by Goode, Ella
“A girl’s gotta eat,” I say, enjoying the spark in her blue eyes.
“First, I’m not a girl,” she says. “And second, I eat when it suits me and not any other time. I’m only doing this today because I like Kayla and don’t want to disappoint her on my first day here.”
Yeah, she is not a girl. That’s for sure. She’s a whole woman and one that I can’t wait to have under me, on top of me, all around me.
“I’m just the checkbook,” I say, raising my palms in the air, trying to look as un-intimidating as a six-foot-four-inch man weighing two-twenty can.
“Well, I don’t need a checkbook. I earn my own money.” Her little nose points in the air.
I’d tap it but she’d probably cut my hand off. “I’m glad you do. Sokolov pays good, too, so your wallet should get fat while you’re here.”
“Just so that you know what the boundaries are.” She draws a line in the air with her finger. “I’m here and you’re over there and that’s where things should stay. Got it?”
“I hear you.”
My easy agreement deflates her pride balloon a little. Her chin drops down to a normal level, but she can’t stop eyeing me suspiciously. Like the smart woman she is, she senses that my response might not be the entire story. Good thing that I’ll be around long enough for her to figure it out. It’s not like I plan to keep it a secret. I want her and I plan to have her. Bonus: she gets me in return.
But I recognize a cornered kitten when I see one. The wee thing is scared and spitting fire. All I gotta do is convince her that she can rest her small paw in mine and I won’t ever let it go.
Chapter 4
Amie
He’s obnoxious. That’s exactly what he is with his quick-witted responses that I tell myself are annoying and not endearing. After I draw an imaginary line in the sand explaining our boundaries, I turn around and proceed to shuffle papers around while I wait for Kayla. I can feel him staring at me but I don’t bother to turn back to look. If I didn’t want to disappoint Kayla, I would have turned down lunch. I think I would have, at least. I don’t know how I’ve even gotten so much done with him watching my every move. I tell myself watching people is his job. That’s why it’s so easy for him to keep his eyes on me without looking bored and it’s not because he’s really interested. I inwardly chastise myself for the negative thought about myself. My ex really did a number on my self-confidence and I hate that he holds on to me in that way.
“Amie, you have to try their cherry cheesecake. It’s the best. Don’t listen to Grey when he tries to push the chocolate cake on you. It’s good but the cheesecake…” She makes a face of pure pleasure. One I don’t think I’ve ever worn myself. One that I imagine Greyson would be able to give me. My thoughts drift to his sinful mouth having that effect on me. I push those thoughts aside and hope the cheesecake gives me some sort of relief so I can stop having dirty thoughts about a man I shouldn't be having them about. I’m not into men anymore, I remind myself. I’ll be into cheesecake. If that’s the way I have to get pleasure these days to keep away from men, then bring on all the cherry cheesecake you can find.
“We can get them both and let her test them.” His deep voice doesn’t help me in this moment. I need to get this lunch over with as soon as possible.
“He is paying. We should order all the desserts.” She shoots Grey a mischievous smile. The two of them act like brother and sister. It makes me miss Violet a little more. Ordering every dessert on the menu was always her favorite thing to do and she got to do it whenever we went out for our family dinner on her birthday.
“They have like twelve.” Grey laughs.
“And?” I turn to look at him. I don’t know why I’m challenging him on this. Who needs twelve desserts? No one, but I’m going to enjoy giving him a hard time about it.
“I think it’s a great idea. We should tell them we need a table for six.” He winks at me. Winks! I guess that doesn't make him cross the line I’ve drawn but he is winking at it.
“Oh, good idea!” Kayla claps her hands together as she does this adorable wiggle dance. “Grey is a problem solver too. It’s one of his rare good qualities,” she says as she elbows him. I mumble a few choice words under my breath about not needing him to solve any of my problems and head for the front door.
Again, I can feel him staring so I shoot him a dirty look over my shoulder in warning. The big jerk smiles a sugary sweet smile as if he’s an innocent angel. I saw where his eyes were when I glanced back. Right on my ass. I turn my head back quickly to face the door, heading outside to hide my rosy cheeks from him. Enjoying the fact that he was checking out my ass. It should piss me off but damn if it didn't make me feel good inside. I can’t help but give a little extra sway as I walk.
The cool air hits my face, giving me some relief as I open the door and head outside. For the first time since the lunch discussion started, I realize I don’t even have a car to drive myself there. I cross my fingers and hope that Kayla has one. Please let her have a car.
“I’ll drive,” Greyson’s deep voice commands. That gets him a little side eye from me. Kayla begins walking toward a ginormous pickup truck that I’m guessing belongs to Greyson.
“Shotgun,” she yells out as we approach the truck. Grey flicks his eyes over toward her.
“Fiiine.” She drags out the word, grabbing the rear passenger door and hopping in as Grey opens the front passenger side door for me.
“She can have shotgun,” I say. If Violet was here she’d fall over and die. I always stole shotgun from her growing up.
“It’s fine. He’s got a weird crush on you or something,” Kayla says from the back. The cool air that helped with my blush does nothing as my face heats all over again. A heavy knot forms in my stomach thinking about sitting next to Greyson for God knows how long during this car ride.
“Weird? It’s weird to have a crush on me?” I lift my eyebrow in question to Kayla.
“Yeah, it’s weird. Look at him. He’s actually all sorts of weird.” I bite my lip to hold in my laugh but my whole body still shakes. I let out a small scream when I’m lifted off my feet and placed inside the truck.
“You went over my line,” I tell him. Lifting me up is way over the line in the sand I’d drawn. He ignores my comment, leaning over to click my seatbelt into place.
“Finding it hard to control myself.” His eyes lock with mine. His mouth is but inches from mine. My eyes can’t help but look there. I lick my own lips, betting he tastes better than any dessert we are about to have.
He pulls back, shutting the door but not before giving me another one of those smiles and walking over to the driver’s side. I feel a weird sense of loss as soon as he leaves my space taking his woodsy, rich smell with him and making me wonder what it was. Is it his aftershave or just him? He gets in, firing up the truck before he pulls out to head towards wherever the restaurant is located. I keep my eyes peeled on the road so that I don’t look over at him.
“Tension in here is so thick, you could cut that shit with a knife,” Kayla adds from the back seat. I continue to remain silent but sneak a glance over at Greyson, catching him giving Kayla a not so nice look in his rear view mirror. She only laughs, not the least bit scared of him. I fight a smile. I want to not like Greyson but he’s making it damn hard when I see how he is with Kayla. He really is all bark and no bite. She pokes him and he doesn’t do anything but give her a look back. Though I think I might enjoy his bite. In fact I think I’ll keep pushing his buttons just to see how hard it might be.
Chapter 5
Greyson
“You really like Amie, don’t you?” Kayla says as we run through the ammo inventory. We’re having a training session later today and will have to account for all of the spent rounds. “As in, you’re embarrassing yourself in front of her, like her.”
“Yup. The 9 mm magazines are running low. Make sure to order more and remember we want the 33 chambers with the plus two adapter. The last office manager onl
y ordered 31 chambers.” I shake my head in dismay. That’s four bullets which could mean the difference between one of my men walking out of a battle or being carried out.
“Noted. But as I was saying, you’re acting like you’re ready to register at Wayfair for new bedding and matching pillows.”
I twist my head to the side. “I’m supposed to have matching pillows?”
Kayla doesn’t look up from the list she’s annotating. “Yes. And hand towels. You do have hand towels, don’t you?”
“I have no fucking clue what hand towels are, but put those on the list and order me some. Pillows, too.”
She stops writing to stare at me.
“What?” I ask, a little confused by the consternation creasing her forehead. “Do I have something on my face? Cheesecake?” I rub the side of my thumb down my cheek. A shmear of food might explain why Amie’s always looking at me oddly.
“No. It’s…aren’t you embarrassed at all about how you’re so obviously into our new office manager?”
I shrug and turn back to the ammo shelf. “No. Why should I be? Being in love with someone doesn’t make your dick smaller.” If anything, my pants feel about two sizes too tight. Every time she’s within touching distance, my cock tries to leap through my zipper.
“You’re in love with her?” Kayla shrieks. “You’ve known her for five minutes tops. How can you love her?”
“Because when you know, you know.” I tweak Kayla’s cheek. “You’ll figure it out when it happens to you.”
Kayla raises her hand to pull my fingers away when we hear someone clearing their throat. We turn to see Amie standing at the doorway with her arms folded across her chest and a perturbed expression thinning her lips into a flat line.
“Am I interrupting something?” she says.
I let my hand drop to my side. “Never.”
“We were just, ah, doing inventory,” Kayla offers.
Amie rolls her eyes. “If that’s what you’re calling it, fine, but remember that this is an office and your PDA can make other people uncomfortable.”
“We’re not—He’s not—I’m not—“ Kayla protests.
I place a hand over her face since her flustered comments are doing nothing to dissuade Amie from her belief that I was two seconds from throwing Kayla on the floor. “Kayla’s like my sister and the only woman’s skirt I’m interested in getting under is currently shooting daggers into my chest so I think PDA is on hold for the time being, but I’ll remember that for when you start liking me.”
I pluck a Glock off the wall and stuff a couple of magazines into the side pocket of my cargo pants. “I’m off to shoot a few rounds. Feel free to come and admire my form. I won’t mind,” I say with a wink.
“That is inappropriate, Mr. Greyson,” Amie huffs. “This is an office.”
“I didn’t say you had to do it. Just that you can. Or you can look out the window.” I point to the large floor-to-ceiling window that I’d earlier fantasized about fucking Amie up against. “Whatever works for you. Kayla, you watch the phones if Amie needs to take a break.”
“Aye-aye, Captain.” She salutes.
Amie throws up her hands. “No wonder your last office manager quit. You two are a menace.”
“I’m innocent. He’s the bad influence,” Kayla protests.
“Damn. Thrown to the wolves by my own family member.” I shake my head in mock dismay.
As I’m leaving, I hear Amie ask, “Are you really related?”
“Nah. But he treats me like a sister so you don’t have anything to worry about.”
I pause to listen for Amie’s response.
“I’m not worried,” she snaps. “I’m not interested and never will be interested. Let’s get to work.”
What’s that saying? The lady protests too much? I grin, heft the gun in my hands and head down to the range. We’ve got three recruits we’re testing out. Every member of the security team has to be proficient at weapons, hand-to-hand combat, and situational intelligence. Most of the time if a prospect flames out, it’s because they fail the last one. It’s easy to be physically fit and a lot harder to read a room.
Take Amie, for example. She’s not really angry with me. If she was, I’d leave her alone because I’m not forcing myself on any woman. That shit’s not acceptable. But her body language tells a different story than her words. She leans toward me, not away. She smiles to herself after I make some stupid remark and then tries to shake it off, as if she’s disappointed in herself. Add that to what Sokolov said about taking care of her because she’s tender and it’s safe to conclude that some dickhead hurt the girl and she’s suffering now.
She needs some steady attention, a sliver of space, and a whole lot of patience. I’m fine with two of them—it’s the space thing that’s gonna kill me. I know I’m going to end up jerking myself raw before I get to dive into her pussy, but a man’s got to take care of his woman. And, yeah, she’s my woman even though she thinks she’s got to hate on me.
I didn’t make it through two deployments, countless enemies, and a bullet in the back of my quad to lose now. In fact, I’m pretty sure all the hardships I’ve suffered have trained me for my most important mission—winning the heart of one bruised flower.
Chapter 6
Amie
“You can go out there, you know.”
“Ahhh!” I scream, dropping the folders I have in my hands. I turn to see Kayla giggling at me. I smile because damn she’s infectious. Her moods can bubble right over onto you. I’m really starting to enjoy her company and can see us having a friendship outside of the office. It would be nice to have someone here to confide in. I will have to be careful, though, since she and Greyson seem close.
“I was just taking a look.” I bend down to pick up the folder I dropped. Luckily none of the papers slipped out because I’d finally gotten them all organized.
“They can be fun to watch.” She walks over toward me, taking the folders from my hands. Whenever I’m done she files them away. We have already worked out a system together. I’d be a liar if I didn't admit to the small amount of jealousy that has swept into me a few times today when I’ve seen her and Grey together. I am pretty sure their relationship is exactly how they’ve described it. The green-eyed monster that reared its ugly head caught me off guard when I walked in and saw Greyson touching her cheek. Okay, he was only poking it but still. It’s not as though it was some soft caress, yet it still bothered me.
Even when I found out my mom had been banging my ex, I’ve never felt jealous. Hurt. Broken. Confused. There have been many things I’ve felt over it, but oddly jealousy was never one of them.
“Grey is the best shot. I’ve seen a lot of men with guns and no one can match him. He is an expert marksman. I know he received all sorts of recognition when he was in the service for his shooting skills. He’s not reckless like some of the other guys I’ve seen in the business. He has high standards. One mess-up and you have to spend a whole weekend in a basic gun safety class.” This doesn't surprise me. One of the things I’ve picked up about Grey is when it comes to protection he isn’t messing around. He takes the safety of the people who work here seriously.
He is definitely a lot of bark, like Kayla said. I’ve noticed that as I continue to steal peeks out of the window to watch him with some of the men. He seemed to lay into them one minute and the next he’d be at their side guiding and teaching them. As much as I don’t want to like Grey I do. He doesn’t hide who he is. He puts it out there and you either like it or you don’t.
“You should go down. He can teach you some self-defense stuff.” There is no way that I’m going down there. “Plus look at all the yumminess down there. You might not be feeling Grey but there are a lot to pick from around here.” I glance over to her. She wiggles her eyebrows at me. She isn’t lying, that’s for sure. This looks nothing like my ex and his cop friends. If they were even cops for all I know. The man apparently lied to me about everything. These men are all built l
ike freaking tanks. Still, my eyes keep going back to Grey. I really shouldn't enjoy the tone of his voice when he barks at someone. I think it’s supposed to scare people but scared is not what I feel when he issues one of his orders. My hard nipples could attest to that. So could my wet panties. I thought my lady parts were broken. Obviously they’re perfectly fine. It only took a few words and a couple of touches from Grey to have every part of me coming back to life. Now I have to figure out how to shut them off. They are the parts that I don’t want resurrected right now. As I’m having these thoughts, Grey turns to look up toward the window where I’m staring down at all of them. He winks.
I jump back, knowing I’ve been caught staring at him. Kayla bursts into laughter so hard she almost drops the folders I gave her. “I’m sorry.” She fights to get it together. I don’t think it’s that funny. “He can’t see you. That glass is bulletproof and reflective. It’s like he knew you were staring at him.” Somehow she gets all that out through her laughter. I know without looking that my cheeks are a little pink, some of it from embarrassment and some because I’m slightly more turned on now. The thought of him sensing me watching him has me all hot and bothered.
I walk over to my desk and sit down. She keeps on giggling and finally I give in and let out a small laugh because dang it, she really is infectious.
“God, it’s going to be so fun having you around here,” she tosses at me before taking off to file folders again. My smile drops a little at her off-handed words because they feel too good. I really have been lacking attention. Inside I’m this lost puppy that wants any attention it can get. I need to be careful because I know how easily I could slip right into Grey’s hands if I let myself. My body is screaming for me to. I think my heart is nudging at me too. I’m not going to let that happen. This time I am going to be smart and listen to my brain. No men, I remind myself.
I continue working and getting organized for the rest of the day. I dive into my paperwork, putting all thoughts of Grey aside. I haven’t seen him since he assumed I was staring at him through the glass. I’m never going to admit to looking down at him so as far as he knows his wink went unnoticed. My only hope is that Kayla doesn’t say anything.