Rohan made his way back to work. He couldn't get Annie's stance out of his mind. She was so brave. He shook his head in disbelief. To take on Sally and Mercer, like she had, left him speechless. In fact, it had left them speechless too.

They hadn't had a hope in hell against his little torpedo once she'd fired. Rohan laughed again. The noise of it echoed throughout the stairwell. She had given him strength; strength enough to tell Sally to fuck off. Rohan shook his head again as he smiled broadly. Annie. His very own, tiny torpedo.

He loved her.  Rohan couldn't believe it had only been three weeks since he had first met her but he knew what he felt for her was love. He wondered what she'd think if she discovered he thought of her as being his.

Rohan's euphoria did a nose dive. What if she was married or had a boyfriend? He didn't know anything about her except her name was Annie and she worked at the café. She had told Sally and Mercer that he was her babe not theirs. Would she have said that, if she was married or in love with someone else?

Sitting at his desk, thinking on it some more, Rohan realised that yes, she would have said it to protect him from Sally and Mercer because she was kind and smart and observant. Annie would have noticed how scared he had been. Now she would know how pathetic and weak he was. No woman would want a man like him.

The black cloud of depression hung over him again. Rohan tried to push it aside and concentrate on the group of blood tests he had to get through before the end of the day.

By mid-afternoon he felt numb and lonelier than he had ever been. For the first time in his life Rohan realised if a person had highs, then the lows felt even lower. He understood now why some people took their own lives. He wished he had never gone into that café and met Annie. If he hadn't, he'd just be the same as he'd always been. He sighed and went back to his work.

*

The intercom buzzed. One of the lab technicians picked it up. "Wayland!"

Rohan looked toward him with his glasses tipped to one side. He frowned; no one ever spoke to him.

"It's reception. They say there's someone to see you out front."

Rohan's stomach lurched. Annie was the only person outside of this office who knew where he worked. Could it be Annie? His heart skipped a beat as his mood lifted. It had to be Annie.

As he stepped into reception, he knew instantly it was a trick. All the blinds had been pulled down on the glass windows and the door which faced the hall.

Sally and Mercer smirked at him. Rohan should have realised they wouldn't just sit back and take it. He heard the door click closed behind him and glanced through the adjoining door, which was Miss Macy's office. It was empty. Rohan prepared for the worst. He resigned himself to just let them get on with it and accept their scorn.

"So, who the fuck does that little bitch think she is?"

Rohan had never seen Sally's face look so ugly. It made him want to laugh because her features were distorted, not sexy like Annie's had been as she confronted them.

Sally poked her finger hard into the middle of his chest. For some reason this physical attack, more than all of her previous taunts, made him grind his teeth. Rohan knew it wasn't fear or anxiety, but anger that was stirring in his belly. It had been eight years since anyone had brutally hit him. Something clicked in his brain, which said he wasn't going to put up with it now.

"And who the fuck do you think you are telling me to fuck off!" Sally continued.

Her finger went jab, jab, jab as she spat each word from her mouth.

Rohan thought, just once more, go on, do it just once more.

"You're my toy, Rohan Wayland. Mine to do what I want with. Have been for almost a year and no two-bit waitress is gonna say otherwise!" Sally got the palm of her hand and shoved him hard on the shoulder.

Rohan staggered backwards. The push was enough. He regained his balance and stepped forward, loomed over her and grabbed her by the wrist. Rohan wrenched her behind him, and then swung her around and shoved her hard up against the wall. The force knocked the air from her lungs. She gasped for breath as he pushed his hand against her thighs.

Sneering at the shocked look on her face, Rohan scoffed, "How does it feel, Sally?" His voice took on a harsher tone as he pushed harder, forcing her legs ajar and watched her face wince in pain. "Do you like it? Like having someone force themselves on you?" Again, he pushed until her legs opened. "Is this, what you meant, Sally? My large hands on your hot body, isn't that what you said?"

Sally wailed. A guttural groan echoed in her throat. Her eyes clouded over as she inhaled loudly.

Watching tears fill her eyes, Rohan pushed harder, had an uncontrollable urge to inflict pain. He ground his teeth, wondered what the hell he was doing, and then yanked his arms away. Staring at his hand, a feeling of nausea burbled in the back of his throat, Rohan quickly wiped his fingers backwards and forwards over her shirt to rid any trace of her, and then snarled, "You sicken me. If you ever touch me again, I'm gonna ram my big cock down the back of your throat so far that you'll think you're going to die choking on it." He pushed her hard in the middle of the chest so she bounced against the wall and had to suck in air again. He held his finger out towards her. "If you ever insult me or my Annie again, I'm going to break your fucking neck!"

Rohan turned to see Mercer standing rigid and wide-eyed beside her desk so he pointed threateningly at her. "That goes for you too, Mercer! Leave! Me! Alone!"

He made his way to the men's toilet and washed his hands aggressively with the on-tap disinfectant, and then rinsed them under the water to try and remove all trace of Sally Parks from his skin. He'd touched her thighs, felt the heat in her underwear, not something he'd ever wanted to do. He took deep breaths in and out to control the rage he felt. Rohan gripped the basin and growled loudly as he exhaled once more. When he lifted his head, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. This wasn't the sort of man he was. The shock of what he'd just done and said took his breath away.  Was he really capable of hurting another?  Yes, he realised, when pushed to protect someone other than himself, someone he cared about, he definitely had the will to kill for them.

He focused on his image, and then started to laugh. He had taken control and it had felt good to a certain level. Throwing his head back, Rohan laughed some more, and then looked at himself in disbelief. The way he felt right now was like he could take on the world. He shook his head at the thought of his final words to Sally. "If you ever touch or insult me or my Annie again, I'm going to break your fucking neck!"

My Annie. He had said, my Annie. Rohan felt sure she would have been proud of the way he had stood up for himself. Well, she wouldn't have approved of him pushing Sally the way that he had. Those actions had been something he couldn't command. It was like another person had taken control of his hand and released a volcano of thick black lava over his soul. But now, the dark cloud of depression had lifted and he supposed, ironically, he had Sally to thank for that.

*

Rohan woke up to another wet dream. This time it was Annie he saw. She was smiling up at him with her large blue eyes calling him baby. He reached out and touched her hair. It felt soft like velvet and this alone aroused him. His hand moved downwards to caress her cheek and her lips. Rohan took a deep breath at the feel of them, ripe and full like a juicy peach. He lowered his mouth to hers as he whispered her name, "Annie..."

It was at that moment, with her name on his lips; he had exploded and woke to the sodding mess in his pyjamas. Rohan laid his arm across his forehead and sighed. He questioned if women had dreams which woke them up in a lather of sweat. This thought made him think of Annie all over again. Rohan wondered if she ever thought of him when she lay in her bed at night.

He prayed she did.

*

Sally Parks lay in bed twirling her hair around her finger thinking about Rohan Wayland and the feel of his fingers almost inside of her. Oh my God he had big fingers. She'd wanted him to keep pushing, to truly invade her person. Sally felt the lower depths of her stomach quiver at the thought.

Rohan Wayland wasn't the pussy she thought he was.

Rohan Wayland was a hidden force to be reckoned with.

Sally Parks smiled as she rolled on her side.

Sally Parks closed her eyes and touched herself.

Sally Parks had plans for Rohan Wayland and they had to do with a lot more than just his big fingers.

*

Annie woke in a lather of sweat. She inhaled heavily, bit her lip and felt her body ripple. She had been dreaming of Rohan. He was touching her, touching her hair and her face. His green eyes were no longer sad but looked at her with so much desire that her body tingled with need. As she felt his large hand cup her chin and his warm lips claim her mouth her body went into overdrive and shuddered uncontrollably. Climbing exhaustedly from her bed, Annie stumbled to the toilet. She couldn't believe how the dream had done that because it hadn't even been erotic.

*

Mercer Kennedy looked at herself in the mirror as she brushed her hair. She had warned Sally that Rohan wouldn't put up with her taunts forever. Man, had he gone off.

Mercer Kennedy recalled the look on Sally's face as he shoved his hand between her legs.

Mercer Kennedy wondered what it felt like.

Mercer Kennedy wondered what it felt like to have her fingers on Sally Park's. 

Wow, Rohan finally exploded.

Good thing or not?

Photo - Adobe Stock