She rolls her eyes at me. “Yes, we already established that.”

“Then why are you still here?” I grumble.

She sets one of the candy bars down on my desk. “Did you hit your head or something? Is it memory loss from old age? I just told you, I want to sit with you.”

She crosses her legs and settles in, taking another bite. She sighs at the taste, but there’s no sexual aura radiating off her like there is when she’s trying to get under my skin.

“Why?” I ask weakly.

Samantha frowns. “Because you’re upset. You don’t want sex, you said no to a sweet treat, so I’m going to sit in here with you and keep you company.”

“I’m fine on my own,” I reply, even as warmth fills my chest.

She snorts. “Sure you are.”

With a huff, I reach out and grab the candy bar that’s taunting me from the desk.

Fuck it, a little sugar isn’t going to kill me.

I tear open the wrapper and take a large bite, suppressing a moan as the chocolate melts on my tongue. “Dammit, you’re a bad influence.”

She shakes her head. “Candy has no inherent morality. It doesn’t make you bad if you eat it, or good if you don’t.”

“Oh, shut up,” I huff, taking another bite.