Emily
Barrel Room
I hum a happy tune as I walk through the barrel room, trying to locate the seven barrels of our most popular wine, Paslene Chiaretto, that I had put aside as a donation for a charity event in Florence. Joel was delighted I managed to land the event, even more so when I got them to agree to only serve our wine to guests. It wasn’t my job to make these kinds of deals, but I saw the opportunity and I took it. Thankfully, it’s paying off.
I tip my head from side to side, along with the tune I hum, as I make my way around the barrel room. There’s a pep in my step and a smile on my face that I can’t get rid of. Even Sophia, my assistant, was wary of my upbeat tone this morning, especially since I turned down my usual coffee from Leo and had her make me one with the pod machine in the staffroom instead. It was grossly sweet, and horribly lukewarm, but I drank it anyway and thanked her for it when I was done. The coffee did nothing for me, but it doesn’t matter because fatigue cannot touch me today.
I’d only slept three hours by the time my alarm went off. Jai and I showered three times throughout the night and changed the bedsheets twice. Eventually, right before the sun came up, he fell into a deep sleep, crushing me under the weight of his arm and his leg. I tried to sleep, but I’d slept alone for so long, I couldn’t get comfortable. At some point, I managed to wriggle free and I slept on the very edge of my bed, only to be pulled back against him right before my alarm went off. He left for breakfast with Joel, Monique, and Jessica while I got ready for work. I almost refused to let him out of my sight, even contemplated handcuffing him to my bed frame or taking him to work with me, but that wouldn’t be the best way to begin our fresh start.
Our.
Fresh.
Start.
Throughout the night, Jai and I spoke about a lot of things. The words adjustment period kept coming out of my mouth. Suggesting an adjustment period between us seemed mature, but he refuted it. I knew in my heart I didn’t really want one and it didn’t take long for him to convince me it’s pointless. It boiled down to three major points: I love him and he loves me, we’ve already wasted too much time without each other, and we’d engaged in sex before the day even ended. The adjustment period was especially pointless, considering I asked him to stay with me in my house and not with Joel and Monique. No lines have been drawn regarding our relationship, we’ve just thrown ourselves together and are hoping for the best. Whatever happened in the past will be forgotten and we can move forward without hindrance. Since Jai was dead, the only way to go from here is up.
Scratching my nose, I pass by two more aisles of wine and, finally, locate the barrels I’m looking for. Why the storeman chose to store them at the very back of the barrel room is beyond me.
“I might have to report you to HR,” a familiar voice booms, making me jump, clenching my black clipboard to my chest. I spin on my heel, coming face to face with a man I promise to never grow tired of seeing. “The dress you’re wearing is awfully distracting, like the one yesterday, and we both know how it ended up.”
Jai looks good—refreshed—wearing a nice pair of black, loose fitting jeans with crisp, white sneakers and a matching white shirt. His hair is clean and lawless, sprawling out in various directions, much like it did after I finished running my fingers through it in the early hours of this morning.
I try not to smile at him, but his amused, lively face forces one out of me. God, I’ve missed him.
“You didn’t have to tear it in half, destroying the buttons on the back and ripping through the tulle.”
He closes the distance between us with a casual stroll, clenching a matching clipboard at his side. “Well, your birthday dress was hiding your birthday suit. I had no choice.”
I shake my head, looking up as he towers over me, our bodies grazing. “Are you checking up on me?”
“No.” He laughs, exposing his straight, white teeth, and the sound lifts my spirits even higher than they already are. “This is purely coincidental.”
I lift myself onto the tips of my toes since my nude kitten heels do nothing to even our height. I want to kiss him. I didn’t think I’d get to see him until dinner time. “Is it, now?”
“Mm.”
I brush my lips against his. “What are you doing here?”
He holds up his clipboard. “Joel sent me to here to find seven barrels of…” Turning his head, he glances at his board. “Whatever the hell Paslene Chiaretto is.”
I laugh under my breath, lowering myself from the tips of my toes. Fucking Joel. He sent me down to find the barrels too. He set us up. “This isn’t coincidental at all. It’s pre-meditated.”
I turn away from Jai and pull a pen from the pocket hidden in the waves of my cream dress. I circle the name of the wine, write the number in the box, and sign off next to it. Then, I circle the Reauscina Classique—our newest blend—and write a two in its box. It won’t hurt to have a sample available, especially if the event goers love the Paslene Chiaretto. I sign my name again—my fake name, Annalise Smith—and the paperwork is ready for the storeman and the delivery guy.
I feel Jai at my back as soon as I dot the “i” in Smith, his warmth engulfing me along with the crisp, musky scent of his cologne.
“Maybe Joel doesn’t know we made up,” I think aloud.
And why the barrel room, of all places? It’s stuffy down here. Warm too.
Jai brushes hair off my neck and places a kind, but suggestive, kiss at my nape.
“Surprising. You were loud enough.”
I scoff as he takes my clipboard and pen from my hands.
“You pulled my hair,” I point out, “and slapped my—”
My breath hitches, my words catching in my throat, as he bunches my hair in his powerful fist and eases my head back, forcing my neck to crane on an uncomfortable angle. “You asked me to.”
I smirk. “Semantics.”
Jai plants another gentle kiss on me, this time against my forehead as he smooths his free hand against my hip and pulls my backside against his crotch, forcing my back to arch. “It’s kind of sexy, this place.”
My breathing turns shallow, the surface of my skin exploding with goosebumps at the thought of him bending me over a barrel of wine.
“There are cameras,” I whisper, trying to think of a blind spot.
Surely there’s something down here away from view. Maybe the storeman would know…ew, no. That conversation would be awkward and extremely inappropriate. Even with that in mind, I can’t bring myself to fight against Jai’s grip. It’s where I belong. It’s where I feel most at home.
“Miss Smith?” Maria’s voice echoes around the barrel room and I still, slowly emerging from a stupor I didn’t know I was in.
Did I mishear? She calls me again.
Nope. I didn’t.
“Who’s that?” Jai asks, releasing me from his grip.
I straighten my body, exhaling in relief when the pressure is off my spine. “Maria.”
“Who’s Maria?” he asks, his voice quiet.
“She cleans the office.” I smooth out my dress and grab my clipboard.
What the hell is she doing here? She doesn’t start until late evening—and why would Joel send her to the barrel room, knowing Jai and I are down here? I square my shoulders. That asshole. He sent her here to catch Jai and me so she can tell Ross I’ve found someone else. That sneaky little—
“Miss Smi—” Maria’s words are cut off as she steps out of the aisle and into view.
She beams at me, her plum-colored lips pulling wide, only to fade when her sights settle on Jai. Butterflies group in my stomach. He’s not going to let me lie to her about our relationship, that I know for a fact.
“Maria, hi.” I step forward, trying to move away from the arresting aura Jai emits. “How can I help?”
“I came to speak to you about dinner plans,” she says, stepping forward. She looks so different in her bright green floor-length dress than she does in her uniform. She’s warm, bursting with friendliness. “Mr. Beau said I could find you down here. I hope I’m not interrupting…”
Joel’s fake name is Beau Walker—which he hates—and Maria refers to him as Mr. Beau—which he hates even more.
“Uh, no. No. You’re not interrupting anything. We were just checking stock.” I step toward her, hating the heat that gathers under my collar. “Do you want to talk in my office?”
She waves me off. “It’s nothing important. My Rossy very much enjoyed dinner with you. We’re having a big family meal tomorrow night. He suggested I invite you along.”
“Oh…that’s very thoughtful of him, but—”
Jai blows air out of his cheeks, half scoffing, half snorting. I tilt my head at Maria with a tight smile. This is exactly why I wanted to continue this conversation in my office. He’s going to make a scene. I just know he is.
“Did you say Sunday?” he asks, and I whip my head to glare at him over my shoulder. He looks at me and I mouth for him to stop. He doesn’t listen, of course. “She’s busy Sunday.”
“Busy?”
“Don’t, Maria,” I sigh, scratching at my forehead. “He’ll—”
“We’ve scheduled an intense lovemaking session for the evening. She won’t be free until the early hours of Monday morning,” he says, smoothing his hand over my lower back.
I exhale, dropping my shoulders with a nervous laugh. “Say something extremely inappropriate.”
Heat pools in my cheeks and burns at my ears as Maria’s eyes grow wide and she gawks at me.
“I wasn’t…I wasn’t aware…” She clears her throat and lingers for a few long seconds.
She judders on the spot, undecided if she wants to add to the conversation or leave. Thankfully, she turns and walks off, her feet unable to take her away fast enough.
When she’s gone, I turn to Jai. He grins at me, his ocean irises gleaming with amusement. I swat at him with my clipboard and he blocks my hits with his big forearms.
“Why would you do that?” I demand. “She’s a sweetheart.”
“Her son is a complete douchebag. Unbeknownst to her, he’s probably a rapist too.” He snatches my clipboard and tucks it under his arm. “Monique told me.”
“You’re right. I suppose her son is a gross human-being.” I exhale, walking away from Jai and back toward the entrance. “God, she’s a great cook though. I’d marry into the family just for the food.”
He whacks me against the butt with my clipboard and I jolt forward, turning to walk backward. “Oh, my God. It was a joke!”
“It was a terrible joke.” He smirks, weighing the smooth, thin board in his hand. “I’m going to borrow this for Sunday.”
I arch a brow. “You’ve really planned an evening of ‘lovemaking’ on Sunday, huh?”
“I’ve planned all my evenings with you for the rest of our lives.”
“What’s tonight?”
He shrugs, like it’s so simple. “We’re going to watch a movie.”
Excitement coils in my stomach. We’ve never done that together before. I smile, slowing my pace. As he steps by me, he takes my hand in his and we walk out of the barrel room. When we step into the hall, he stops walking and tugs me into him. Gasping, my hands fly to his chest to keep myself from bouncing off his large frame, and he backs me against the concrete wall.
“What are you doing?” I ask, almost breathlessly.
“I just want to kiss you real quick.”
I glance between his beautiful eyes and his full lips. “There are cameras in this hall…”
The corners of his lips twitch. “Good. They can send me a copy.”
He kisses me and still, even after our night of endless passion, desperation, and sex, there’s an edge of need to his kiss. A thrill runs through me at the thought of having him in my office or skipping work altogether just to be with him, naked, and not for the sake of orgasming.
Being intimate with Jai has never been about selfish, sexual gratification. It’s about the way he makes me feel. It’s in the way my palms tingle unbearably at the mere thought of pressing them to his hardened body. I don’t have to touch him, or even be in the same room as him, for shockwaves to shoot through my body. He touches my thoughts and every inch of my body swells.
My core.
My heart.
My soul.
He is everything I once thought I didn’t need and everything I never knew I wanted.
I’m pulled from my thoughts by the feel of his hot, rough hand against my inner thigh, rapidly closing in on its target. I choke on a giggle. This isn’t professional. I slap my hands against Jai’s chest and push him away. I don’t have the strength to fight him off—that I know for a fact—but Jai backs up anyway.
“You are bad,” I say, pointing my finger at him. My lips are swollen from the kiss, I can feel it. “No sex at my workplace, not even if Joel tries to set it up.”
Jai arches a brow at me, feigning innocence. “I wasn’t trying to have sex with you.”
“Oh, please,” I spit playfully, sauntering ahead. “I could stick a picture of me to a pencil sharpener and you’d try to fuck it.”
He shrugs with a laugh. “Sounds like a compliment to me.”
I nudge him with my elbow. “Just make sure that delivery sheet gets to Alberto for dispatch, please?”
“Yes, boss.”
I turn toward the stairs that lead to my office as Jai strolls toward the double glass doors that open outside to our delivery dock. I plant my foot on the first step and grab the railing, peering over my shoulder at him. He pauses with his hand on the door knob, looking back at me.
The thought of going on with the rest of my day without him fills me with emptiness.
“I’ll see you at dinner? We’ll watch a movie?” I ask and he nods, smiling so handsomely at me that my knees weaken.
“Sounds like a perfect night, Kitten.”
He waves, then leaves. I stand still as the light that filtered in from outside cuts off and the door clicks shut. My heart swells in my chest at the use of his stupid pet name for me.
Kitten.
God, I hate it…
…or maybe I hate that I love it.