Can’t Touch

by Wylder, Penny

  Meynard’s glare is as cold as death. “I only told you that to see if this was happening. I’m not an idiot, Chianna. Nobody just ‘helps someone stretch’ at the gym.”

  Kris chuckles. “Sure they do. Maybe they just don’t help you because you’re a fucking tight-ass who literally repels people.”

  It’s like the words just roll off him, because he doesn’t even react. “I knew I shouldn’t have given you this chance here. You’re lazy. You don’t even take the work here seriously, and you’ll never be good enough to make it. Now you do this? A lack of loyalty combined with your time wasting and you’ll never work at Core Tech. Or anywhere else.”

  My stomach plummets. That’s not what I want. And even though I know that the things that he’s saying aren’t true, he’s powerful. If he wants to make sure that I don’t work anywhere in the field? He can do that. And people will listen.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Kris yanks on his pants and faces my uncle. “You must be out of your goddamn mind.”

  “You think you can speak to me like that in my house?”

  “I think I can speak to you like that anywhere I please when you’re ripping someone that you’re supposed to love to shreds. Chianna is an intern. She’s at the company to be learning, and no one at the company deserves to be worked twenty-four hours a day. The only reason we’re even here? It’s because she finished your entire list of tasks for when you lied to her and told her you’d be gone.

  “The entire list because she wanted a chance to do something real while you weren’t getting in her fucking way. So maybe back up a step before you accuse her of being lazy or disloyal.”

  My uncle sneers. “As if I would take your word for anything. It means nothing. And we both know that you’re only fucking her because you know that it will get to me. You’re trying to throw me off my game by using my family, and it’s disgusting.”

  “That isn’t true,” Kris says, the words deadly quiet. “And if you have any self-preservation at all, you’ll re-think who you’re calling disgusting.”

  “Get out.” It’s a good thing super-powers don’t exist because I’m pretty sure that Meynard would have laser beams coming out his eyeballs. “Now.”

  Kris turns to me first. “Will you be all right?”

  “I’ll be fine,” I nod. Though I don’t feel that way and my voice doesn’t sound it. But he can’t stay. We haven’t declared that we are anything to each other, and it’s not my house. I should have never said to come over here. If I hadn’t, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.

  “You know where I am,” he says before grabbing his shirt and disappearing out the door.

  My uncle just stares at me for a long time, the disgust and disappointment obvious on his face before he stalks from the room and slams the door.

  This is why I avoided relationships for so long. Nothing was getting in the way of my career. I was on the right track. Everything was great.

  What feels like five minutes after being with Kris and my career is over. I can’t bring myself to regret what we’ve done, but what’s going to happen now is an entirely different question.

  12

  Kris

  Days pass. I try to catch Chianna in the hallways, but she’s slippery and does an excellent job of avoiding me. And because I’m a fucking idiot, I still don’t have her number.

  It doesn’t matter. What needs to be said between us can’t be said over the phone or text. I need to talk to her. Tell her that all the things that her uncle said aren’t true and make sure that she’s okay. That’s all I want.

  That’s a lie. I want all of her. I want her in my arms and in my bed and in my entire life. It feels impossible. The way that she’s turned me upside down so quickly, but I don’t care. I’m falling for Chianna Brack, and I don’t care who knows at this point.

  She knows that her uncle is an ass. Chianna as much as admitted it. But she’s scared of him and what he’ll do to her career. If my gut is right—and most of the time it is—that’s what’s stopping her from coming and seeing me. She doesn’t want to make things worse.

  That’s fine. I’ll make them worse. Because they have to get worse if they’re going to get better.

  Meynard is in his office, and when I push in, he scrambles to cover the papers on his desk. “Oh, for God’s sake, Meynard I’m not here to steal your proposal. Mine has been done for two weeks I don’t need yours.”

  The man sits back in his chair, trying to pretend he’s not angry or trying to stop himself from leaping out of the chair and hitting me. “What do you want?”

  “I want you to back the fuck off, and let Chianna be happy.”

  “And happy means being with you?”

  I roll my eyes. “Being happy means being happy. Christ. You’ve terrified her into thinking that you’re going to destroy her career if she doesn’t toe the line with you. And that’s revolting.”

  “Did she tell you that?”

  “No.” I shake my head. “She’s been avoiding me. Another thing that I’m sure is your fault.”

  Meynard leans forward on his desk and folds his hands together. “We’re equals right now, Kris. But we won’t be for long. So if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from her.”

  I stare at the man. Something doesn’t add up here. He may hate me, but what he’s doing to Chianna doesn’t directly affect me. At least not when it comes to her work. There’s something else at play. “Why do you want to make her miserable?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You make her work harder than any of the other interns. You demand all of her time, even outside of work hours. That’s more responsibility than anyone should be given, especially for the rate that we pay them.”

  Meynard’s face flashes, and he glances up at me and then away. Why? Now he seems to be avoiding my gaze. “What did you do?”

  “Just go mind your own business, Canterbar. Soon enough we’ll be out of each other’s lives for good.”

  There’s an inkling forming in my gut, and I turn on my heel so I can go straight back to the office. My level in the company is high enough to see salary records. And he looked strange after I mentioned Chianna’s.

  My stomach drops when I see it. He’s not paying her a dime. All of her hours are added to his paycheck, and they’re deposited into his account. Meynard is using her to make cash while working her to the bone. I’ve seen the way she’s been frantically running around the last few days. He’s been using it like free overtime. The bastard.

  Core Tech always pays our interns a living wage. Always. But if he was the one to reach out with the opportunity, then she might not have known. The bastard. That’s even lower than I expected of him, and it’s not going to stand.

  The intern bullpen is crowded. I’m rarely down here on this side of the office—I rarely need to be. But Chianna needs to know this. Even if she never wants to see me again, she needs to know exactly the kind of man that is holding her back.

  “Chianna.”

  She looks up from her desk and then back down, stiff as a board. “I can’t talk to you.”

  “I don’t give a shit what your uncle does to me for talking to you, there are things that you need to know.”

  Her face snaps back up. “You think I’m concerned about what he’s going to do to you? He’ll fire me, Kris. Just for talking to you. Please go.”

  “Five minutes,” I say, taking her by the arm and guiding her around the corner. We’re not in private, but it’s better than being watched by everybody in that bullpen. “He won’t fire you because you’re fucking good at your job, and if anyone—anyone—tries to punish you for sleeping with me or talking to me, I’ll make sure that your firing will be known as retribution which is against Core Tech’s bylaws.”

  Chianna covers her face with her hands. “It doesn’t matter, Kris. I’ll still be the intern who fucked the executive. No one will want to hire me. And the only person that can make sure that I don�
��t get on every blacklist in the city is Meynard.”

  I stare at her. “I love you,” I say. “I am falling in love with you. And I’m telling you that before anything else because I want you to know that I’m not trying to use anything to force you to be with me. I want you to be happy, no matter what.”

  “You…” she trails off. “What did you just say?”

  “I said that I’m falling in love with you. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, and I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks about it, and I equally don’t give a shit how long it’s been. I want all of you. In my life. In my bed. And most of all, I want you to be free to make your own choices, whether they include me or not.”

  For a moment there’s the glimmer of tears in her eyes as she looks up at me. Her body sways toward mine and I see her forcibly pull it back. “You said before anything else. What do you have to tell me?”

  “Your uncle has been using you to line his own pockets, and I can prove it.”

  Shock and surprise register on her face. And then her brows furrow. “How?”

  “He’s not paying you. And the salary you should be earning, including your overtime, is going into his account.”

  Chianna goes pale. It’s the first time that I’ve seen her go the opposite direction of blushing, and it’s unnerving. “What salary?”

  “We pay interns just like we do entry-level employees. Core Tech believes that everyone should be compensated for their time, no matter their experience level. But I’m guessing that he didn’t tell you that. Did he?”

  She slowly shakes her head. “No. He did not.”

  Taking a risk, I lean down and press my forehead to hers. “I’m sorry.”

  “What are you doing with him?” Meynard steps around the corner. “I think I made myself very clear, Chianna. You’re not allowed to talk to him, look at him, even breathe near him, or you’re done.”

  She pulls away from me and faces him. “Is it true that you lied about my salary and you’ve been pocketing it and any overtime pay that was meant for me?”

  He freezes. I can’t stop the smile on my face. He’s fucked now, and it’s his own doing.

  “Y-yes. It’s being added to your trust.”

  “Bullshit,” she says. “We both know that’s bullshit. Just like we both know your orders to stay away from Kris are bullshit. You’ve been trying to terrify and bully me out of this job since you offered it to me, so what the hell is going on? You owe me some answers.”

  Meynard looks around. Chianna isn’t being discreet, and good for her. He only has himself to blame, and for this, he doesn’t deserve discretion.

  “What I did, I’m doing for your own good.”

  “Yeah?” she crosses her arms. “You’re going to have to explain that one.”

  He shakes his head, twisting up his mouth. “You may think I’m an asshole, but I’m trying to protect you. Doing this job killed your mother. She put everything that she had into it, and then she died. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

  Chianna takes a step back like she’s been slapped, and I place a hand on her lower back so she knows that I’m with her. “She died of cancer. Not because of her job. She loved her job. You know she did!”

  “And how do you think that she got cancer, Chianna? Hours and hours in an R&D lab with all kinds of untested substances, maybe radiation? You want to follow that same path.”

  She blinks. “You have no proof that’s what caused her cancer.”

  “Not having proof doesn’t make it any less likely.”

  “So let me get this straight.” She takes a step forward again. “You offered me my dream entry job, but lied about the pay so that you could control more of my money. You worked me harder than you had every right to so that you could keep more of that money. And your intent was to make it so that I hated this job so much that I would quit the entire tech field?”

  He doesn’t say anything in answer. There isn’t any response to that. Not really.

  “This is what’s going to happen,” she says. “You’re going to pay me every cent that’s been given to you that I earned. You’re going to fix that direct deposit problem, now, and you’re going to let me be an intern for anyone but you.”

  Meynard goes about as red as a tomato, and splutters trying to get words out, but Chianna isn’t having it. “Also, I’ll be spending as much time with Kris as I want from now on. There isn’t anything that you can do or say about it. And when my birthday comes around, your attitude better be a hell of a lot different or after that day I’m never speaking to you again.”

  He starts to walk away, and she calls after him. “I’m moving out. And if I’m lucky, my mother’s spirit will move in and haunt your ass for all that bullshit that you just tried to pull on me.”

  Meynard’s shoulders hunch over as he disappears.

  All the breath goes out of her as soon as he leaves the room. Then she turns to me and throws herself into my arms. Her feet aren’t touching the floor and everyone is watching, but I don’t care. I kiss her, and she kisses me back.

  “I didn’t think that it was possible to love someone so soon, but I do,” she whispers. “I’m falling for you too.”

  “I’ll never get tired of that smile.”

  Chianna glances behind us at our audience before turning back. “Want to get out of here? I have some ideas about how you can help me smile more.”

  “Absolutely.”

  I take her hand, and we don’t look back.

  Epilogue

  Chianna

  Six Months Later

  I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this view. Leaning against the balcony railing with a cup of coffee, I take in the unique sight of Parisian rooftops, with a peek of the Seine and the Eiffel Tower nearby. How did I get this lucky?

  “Morning,” a husky voice says behind me, followed by arms around my waist.

  “Good morning,” I say, twisting in Kris’s arms. “You’re already dressed?”

  It’s early for him to go to the office, and I was secretly hoping that he’d stay in bed a little longer, so I could surprise him.

  “Busy day ahead,” he says with a sigh. “Are you coming in?”

  I shrug. “Maybe. We’ll see what happens.”

  Kris won the contest of proposals. It wasn’t even really a competition. I was there on the day they were made, and everyone who was in the room knew what the consensus would be before it was officially announced. Even Meynard knew.

  So, Kris is the new Vice President of Core Tech in charge of the European expansion. I was already staying with him after moving all my stuff out of my uncle’s apartment. When he asked me to move to Paris with him and help with R&D, be with him, and figure out what I wanted to do with my life and my new trust money, I didn’t even hesitate to say yes.

  “Do you have a little time?”

  A smirk crosses Kris’s face. “What did you have in mind?”

  “My boyfriend fucking me since he was too exhausted last night.” He’s been working so hard that last night he fell asleep in his clothes. I’m proud of him, but I also need him.

  “In that case,” he says, “I have some time.”

  Kris’s fingers are already at my waist, untying my robe and exposing me to the early morning air. We don’t share this rooftop with anyone. But even if we did, no Parisian would object.

  My own hands undo his belt and free his cock from his pants. He’s hard already. Was probably hard as soon as I asked him if he had time. It’s been six months and we still haven’t been able to stop fucking like rabbits. Even more after my body started to get used to the size of him.

  But even if I’m too sore, Kris is never short on ways to give me pleasure.

  “Inside?”

  I shake my head.

  “Baby, the condoms are inside.”

  “So?”

  He looks at me, examining my face in that way he does when he wants to know if I’m being serious. “Are you sure?”

 
“I am. If something happens…I don’t care.”

  The smile on his face is brighter than the morning sun. Kris fits himself against me, and we both groan at the brand new feel of that contact. Hotter. Wetter. A whole different kind of friction as he pushes be back into the railing.

  “Holy shit.”

  I’ll never get enough of this feeling. Of being filled to the brim and overflowing. Kris reaches deep inside me to a place that makes me see stars, and he knows the moment he hits it because it’s hard for me to keep quiet after that.

  Right now I’m seeing stars in broad daylight.

  After a night without each other, neither of us has the patience to hold out. Kris fucks me hard and fast, working me with his hips exactly where he knows I love to feel him. One hand reaches down and works my clit, just in time for my orgasm to burn through me and make me scream it to the sky.

  If anyone in our neighborhood didn’t know the American couple who have sex all the time, then they sure do now.

  But Kris isn’t done. He knows my body better than I do, and one subtle shift of his hips has the pleasure building all over again. I go over the edge a second time before he unleashes himself, taking what he needs and driving into me so hard I think I’m going to have this memory burned into my mind.

  When he comes, it’s familiar and different. Heat and the knowledge that we did something new. Together.

  We come back to earth in pieces, slowly catching our breath, still connected. “Have I told you that I love you?” Kris asks.

  “You have,” I say. “But I always like hearing it.”

  His voice is still rough with sex. “I love you. And if I didn’t have to run a company, I would be dragging your ass inside to our bed for a repeat performance.”