Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 179189 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 896(@200wpm)___ 717(@250wpm)___ 597(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 179189 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 896(@200wpm)___ 717(@250wpm)___ 597(@300wpm)
“Yes.” She rummages in her bag and takes out another toy. This time it’s a disc, but with fluffy balls attached. “Look!” She throws it around the room, smashing a plant pot, which makes her squeal and cover her eyes. “Sorry!”
However, Pepper immediately makes a run for it, snatching it off the floor and thrashing it around like it’s prey. Dozer follows suit, trying to snatch the toy from her mouth, despite the fact he normally doesn’t like new things.
“Love it!” I say. It’s a clear winner with both dogs.
“You do?”
“Yeah, of course. Look at how she’s playing.” We both gape at Pepper who’s chewing on the balls and swinging the disc into the air.
“Looks like a win to me,” I say.
“Yes,” Lesley mouths, pumping her fist in the air.
I laugh. “So now that we’ve gone over that, time for the more serious talk.”
She narrows her eyes. “What talk?”
“The … talk.”
* * *
Lesley
His closeness makes me take a step back, but I can’t go any farther than the door. He places his hands on the wood and traps me inside his arms. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I murmur.
“Sure, you do,” he says. “The one where we discuss that night.”
“What night?”
“Don’t play dumb. I know you’re too smart for that,” he says.
I guess I should take that as a compliment?
But yes, I am avoiding it. And for good reason. He’s my damn boss. I shouldn’t have danced with him then I would’ve never let him come home with me. No, scrap that. We should never have met at the Blue Lagoon.
It was all a mistake. I thought I could keep things professional. Guess that idea went down the drain quickly.
“We’re co-workers.”
“So?” he says.
“We should be professional.”
He snorts, shaking his head. “You seem to be under the impression I’m interested in that.”
“Why did you hire me then?”
“I didn’t, at first.”
“Right. Why is that, exactly?” I narrow my eyes. “You had an eye on me, didn’t you? From the beginning. That’s why you wanted to avoid it.”
“Well …”
“I knew it.” I tap my chest. “You knew as well as I did that it was wrong.”
He grabs my wrist and pins it against the wall. “Yet we did it anyway. Guess neither of us can be professional.”
“Failing once doesn’t mean we have to repeat it,” I say, my body feeling heavy as he towers over me, his eyes lusting over me.
“Oh, I don’t consider banging you a failure,” he says, biting his lip in such a seductive way it makes my head spin.
Fuck.
Why does he always do this to me?
From day one, the moment I met him, he’s been trouble. Hormones are messing with my head, and I just can’t get it to stop. Can’t stop feeling like I want him to kiss me and take me on his desk.
And I hate it.
I fucking hate it because if he weren’t my boss, I’d actually be allowed to put my hands and mouth all over him.
“I don’t want this to be a one-night thing only,” he says, his lips so close I can feel his breath on my skin.
I suck in some oxygen. “It can’t be anything more than that.”
“Give me one good reason,” he murmurs.
“I … we’re … you’re my boss.” I’m struggling to find the words.
“So?” Goddamn that sexy smug face of his.
“People will talk,” I say.
“So what? Let them.”
“You don’t understand. Maybe you can do whatever you want, but I can’t. People look up to you. They do what you say. But me … I’m just an intern.”
“You’re so much more than that to me,” he says. “And not just in an ‘I wanna fuck your brains out’ way.”
I can’t stop the smile from spreading across my lips, but I shake my head to make it go away. “No, I mean, they won’t see me as one of them anymore. They’ll think I got this job and everything else because we’re hooking up.”
“I’ll make them see differently.”
“It’s not …”
I sigh. I can’t explain this. How do you tell a man you don’t trust anyone? You don’t. Because it hurts them. And believe it or not, I don’t want to see him hurt.
“I like you,” TJ says, and he tips up my chin to make me look at him. “And I want to see where this could go.”
“I’m not a closet fuck,” I whisper as he leans in closer and closer.
He laughs. “No … you’re a bed fuck. And a desk fuck. And a bathroom fuck. And pretty much everywhere else I can think of.”
I close my eyes and bite my lip just thinking about all the dirty things he could do to me.
But what if this too turns out to be just a one-way deal?
What if he is only interested in fucking me? And then I fall in love and get hurt all over again by some asshole who thinks he can get away with stealing both my heart and my life?