CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Shane
I don’t know what I’d been thinking tonight except I that had to have her. Had to possess her the moment I saw her at the window looking down at the scene with wide eyes. Then it had gotten awkward, with me taking her up to her hotel room only to say goodnight.
There’d been something about her curiosity regarding what was happening in the rooms and then her honesty about being turned on the moment I’d stepped behind her. But I was flirting with a dangerous line. Hell, using the excuse of twenty-four hours had been a flimsy one. As a result, instead of quelling my desire for her, I’d kicked it up another notch.
But tomorrow was a new day and a new resolve. I was a man of discipline, so keeping Daniella at arm’s length shouldn’t be a problem.
Until I walked in the next morning to see her in a fire-engine red dress, librarian glasses, and an infuriatingly sexy updo that made me want to rip it out and run my fingers through it.
She looked up smiling. “Oh, good. You’re here. I need to ask you some questions about the bar inventory. I don’t have all of the receipts.”
“You can talk to Heather about anything you need regarding the bar.” I regretted my gruff tone the minute her smile disappeared.
“Okay. Will do.” She went back to the laptop, ready to ignore me.
“How many more days do you think you’ll be here?”
She glared at me before standing up, clear annoyance in her body language. “I’m working as fast as I can, twelve-hour days. I estimate I’ll be done by the beginning of next week, although if you’re thinking I’m not working fast enough, then by all means, I’ll pack my shit and go.”
That fire was the undoing of everything I’d convinced myself last night should hold true. “I wasn’t criticizing your work ethic.”
“Then what?”
Chad the bouncer’s voice broke the moment. He’d apparently come up the stairs behind me. “Boss, we have a situation with one of the deliveries out back.”
“I’ll be there in a minute.” I heard his retreating footsteps and closed the gap between Daniella and me in two strides. I cupped her face. “We’ll talk later.”
“About what?”
I smirked, a litany of dirty thoughts running through my head. “About you taking off your panties and working here all morning while I think about your bare pussy under your dress and prepare to take a long lunch when I can fuck you.”
Her breath caught, and I could see the arousal reflected in her expression. So her words took me off guard. “Twenty-four hours is up.”
I stroked her face. “Guess we’ll have to negotiate something else, then.”
***
Daniella
It was nearly two hours after Shane had said he wanted to negotiate something else, and I sat at my desk staring unseeingly at my computer screen. I didn’t know whether his arrogance was a turn-on or an irritation. If I was being honest with myself, it was a bit of both. The moment he’d walked in this morning, my body, the traitor it was becoming, had reacted to him. Then he’d been a dick, but instead of turning me off, it had only upped the ante.
Even I wasn’t fool enough not to recognize I was out of my depth with a man like Shane. This was why I was adamant I not become anxious for his affection. I had more self-respect than that. Not to mention that as good as it felt to be with him, I couldn’t help challenging him.
But then he’d gone and thrown me for a loop by saying we would be negotiating something else. Why? It was the first question that came to mind. In a world where he could go downstairs and have any woman he wanted, women with far more experience and who were far more sexy, why did he want me? I wasn’t the insecure type, but I was logical in asking the obvious question.
Annoyed at myself at losing time over the distraction and the anticipation of Shane’s return, I jumped when Max’s question brought me out of my thoughts.
“How’s it going, Daniella?”
“Good. Although I need to go talk to Heather about the bar inventory, unless you think you can help.” I was hopeful he could assist me with avoiding her.
He grinned. “Afraid not. But Heather is pretty on top of things. She should be able to answer all your questions.”
“I’ll go down there in a bit.”
“Psyching yourself up for it?”
I had to laugh. “She doesn’t care for me, and I have no clue why, so, yeah.”
He quirked a brow. “You don’t know why?”
“And you do?”
He chuckled. “Let’s just say Heather has long had a thing for Shane even though she’s tried to hide that it's anything more than physical. And him standing her up the other night in order to be with you didn’t win you any favors.”
Ah. “Wait, but she was with you. Isn’t that, uh, offensive?”
Now he was really grinning. “I don’t take offense at much.”
He must not.
“And good luck with Heather.”
***
I decided not to put off inquiring about the receipts any longer. I went downstairs to find the longtime bar manager. She was doing inventory in the back with two other guys who were helping her move some things.
“Hey, Heather,” I said from the doorway.
She turned at the sound of my voice and then went back to her task without so much as a smile or a welcome.
“Shane said you would have the detailed bar records from the last few years.”
That got her attention and earned me a glare. “What of it?”
“As you’re probably aware, I’m doing an audit of the last five years. In order to do that, I need to go through the ledger and all the receipts.”
“I keep meticulous records.”
“Great. If you could give me the last five years, I’ll be able to complete the audit on the bar.”
Her eyes raked over me from head to toe, a less-than-nice smirk on her face. “You do realize you’re only a fad to him, right?”
I checked my temper and tried not to look around at the two guys who were obviously watching our exchange. “I’m only here speaking with you about the receipts, not asking for unsolicited advice.”
“It wasn’t advice, honey. It’s a warning. Shane doesn’t get attached. You’re just a new piece of ass for a short time before he goes back to what he knows.”
Implying her. “Then think of it as incentive to get me the receipts quickly. Because the quicker I have them, the faster I finish and the faster I’m gone.”
With those parting words, I turned on my heel.