Brazen

I’ve been avoiding the office like a coward, doing the exact opposite of my promise yesterday. Sunday is intrusive, and Noah is too tempting. So, I’ve been steering clear.

When Sunday gets something in her head, she rarely shakes it off. If she’s decided to play matchmaker, I know there isn’t much I can do to dissuade her. Maybe she’ll see she was wrong after spending some time alone with Noah at the office. Or maybe my avoidance will make things worse. I guess we’ll see.

So, I’ve been at the work site.

I’ve actually been here for hours, the last of which I’ve been inventing things to do. I’m way ahead of schedule for this flip, and I know damn well that Sunday knows that, too. I’m actually surprised she hasn’t called me yet. Slowly, I gather my tools and load up my work truck. Time to face the feisty strawberry-blonde who believes my decision to hire Noah was more than what it was.

Man up, Brazen.

When I get to the office, Sunday’s car isn’t out front. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. I park my truck next to her empty space, turn off the ignition, and go inside.

Noah Mackenzie.

She jumps when I enter the room, and it’s adorable. A pamphlet falls from her hands, and she covers it with papers on the desk as she clears her throat. I make a mental note to find out what she was looking at as I walk to my desk.

“Where’s Sunday?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been alone here all day.”

“You mean, neither of us showed up on your third day of work? Oh, we totally suck.”

I’d bet money that Sunday didn’t show up today because she wanted me to be alone with Noah. She probably had no idea I would be avoiding that very thing. So, it looks like the only thing we accomplished was leaving our new hire stranded.

“It’s okay. It gave me a chance to get familiar with everything I’m responsible for.” She straightens a pen on her desk that wasn’t perfectly parallel to a stack of papers.

“And are you? Familiar? Do you know my business inside and out? Could you navigate what I want you to do with your eyes closed?” Good God, that sounded kind of dirty, but I roll with it and give Noah a broad smile.

Noah’s lips part as her cheeks pink, and her eyes fix on my mouth.

Under a minute in the office, and I’ve already failed at professionalism.

Noah. Noah Mackenzie. My assistant.

My new fascination.

I want her.

Happy, Sunday? I’ve admitted it.

I want to taste the skin along her neck.

I need to push her away.

I want to hold her hostage beneath me.

Wrong. Bad. Unfair.

Fuck it. We can always hire a new assistant.

The push and pull inside me is heavy, leaving me to teeter over my boundary lines. With a light touch to the back of her chair on wheels, I spin her out from her desk, so she’s facing me. Her hand grips the inside of her leg near her knee, and I’m positive, if I were to spread her legs open, there would be nail marks indented in her skin. I’m also positive that I wouldn’t be looking at said nail marks.

I lean closer and place my hands on the arms of her chair, pulling her closer to me. “Well?” I push for more. I need her to give it to me.

“I am confident I can handle whatever.” She pauses, and her sight drops to my mouth again. “Whatever you give me.”

“I’m happy to hear that, Noah.” Especially while she focuses on my lips and has that sexy little pant to her breaths. I lean in. Slowly. Torturing myself. Delaying giving us both what we can feel amplifying between us.

Her eyes close, and she releases a small moan that reawakens my urge to make her mine. My fingers graze her neck, and she leans into my touch.

I make my move.

Abruptly, I dive for the desk, sifting through Noah’s papers to see what she was reading before I came in. Her eyes fly open in surprise, and her small hands swat at me until I fall backward onto the floor, laughing. But not before I have whatever she was studying in my grasp.

“That was low,” she reprimands as she frowns down at me.

“I like today’s dress. Low is a very good place to be right now.”

Her legs are now very much on display to me. She squirms in her chair, and I pull her closer by grabbing on to her delicate ankle.

“Uh-uh. No, you don’t get to make sexy, teasing comments after that stunt.” She points her finger at me like I’m in serious trouble.

“You think I’m sexy?”

I rub my thumb across her skin, and she shivers.

“That isn’t what I said.” Noah doesn’t pull away from my physical contact.

“It sort of is.”

“I said your words were sexy and teasing. You don’t need me to tell you that you’re good-looking. I’m very sure you already know exactly what you’ve got going on for you.”

Stubbornly, she crosses her arms across her chest, which only works to my benefit, as it reveals more of her cleavage.

“That’s where you’re wrong. I have confidence, but I do need to hear you tell me that you find me sexy. The words would sound so much better, leaving your lips, in your voice, than they do in my own voice, in my head.” So fucking sexy, I’d replay it on a loop.

“I’m afraid that, today, you’ll have to settle for stroking your own ego.”

Stroking.

I open my mouth, but before any sound comes out, she cuts me off, “Don’t. Don’t even think about it.” She tries to hold back her smile while she pretends to scold me for my dirty mind.

“Fine. Then, let’s see what was distracting you from your very important job where neither of your bosses even showed up for work.”

She giggles. I keep one hand on her since she isn’t pulling away and the other on the item I snagged from her desk. Art classes at the center down the street.

“Are you an artist?” I stretch my legs out and get comfortable on the floor.

“I’m artistic, but I wouldn’t say I’m an artist. At least, not yet.”

“You’re taking classes?”

“Yeah, a few nights a week after work.”

“That’s pretty cool. Much different from how I spend my nights after you leave.”

“Oh, yeah?”

I’ve piqued her interest.

Her mind goes to a dirty place. I pick up on it from her tone. I would bet money she was picturing me getting my jollies. I would also throw down money on her little fantasy of what I did after work being a solo act. I keep both thoughts to myself since I want to know more about her, which won’t happen if we keep going down this road. Well, it might happen. I could learn if she likes her hair pulled or if she prefers the top or the bottom …

I clear my throat. “Yeah, most nights, I’m here, working way past normal business hours, but when I do get out of here before the sun goes down, I usually end my night with a few drinks at my favorite bar, Jeremy’s.”

“If you’re working so much, then you probably deserve a few drinks.”

“A few, yeah, but you know what happens when you plan on having a couple of drinks. You loosen up and get into a bullshit conversation, and just a few turns into a few too many. Then, I hate myself in the morning when I’m here or working on site with a fucking hangover.”

“Does that happen a lot?”

“No, not really. Most nights, I’m here, but every once in a while, I need to let out some steam.”

She pauses, and I can see her getting uncomfortable.

Does she have issues with drinking or drinkers?

Noah looks every which way but at me before deciding on something and letting confidence take over her features. “What’s it like?” she asks. Her voice is quiet and inquisitive.

“What’s what like?”

“A hangover. What does it feel like?”

I sit on the floor, looking at this beautiful girl. She’s young. I checked out her date of birth when she filled out the employment forms, and she isn’t twenty-one. That usually isn’t a problem for teenagers who want to get drunk though. I had plenty before the legal drinking age. Sunday and I weren’t bad teenagers, but I think everyone we grew up with experimented at least a little.

“You’ve never had one? Ever?”

“I’ve never even had a drink before. So, no, I’ve never had a hangover.”

I’m seeing a unicorn. Noah is a real-life mythical creature, but it also clues me in that maybe she’s a lot more innocent than I thought. I always considered sneaking out to get drunk as a normal teenage rite of passage.

“Not even one? Never?” I try to keep any judgment out of my tone. I don’t want her to close up, which my gut tells me she would do if I pushed too hard. Something within me, something between us, tells me there is a lot more to her story than her lack of exposure to things like this, and I need to know more.

“Correct,” she confirms.

“How is it that everything about you … things that would scare me off about other women, only makes you all the more tempting?” I’m honestly baffled, but I don’t expect her to give me an answer.

“Tempting? What exactly do you mean by that?” She leans in closer.

“Don’t make me say it, Noah. I can’t. We can’t.” I look down, away from her, putting up a wall.

“Because of Sunday?”

On instinct, I release her from my touch.

Where did she get that idea?

“What makes you bring Sunday into this?”

“You two are close. I just assumed that maybe there was something between the two of you. Are you two … together?”

Sunday is my best friend. She’s more than that. She’s part of my family.

If I have anything to say about it, she’ll always be in my life.

“Don’t worry about Sunday. Has she made you feel uncomfortable?” I hope not. I have no idea how hard Sunday pumped Noah for information when I left them alone that first day.

“No, but—”

“It’s hell.” Like a dick, I cut her off. I don’t want to talk about my complicated relationship with Sunday. I want light and easy. I need it if I’m going to keep my word about getting to know Noah.

“What?” Her eyebrows draw down, and she gets a cute crinkle to her nose.

“A hangover. Your stomach riots, and your head pounds. The strength of the symptoms depends on how much you drank though.”

“Why drink then, if the morning after is so bad?” Reluctantly, she goes with the change of topic in our conversation.

“I don’t know. It’s fun, and the morning after isn’t always miserable. It’s only really bad when you don’t know your limits or you ignore them.”

“I see.”

I get lost.

I’m so fucking taken off course by Noah.

How did this happen so quickly and without my permission?

Damn it, Sunday!

“What?” She pulls me from wondering. “Why are you looking at me like that? You’ve got this intense, inquisitive look on your face. I feel a little bit like I’m under a microscope.”

“Does it bother you?”

“You purse your lips, and your hand touches your jaw. The friction of your fingers against your stubble makes a scratchy sound. Your stare, from down there on the floor at least, is practically making my hands sweat.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Well, earlier, neither did you.”

I can’t help the deep chuckle she pulls from me. She has me there.

“I think it’s time we get to work. We’ve played hooky long enough.” I get up from the floor.

“Whatever you say, boss.”

My dick stirs in my pants when she calls me boss.

I’m never going to survive Noah being in the office every day.

I want her like I want my next breath.

Once I’m up off the floor and away from Noah’s legs, I try to concentrate on work, but I think that idea is shot for the day. Hopefully, wherever Sunday is, she’s up to something productive because, for the first time since I built this business, I’m completely distracted. Talking to Noah makes me feel at ease. Our interactions are effortless. I want more. Knowing that she’s game in this little back and forth between us makes me want it all.

My eyes are drawn to Noah’s legs, the smooth skin on full display. She’s built like an athlete with muscle and tone but still possesses natural feminine curves. She’s pulled me in quickly and stolen all of my attention. My eyes might be addicted to her legs, but my mind is intrigued by everything else about her.

Her words.

Her life.

Her dislikes and likes.

Her mannerisms.

There is something about Noah. She’s special, and I need to decide what that means. I have to think about how it will affect me, and more importantly, I need to think about the ripple effect it will cause for Sunday and the consequences it will create for both her and myself.

Noah clicks her pen, and I look up.

She looks at me from across the room with a stare that cripples me. I want her so badly, and her body language is telling me she wants me back just as fiercely. Noah is everything I’ve ever wanted. Still, I have Sunday’s safety to think about, and that isn’t something I’m willing to go lax on.

So, it doesn’t matter how much I want to start something with Noah; I won’t do it. Not yet. Not until I have the time to devote to her. It’s a shitty decision to have to make, but I make it. All Sunday asked was for me to get to know Noah, so that’s what I’ll do. I’ll get to know her, and I’ll keep my dick to myself.