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hand.
    “Hello, Mr Rowland,” Ed said smoothly, taking Alec’s proffered hand in his own.
    “Alec, please. We use first names here. It’s good to meet you,” he replied without a flicker of irony. But his palm was clammy in Ed’s warm grip and his gaze dropped from the clear blue of Ed’s eyes to his pink lips, which were parted in an uncertain smile. Alec swallowed hard and dragged his gaze back up to meet Ed’s. “Welcome to the team.” He dropped Ed’s hand as though it were on fire and cleared his throat, turning back to his desk.
    Oblivious, Jen guided Ed away to introduce him to the rest of their colleagues, leaving Alec stunned. He collapsed gratefully into his chair, legs shaking as his heart pounded.
     
     
    The meeting was excruciating.
    Alec was distracted and furious with himself for being so unsettled by Ed’s presence. He was normally never less than 100 percent professional, utterly focused on his work. But having Ed sitting there was driving him crazy.
    Ed didn’t display any outward signs of discomfort. He listened attentively, taking a few notes as Alec outlined the progress that had been made so far on the deal, and explained what still needed to be done. Alec was painfully aware of Ed watching him as he spoke and tried to avoid his gaze as much as he could, without making it obvious he was doing so.
    He wondered what the fuck Ed was thinking. Surely he must be rattled too? Nobody liked their private life being dragged into the workplace. He was going to need to speak to Ed alone. Alec had so much to lose; he had to make sure Ed could be discreet.
    “Thank you, Alec,” Katherine said. “Does anyone have any questions before we move on to the financial reports?” She looked around the table. “No? Okay. Over to you, then, Maria. Can you fill us in on the state of Mackenzie’s finances?”
    Alec relaxed a little and let his attention wander as Maria Ortega took over. Until Jon had joined them this morning, she had been the only paralegal on the team. Five foot nothing but with a huge personality that made her seem larger, Maria was great at her job. Alec had read through her findings over the weekend, so he knew what she’d be saying and could get away with letting his mind wander. He half-listened to her lilting Spanish accent as she outlined the key points to bring the rest of the team up to speed. But his mind was busy mulling over the situation with Ed and wondering what Ed might be thinking about it all.
    Alec chanced a glance at Ed, who was sitting adjacent to him, his back to the window. Alec stiffened as he noticed a fading purple bruise on the skin of Ed’s neck. Alec’s heart rate soared as a vivid sense memory—the salt of Ed’s skin under his tongue, the scent of his sweat, and the heat of their bodies moving together—assaulted him. Alec’s cock tingled and thickened in his underwear, and he forced himself to look away. A quick glance around the table reassured him that everyone’s attention was on Maria and his personal crisis was going unnoticed.
    Unable to help himself, Alec let his gaze slide back to Ed’s neck. The mark was barely noticeable, and if he hadn’t been the one responsible for it, he probably wouldn’t have even realised what it was. Only part of it showed above Ed’s collar, and Alec found himself longing to see it all, to see what other marks he’d left on that smooth skin.
    Ed turned his head then, and his gaze locked on Alec’s for a couple of uncomfortable seconds before Alec looked away.
    Sweat prickled on Alec’s back, and his heart pounded as though he’d been sprinting. He needed to get a fucking grip, and he needed to talk to Ed alone as soon as possible. Alec couldn’t deal with this kind of distraction at work; he had a job to do.
     
     
    Unfortunately for Alec, open-plan offices didn’t provide much opportunity for private conversations, and he couldn’t whisk Ed off to one of the small breakout rooms they used for meetings