Chapter 7

Reid kissed like a starving man. Naomi tasted so good. So fresh and pure and sinful, all in one mouthwatering punch. And the way she handled him. Hell, he was going to come too soon. But it had been so long, and the scent and feel of her turned his brain to mush.

She thought he was helpless? Hell yes, he was. And the little witch knew it.

She kept pumping him while she teased him with that tongue. Then she let out a sexy little moan as she tried to get closer, her full breasts pushed up against his shirt where her blazer had parted.

Reid kissed her, lost to desire, knowing she was all in as she stroked him faster.

He had no intention of taking advantage of her. But she kept saying she was fine, and damn if her anger hadn’t turned him on past reason. Besides, no meek woman could handle him with such precision and such hot little hands.

He yanked his mouth away and warned, “Gonna come.” He kissed her cheek, her neck. He sucked hard, wanting to leave a mark.

She moaned. “Then come. All over my hand.” She nibbled her way across his cheek and stuck her tongue in his ear.

He shuddered, the sensation overwhelming. “Naomi…”

She jerked his dick and whispered, “Or would you rather come in my mouth?”

The image combined with the sensation…

Reid lost it. He came like a rocket, the release one that made him dizzy. It felt like it lasted forever while the pleasure took over his mind, body, and everything in between.

She wiped her hand on his belly under his shirt. “Good thing you’re such a big, strong, capable man, isn’t it?” She laughed low. “I’d hate to feel I took advantage of you.”

“Oh, you did,” he said, panting. “You…need…to pay for that.” As he caught his breath, he didn’t give her a chance to feel superior. Instead, he kissed her once more and inched her skirt up so he could slide a finger inside her panties.

Shit, she was wet, her panties drenched. So hot. He continued to kiss her, his fingers moving over her slick flesh, needing to feel that heat around him in some way.

It came as no surprise that he started to grow hard again. But Naomi, like Reid, was fast on the draw. Her little moans turned to full-out whimpers, then a cry as she came over his hand. He caressed her folds as she came down off her own climax, mesmerized by the sexy woman.

She leaned back against the wall, her eyes closed, her lips parted, looking like a damn fantasy come to life. He eased her skirt back down, then watched as her eyes opened, the blue so dark, it looked black.

He slowly put his finger in his mouth, tasting her and wanting more. Her eyes widened as she watched him.

Neither of them spoke, and he regretfully righted his clothing, wincing at the mess on his belly and in his pants.

Man, he wanted her again. Right now. But he could already see the regret building. Knowing Naomi, she’d put up a million roadblocks between them. All that talk about not mixing business with pleasure she now too clearly recalled.

“Too bad you’ll probably regret this in the morning,” he muttered, trying to come up with some way to put things back on an even keel.

She frowned. “What?”

“I’ll be by to pick you up and take you to your car. Is nine okay?”

“Nine?”

“In the morning.”

“Um, yes, but—”

“Great, see you then.” He kissed her because had to, and he left her dazed and staring as he closed the door behind him. Reid still had no plans to start a relationship. But after having that brief taste of Naomi, he knew he needed more.

And damn her, she needed it too. He just had to make her see that…somehow.

* * *

Naomi spent the night in a daze. After Reid left, she swore up and down, calling herself all kinds of fool while she threw herself into cleaning up the house, something to keep her hands busy while her mind ran wild. She’d never been so in lust with someone that she’d thrown all her rules away. Even Tanner had been thought out, a result of a stupid competition with her sister, but Naomi had been in control when she’d said yes to a relationship with her boss.

A relationship—not a hand job against the wall before being fingered to orgasm by the sexiest man alive.

Her cheeks heated as she remembered how brazen she’d been. She’d already been aroused by the guy, but then he’d made her angry. A bad combination for a woman like Naomi. Some people got hangry—a mixture of angry and hungry. Naomi, apparently, turned horny when she grew angry. Horngry. How’s that for a buzzword?

She laughed hysterically at her bad choice, finished scrubbing her counters, put on some pajamas, then slumped into bed, knowing it would take forever for her to get to sleep.

The next thing she knew, someone hammered at her front door.

“What?” She stumbled out of bed and threw on her robe, alarmed to find it nearly nine. On her way down the hall, she nearly tripped over Rex, who wound between her ankles. “Oh, and nice to see you again, Romeo.”

He meowed at her.

The person playing her front door like a set of well-used bongos continued.

“Hold on,” she yelled, the events of the previous night coming back to her. She opened the door to Reid, who, as usual, looked amazing. Naomi, on the other hand, wore a ratty little silk robe, had bedhead and dragon breath, and might have forgotten to remove her eye makeup. She probably looked like a raccoon.

Reid broke into a full grin.

“Shut up.” She turned and let him follow her. “Come on, Rex.”

“Rex?” he asked.

The cat’s meow answered him. She put some food in the cat’s bowl and turned to see Rex purring in Reid’s arms.

She scowled. “Huh. Guess he really can sense evil. Like to like, after all.”

Reid laughed. “I see you slept in.”

“I guess I did.” She rubbed her head. “Ah, you’re here to take me to my car?”

He gave her a thorough once-over, lingering on her breasts. “You look good, Naomi. In a suit or a robe.”

“Oh, stop.” She blushed.

“You want to shower? I can scrub your back,” he teased, not sounding serious…much.

She held up a hand, not at all prepared to deal with Reid and what they’d done last night. God, what had she been thinking? Sex with a client?

“Look, you probably regretted last night the second I left your house,” Reid started.

“I don’t need you thinking for me, Reid, you big—”

“Because you’re one of the most professional women I know,” he said over her protests. “I respect you.”

“Huh?”

“And I know you’d never date a client, even if I asked you out. So I’m just here as a friend,” he emphasized and lifted a brow. “Last night never happened. I’d never make a colleague uncomfortable by coming on to her.”

Was he saying what she thought he was saying? He had regrets too? Why did that feel awful?

“My point is we can both pretend last night doesn’t exist. You didn’t kiss me first, and I never kissed you back.” Did he have to focus on her mouth like that?

She just stared at him, wanting to pounce on the out he offered but not sure why she hesitated. Kiss him first? Well, hell. I did. But hey, he kissed me back. We’re still tied. Even as she thought it, her subconscious gave her a mental slap. Jesus. We’re not playing a game, Naomi!

Reid frowned. “Okay?”

“Um, sure. Okay. I’m still so confused.” She groaned. “What time is it again?”

He smiled, closed the distance between them, and put his hands on her shoulders.

They both froze.

She felt the heat of his palms straight to her skin, her silk robe and spaghetti-strap nightie no barrier at all. If he shifted his hands just so, he’d be able to feel her breasts, to take the hardened nipples into his palms. Or even better, his mouth.

Instead, Reid turned her around and marched her through her kitchen and down the hall. Her heart rate tripled by the time they reached the bedroom. Would he take her there? Make love to her and put them both out of their misery? Should she reject him? Could she reject him?

Reid gave her a gentle nudge. “Go shower. I’ll wait out here with Rex. Mind if I make myself some coffee?”

“Go ahead,” she said automatically. The door shut behind her, and she flopped face-first onto her bed, not sure she wasn’t still dreaming. If so, this had the makings of a nightmare for sure.

After a moment, she went into the bathroom and got her second big shock of the day when she looked into the mirror.

Her hair was matted on one side and stood up on the other, and she had dark smudges under her eyes. A definite raccoon. She groaned and hurried to wash. No wonder Reid had clarified he wanted to be just friends. He’d said he respected her now? And he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable? Too late.

But she knew she had only herself to blame.

She agonized as she cleaned up, then told herself to stop thinking so hard and let it go. So what? She and Reid had made out and gotten touchy-feely. It was over and wouldn’t happen again. For all she knew, Reid did that kind of thing with other women all the time. And didn’t that make her feel special?

Naomi glared at her reflection in the mirror, then forced herself to forget it all. She’d add it to the list of things she wished she’d never done. Make that people I wished I’d never done.

Still, despite the embarrassing situation, Reid had shown up to take her to her car, and he’d been more than pleasant. Naomi could do the same. She’d gotten over Tanner. Surely she could move past one tiny blip of pleasure with Reid Griffith. She hurried to join him, wearing a pair of jeans and a soft, comfortable pullover.

Sipping coffee at her small kitchen table while glancing through his phone, Reid looked like an ad for male domesticity. She swallowed a sigh and glanced at his cup. “Is there more for me?”

“Sure.” He made eye contact, even seemed approving of her outfit the way he smiled as he looked her over. Casual Saturday attire while she ran errands around town. She’d put her hair up in an easy twist, and her makeup was light. Nothing raccoony about her now.

He handed her the cup, and she doctored it before sitting with him. Except as she sipped, she couldn’t help remembering how big and hot he’d felt in her hands. How amazing it had felt to be touched by him…

Reid continued to glance at her, then he looked away, then back again. “Well, this isn’t awkward at all,” he muttered, and she laughed.

He laughed too, and then it wasn’t awkward anymore. He rubbed his chin and said, “Let’s put last night behind us, okay?”

“Agreed.” And like that, it had never happened.

Or so she kept trying to convince herself.

The drive to pick up her car went without a hitch. Parked at the office, the car wouldn’t necessarily give away the fact that she’d left it overnight.

“You aren’t that far from Ringo’s, are you?” he asked as he parked behind her. “Or from our office, actually.”

“I’m close. Just a few blocks that way.” She nodded back the way they’d come. “I tried to tell you last night that I didn’t need a ride this morning, but you left so fast I didn’t get the chance.”

His lips quirked, and she had to fight not to trace his mouth with a finger, mesmerized by the sexy lines of his face. “Well, I didn’t want to stay and freak you out more than I already had.”

“I wasn’t freaked out.”

He snorted.

“I wasn’t.”

“Naomi, your eyes were huge, your fists clenched, and you looked at me like you planned on punching me or fucking me. Since I hadn’t brought any condoms, I trucked on out of there before I did something stupid.”

She gaped. “That is ridiculous. What happened between us was a fluke. A one-time mistake. I had no intention of… And you! Didn’t you say we weren’t going to talk about this?” Her voice continued to rise.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that you’re so much fun to tease.” He had the nerve to laugh. “Seriously, I swear, I won’t bring it up again.”

Annoyed that he seemed able to write her off so easily, she glanced down at his crotch, gratified to see his response. “Looks like it’s up again right now, Mr. We’ll-Forget-All-About-It.”

He groaned and leaned his head back against his headrest. “I know. I’m sorry. You get me hard. I can’t help it.”

“Well, try to relax or something.” Before I jump you. “We both agreed. We have to work together. We need to be professional. Remember your rule about not fraternizing.”

“Right. So why don’t you take that professional—not sexy—ass out to your car? I have to get to work. We’ll talk this week, okay?”

“About work and the advertising proposal I gave you.”

“Right.” Before she left, he grabbed her by the wrist, holding her loosely but firmly. “Naomi, in all seriousness, I enjoyed the hell out of last night, but I’d never pressure you for more than you wanted to give, okay?”

She warmed. “Thanks.”

He nodded and let her go, but his fingers brushed her wrist as he did so, starting a whole new mess of arousal to soak into her brain and pool there.

Naomi hurried from the car and lost herself in her many errands. It took her half the day, but she managed to put Reid in the rearview of her thoughts.

She finally settled down, chalked up her mistake to a lack of balance in her life, and did her best to focus on the next step to advancing her company. As she fetched her coffee from the barista of her favorite local place, she mentally reviewed her ideas for Starr PR and how to get an invitation to sit down with Chris Jennings to talk marketing.

Someone bumped into her on her way to a seat. When she glanced up from her phone to offer an apology, she ran into another headache that refused to fade from her sorry life.

“Hey, Naomi. How are you?” Tanner Ryan asked, standing next to the one person she’d hoped to never meet under strange circumstances—Chris Jennings.

* * *

Reid had his hands full, literally, as he helped Hector move the Barkers. With Tim out due to the flu, they were short a man.

“You’re not as bad as Cash said you’d be,” Hector teased as the pair of them carried a large-ass sofa into the moving van.

“Well, you are as bad as I’ve heard.”

Hector laughed. They’d gotten halfway done and had started making up for lost time as Reid rolled up his proverbial sleeves and moved.

“Man, you’re quiet,” Hector said an hour later.

Deep in his own thoughts, Reid hadn’t realized how much time had passed in silence. “Don’t you guys listen to a radio or something?”

“Nah. Too many different tastes in music. Now, if I’m with Lafayette or Martin, we’re good. But Tim listens to country, and Finley is stuck in the eighties. We’re not sure why, because he was born a decade later, but you know Finley—he’s weird.” Hector shook his head. “Your brother likes heavy metal or classic rock. I can stomach classic rock, but that head-bangin’ shit gives me a headache.”

“Me too.” Reid sympathized. “So what do you listen to?”

“A lot, actually. I like rap, jazz, and dubstep.”

“Eclectic.”

Hector nodded. “Not like Cash, who does two styles of rock and that’s it.”

“Yeah, his taste sucks.” Reid grunted as they set down a large dresser. “We’re getting closer to being done.”

Hector nodded, studying him.

“What?”

“You’re here, working with me.”

“And?”

“Cash talks a lot of shit about you and Evan. Says you two are too prissy to get your hands dirty.” Hector grinned. “But then, Lafayette says the same things about me half the time. It’s just funny that although you and Cash look alike, you’re really different.”

Reid sighed. “I’ve heard it all before. And for the record, all I’ve ever done is grunt work.”

“In the Corps, maybe. But man, it’s obvious you’re all white-collar material. You had to take off your fancy shirt—on a Saturday—to put on a T-shirt. And you’re quiet. Cash is loud and all over the place. Fancy he ain’t.”

They went back inside the house to grab more boxes. “You’d rather I ranted and raved all day?”

Hector chuckled. “Nope. This is a nice change.”

They cleared out the Barkers’ kitchen and dining room. A few boxes remained in the living area and hallway.

Reid liked Hector, and working with him, he’d come to learn that Hector had a real head on his shoulders. “So what do you do when you’re not moving stuff?”

“I teach ballroom dance.”

Reid stopped in his tracks. “What?”

Hector nodded. “It’s fun, and it’s a great way to pick up women.”

Reid paused. “Hmm. That’s not a bad idea.”

Hector lifted two boxes, his muscles bulging. “I’m not just a pretty face, Reid. I’m full of good ideas too.”

Reid huffed. “It’s like I’m talking to my brother all over again.”

Hector laughed and walked the load into the van. Reid added his as well.

“I also help at the local animal shelter,” Hector added. “Not so much to get girls, but because I hate when people are mean to animals.”

Reid was liking Hector more and more. “No kidding.”

“You know, you should come down and join us sometime. We could use the help.”

“If I had the time, I would. After the Barkers’, I’m going to balance the books for a few hours.” Reid felt the exhaustion of the week settle into his bones.

“Ladies like animal lovers.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And doing charity would help your image.”

“Right.” Reid straightened a few boxes, then got out of the van while Hector cinched some straps and tightened down the load for transport.

Hector closed the back and leaped out. “And you know, I think it would be good for our image. Your PR lady would love you helping poor, defenseless kittens.”

“Sure. Wait, what are you talking about?”

“You and Starr PR. Naomi’s into you, man.”

“She is not.” But damn if I don’t want to be into her.

“We were talking about you guys after you left Ringo’s. Even Cash noticed, and he’s pretty pathetic when it comes to talking up women.”

“Cash?”

“Oh, he’s popular, don’t get me wrong. But his idea of seduction is to see who can drink the most, him or his date, then award himself as first prize.”

They both laughed.

“Sadly, he’s done that,” Reid said. “Nah, Naomi and I are friendly. We work together. It’s just platonic.” Though that hand job said otherwise. “Sure, she’s attractive.”

“Hot.” Hector nodded.

“Hot as fuck,” Reid muttered.

“I heard that. So are you two involved or what? Will she give us a discount on her business if you keep her satisfied?” He winked.

“God, Hector. Not you too. Cash is bad enough. I thought you had sensitivity training in the Navy.”

“I did.” Hector flashed his pearly whites. “Didn’t take.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Look, if you’re not interested in that fine woman, I’d be happy to—”

“Try it and you’ll lose some of those pretty teeth.”

Hector smirked. “Thought so.”

“Look. Naomi is like a coworker, someone I do business with. Fucking ruins relationships.”

“Or makes them better.”

“Why the hell are you asking me these questions anyway?”

“I like you, Reid. And I like this company. We’re gonna hit big. Then you’re going to need more upper management. That’s my style. My brother’s too. I don’t want you messing things up because you don’t know how to treat a lady.”

Reid just stared at him, nonplussed by the surprising direction of the discussion with a man he didn’t know all that well.

“And maybe your brother gave me twenty to give you some shit about her.” Hector laughed. “If you could see your face.” He laughed so hard, he cried.

Now that made much more sense. Freakin’ Cash. “Asshole. Come on. Let’s head back to the bay. You’re driving.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Griffith.” Hector laughed some more. “Or should I say Lady Killer?”

Reid found himself grinning at Hector’s smart-ass remarks and had to force himself to scowl. “Why is no one in this company in awe and terror of me? I’m a hard-ass boss!”

Hector just shot him a look, glanced from his own arms to Reid’s, and raised a brow.

Reid sank into his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m a lot more lethal with a rifle.”

“Good thing for me you don’t have one.”

“You’re not kidding.”

Hector drove them back to the office, but this time, the discussion turned toward the other Vets on the Go! employees. Hector had an able mind and grasp on who had what strengths. Oddly enough, Hector thought pairing Jordan with Cash on the next few moves would make more sense than sending out himself or his brother with the woman.

“They work well together. She keeps his huge ego in check, and he spends his time looking out for her instead of getting into trouble. If you put her out with me or Lafayette, it works, but my brother and I work well with everyone. Cash kind of needs more attention.”

“You mean a keeper.” Reid sighed.

“Nah, he just needs focus.”

A nicer way of saying he needed a keeper.

“Jordan went out with me and Finley for half a morning, and she and Finley spent their time trying to out-harass each other. It was funny but a little much with our clients listening in.”

“Ah, right.”

“And then Cash put her on an easy afternoon pack-up with Martin and Tim. Apparently Tim never talked to her. Martin never shut up—Tim told me it was too much.”

Reid had told Cash to make sure Jordan met everyone on their small team, worried at how she might interact with the others. But according to Cash, Jordan had no issues with anyone.

Hector put things into better perspective.

“Jordan doesn’t get chatty with Cash or you guys?”

“Nah, man. She’s perfect. She fits in with different temperaments. But with Cash…” Hector snorted. “They pretend they don’t like each other. They taunt each other, but not like with Finley. Cash looks out for her when he’s with her, and she defends him whenever we poke fun. It works; we’ve learned not to question it. The one time Finley said something about them being a little too friendly with each other, Cash almost tore his head off.”

“Hmm. I guess I’ll make sure we change up the rotation then.” Since that was Cash’s domain, Reid would be sure to subtly manipulate his brother into it.

“Just take your time doing it. I don’t want Cash or Jordan to think I talked to you about it. You didn’t hear any of this from me. Don’t know if you noticed, but your brother has anger issues.”

“Tell me about it.” Reid thought long and hard about all Hector had said. “I’ll handle it, don’t worry. And Hector? We expand so big we need more managers, you’re hired.”

“Thanks, boss.”

“Quit playing suck-up, Jackson.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Griffith, sir.”

“Ass.”