Another short one I'm afraid :( will these labs every end! Lol, hope you enjoy x
Chapter 12
As Cutter stepped into the heavily regulated atmosphere of the ARC, there was only one thing on his mind, or more accurately, only one person. His heart thudded with anticipation as he made his way towards Jenny's office, wondering how she'd react when she saw him in their shared work environment, with the thoughts of last night's actions still as vivid as they were when they were performing them. He knew it was childish really to be feeling this nervous about seeing her; after all, they were both adults. They were both a bit too old to play coy. Nevertheless, he had spent the entire night tossing and turning, too wrapped in having a heated internal debate to being bothered with trivial things such as sleep. It was as though he had an angel perched on one shoulder, and on the other a devil, both trying to sway him to their side. If he was to continue what he had started with Jenny, he had no doubt that he would be happy, in her presence at least. He had a chance to do something for himself for once; to allow the hurt of Helen's betrayal and Claudia's disappearance to be temporarily healed. But if he were to embark upon this immoral path – what sort of man did that make him? He had never once cheated on anyone, nor been with a woman who was already taken, last night aside. Did he really want to sacrifice that conservative part of himself? And if he did – would that make him a hypocrite after the coldness he had shown towards Stephen after Helen's revelation? Would it make him just as bad as his old friend?
A part of him wanted to try and resist her. A part of him wanted to convince himself that last night had been a one off, and tell Jenny to go back to her fiancé. But he couldn't lie to himself. He needed her. Last night was the first time he had felt alive in a long while, and he just wasn't ready to let that feeling go. Not yet. Not when he knew Jenny wanted him as much as he wanted her.
He reached her office, and knocked on the door, his heart practically jumping to his throat with nerves.
"Come in," her soft voice said from the other side.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he opened the door and stepped inside. She looked up from the paperwork on her desk, her expression absent, but as soon her gaze met his, she smiled, and placed her pen down.
"Yes?" she said, leaning back in her chair, and crossing her legs.
Batting away the immediate surge of desire that rose in his stomach, he closed the door behind himself, and stepped deeper into her office.
"Um," he began, annoyed that he seemed to have lost the power of speech.
She stared at him for a moment, an amused smile playing on her lips. Again, he attempted to vocalise some semblance of what he had decided, but the words caught in his throat again. When she apparently realised that nothing more was forthcoming off him, she stood up and slowly walked around her desk. When she was merely inches from him, she perched down on the edge of the table, and leaned back slightly in a way that highlighted her chest suggestively. With difficulty, he managed to keep his eyes trained on hers, instead of allowing them to travel downwards.
"Yes?" she pushed again, smiling more broadly.
He cleared his throat, and ran his hand across the back of his neck, unsure as to whether saying what was on his mind was too presumptuous. However, to clarify things, she leant forward, speaking with her lips so close to his that he could feel the warmth radiating off them.
"Nick," she said in that softly cultivated voice that made the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. "Are you in, or are you out?" she asked slowly, holding each syllable on her tongue a little longer than was necessary, making sure her meaning was very clear.
His breath caught in his mouth as he hesitated for a fraction of a second. Then, not wanting to spoil anything with his fumbling words, he cupped her head in his hands and pulled her lips onto his, wanting to convey his complete and utter submission without having to verbalise anything. She gasped, clearly surprised, but she seemed to recover herself quite quickly, and proceeded to kiss him back roughly. But before he could lose himself in the bliss that was inarguably her, she pulled away. For one horrible second, he though she had changed her mind, but the look that still remained in her eye clearly told him otherwise.
"Ground rules," she breathed, completely catching him off guard.
"What?" he asked, bemused as he studied her expression. "What are you talking about?"
She pushed him away gently so that there was a few feet of space between them, and stood up, straightening out her skirt. "Firstly, we are colleagues whilst at work, and lovers whilst in bed. We are nothing more," she began in a brisk tone. "There will be no romantic dinners, no gifts, and no flowers. I am not your baby, your sweetheart, your darling, your honey, nor any other variation of the term 'girlfriend'. Understood?"
"Should I be taking notes or something?" Cutter laughed in incredulity, unable to believe she was actually being serious.
"Understood?" she pressed again, her eyes willing him to agree.
He shook his head in disbelief and looked away, rubbing his hand over his temple, half amused by her attitude to the whole thing, and half incensed by her need to put in place such boundaries in the first place. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. When he was finally able to bring himself to look back at her, he found her watching him, looking slightly aspirated. He took a second to look at her – to really look as her. Her face was pale and freckled, much like Claudia's, although her skin was matted with expensive make-up, and her eyes lined heavily with black eyeliner. Her hair was pinned back, her preferred style for work, and her lips were rosebud red, although slightly smudged from their last embrace. As he studied her, he suddenly realised that whatever she looked like – whatever her differences to Claudia – she still took her breath away. It was this epiphany that finally made his treacherous decision.
"Understood," he confirmed with a curt nod.
She beamed at him; a smile that lit up her face and caused his chest to convulse with longing. She leaned into him again, clearly meaning to continue where they had left of, but before their lips could meet, the door opened from behind him unexpectedly. They jumped apart like shrapnel, both startled, and immediately, Jenny retreated to the other side of her desk, her hand to her mouth, obviously rubbing away the incriminating evidence of her smudged lipstick. Cutter wiped his mouth as well, quickly and discretely, before he turned to see that that the intruder was a merry-looking Connor. He bounced in, giving off his usual air of excitement, and judging by his expression, he was blissfully unaware of what he had so nearly interrupted.
"Happy Birthday Cutter," he grinned, giving him a playful dig in the arm.
"Thanks," Cutter said automatically, more to avoid looking guilty rather than actually appreciating the greeting.
"Did you get anything nice this year?" Connor asked politely.
"Um, well you could say that," Cutter replied rather smugly, half-glancing round at Jenny.
She had busied herself shuffling through some paperwork, although she looked up briefly and caught Cutter's eye, the ghost of a smile flickering across her lips.
"Did you want something?" Cutter contined, speaking to Connor.
"Can I show you the new programme I've installed on the Detector?" he asked, looking excited at the prospect of presenting his no doubt ingenious invention.
"Aye," Cutter nodded, somewhat reluctantly. "I'll be right behind you."
Connor nodded enthusiastically, before trotting off, leaving the door annoyingly wide open behind him. Knowing that it would look suspicious if he went and closed it after him, but also fearing being overheard, Cutter stepped closer to Jenny, who still had her eyes fixed on her files.
"What are you doing tonight then?" he asked her in an undertone.
"You," she replied curtly, not a hint of a reaction on her face as she continued to shuffle the papers into order.
Then she glanced up at him, and smiled, raising her eyebrow suggestively. He returned her smile before backing out of her office, his stomach somersaulting. Although as he made his way to the ARC's main room to join Connor at the Detector, he suddenly realised that he couldn't quite determine whether the butterflies were down to the thrill of what he and Jenny were about to embark on, or the guilt of it.
