by B. B. Hamel
I fall into the kiss. I let my worry disappear. I let myself feel it, enjoy it. I let it rush over my skin.
I try not to think about how much more I want from him, and how much that freaks me out.
Slowly, he breaks away. “Dinner,” he says. “Tonight.”
“Okay.” I’m breathless, almost dizzy.
“I want you to meet someone.”
“Meet… someone?”
“You’ll see.” He smirks at me and walks away.
I’m left there, next to the huge painting, heart hammering in my chest.
I don’t know what just happened. I mean, I guess I know what happened, but… I don’t know what it means.
I kissed Julian. I kissed my boss, my dad’s friend, a man twice my age.
And now he wants me to meet someone?
I head back to my desk in a daze, not sure what’s coming next.
4
Julian
I cover shrimp with garlic and olive oil before tossing it on a pan. It sizzles and fills my penthouse with the smell of cooking.
I’m smiling to myself, practically humming and buzzing, when I hear my intercom buzz. I wipe my hands and walk over, pressing the green button.
“Yes?” I ask.
“Hi, uh, Julian. It’s Avery.”
“Come on up.”
I buzz her inside. She’ll have to ride the elevator up to my apartment. I enter the code that’ll allow her to select my floor, and the elevator doors will open right into my apartment.
I didn’t plan on doing this. I was having this dinner here no matter what tonight, and I never intended to bring Avery along.
But I couldn’t help myself. I had to kiss her earlier today and now I need to see her again. Maybe it’s not exactly the situation I wanted, but she might actually be useful tonight.
Avery comes in a few minutes later. She’s wearing dark jeans, a white top, and a light blue button-down over it. Her hair is full and down, thick around her shoulders, and I’m tempted to grab it again like I did earlier today.
“Glad you came,” I say, kissing her on the cheek.
She’s already blushing. “When my boss invites me to dinner, I always say yes.”
I laugh. “I’m not really your boss tonight.”
“Is this a business thing?”
I hesitate. “Sort of.”
“You said you wanted me to meet someone.”
“Come on. I’ll tell you about it.”
She follows me into the kitchen, and I flip the shrimp. She takes a seat at the island and I pour her a glass of wine.
“Nice place,” she says.
“Thanks.”
“How long have you lived here?”
I hesitate a second. “Over ten years now.”
“Wow. So this is, like, your home.”
“Pretty much.”
“Have you always been in the city?”
“I lived in London for a bit. Prague for a bit. But mostly Philadelphia.”
“Prague? Really?”
“Sure.” I laugh a little bit. “That was a stupid idea. I lasted like six months before I came crawling back to the States.”
“Must have been cool, living in a totally different country.”
“More lonely than cool,” I admit. “I didn’t speak the language and I had trouble picking it up.”
“Ah. That sucks.”
“Yeah. Well, I was a younger man back then.”
She nods and sips her wine as I check on the shrimp. It’s finished, so I take it from the pan, set it aside, and start on the pasta. The salad is finished and ready, and I have some tomato, basil, and mozzarella to pick at.
“So, who am I meeting tonight?” she asks me.
“You’re meeting Haylee Price.”
She frowns a little bit. “Why do I know that name?”
“She wrote the Angel Darkness series.”
Avery’s eyes go wide. “No way.”
“Sure. It was a big self-publishing hit, or so I hear.”
“I read those books.”
I grin at her. “I thought you might have.”
“I mean, seriously. I loved them. I didn’t… you’re publishing her?”
“Trying to,” I admit. “It won’t be easy to convince her. I thought you might be able to help.”
I stare at him like he’s insane. I loved the Angel Darkness series, and actually just finished the last book a few weeks ago. The characters are still fresh in my mind, and now I’m going to try to convince the author to work with us?
“No way,” I say.
“What?”
“No way,” I repeat. “I can’t.”
“You definitely can.”
“No, really. I mean, I don’t know what to say.”
I look at her and smirk. “Just tell her the truth. You love the books, right?”
“Right, but—”
“Just say that.”
She gapes at me. “Julian—”
“Avery,” I say over her protestations. “Listen to me. You said you’d do whatever I ask, didn’t you?”
She clenches her jaw. “Yes,” she says.
“Okay, good. So you’ll do this. Meet with Haylee, eat dinner, smile, make nice. It won’t be so bad.”
She takes a breath and slowly lets it out. “Okay, fine.”
The intercom buzzes a second later and I laugh a little. “Perfect timing,” I say.
Avery’s eyes go wide. “She’s here? Already?”
I ignore the question and walk over to my intercom. I buzz Haylee inside and enter my code. A few minutes later, the doors open, and she steps into the room.
Haylee is a few years older than Avery, with light blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. She’s wearing a baggy sweater and tight jeans with ratty old sneakers. She looks like she just rolled out of bed, which, maybe she really did.
“Haylee,” I say. “Thanks for coming.”
I shake her hand, and she shrugs a little. “Yeah, sure. Your offer was too good to ignore, so here I am.”
I glance at Avery. “This is my assistant,” I say, gesturing at her. “Avery, meet Haylee.”
“Hi,” Haylee says.
Avery stares at her for a second. “I love your books,” she blurts out.
Haylee winces but smiles. “Uh, thanks.”
“Seriously, I mean, the way Damien has to sacrifice himself to the Lich King’s ward, but his sacrifice transforms him into the Sword of Truth, and then Gavin takes it up in the final battle, wielding his best friend and former lover—”
“Okay,” I say, interrupting her before she can literally have an orgasm right here. “I think she gets it.”
“Thanks,” Haylee says, grinning a little. “I liked writing that scene.”
“Awesome,” Avery whispers.
I usher the girls into the dining room and sit them both down. I grab Haylee some wine and give Avery a stern look. They start talking about self-publishing, and Avery manages not to gush too much.
I get the food out on the table and join them a few minutes later. Haylee and Avery are hitting it off, despite Avery’s awkward introduction.
“So why are you looking into a publisher?” Avery asks her, which forces me to stifle a groan.
Haylee glances at me. “He made me an interesting offer.”
“Oh, yeah?” Avery smiles sweetly at me.
I glare at her. “Yes, I did. She’s a rising talent, and I want her to be the first author we put out.”
“That would be amazing,” Avery says.
“But Haylee isn’t so sure.” I look at the young author. “Which, honestly, I can’t blame you.”
“I’m used to doing everything on my own,” she admits. “Giving up control…”
“It’s not giving up control,” Avery says suddenly. “It’s giving yourself freedom. Imagine what you can write if that’s all you have to worry about. I mean, all that marketing and advertising stuff is a huge time sink, right? It took you nearly six months bet
ween books.”
Haylee frowns. “Yeah, that’s true.”
“If you let us take all that stuff, you could just write. Oh my god, that would be amazing. You could write so much!”
Haylee laughs a little and looks at me. “She’s seriously a fan, isn’t she?”
“I honestly didn’t know she was so into you,” I admit. “But she’s right.”
Haylee nods and we change the subject. Dinner goes smoothly, and we chat about the publishing industry in general, staying away from any particulars about the deal.
I keep stealing glances at Avery. I can’t help myself. I wish Haylee weren’t here at all, and I could have this dinner alone with Avery. She’s so fucking gorgeous. She makes Haylee look absolutely boring in comparison, and I bet she has no clue.
On top of that, she’s smart and interesting and funny. I bet she doesn’t even realize that she’s slowly convincing Haylee to come join our publishing house. She’s so earnest that she’s actually convincing me, too.
We finish dinner and Avery offers to straighten up. I lead Haylee out into the hall, back toward the elevator.
“What do you think?” I ask her softly.
Haylee purses her lips. “Honestly? I was going to turn you down.”
“But now you’re not.”
“What Avery said back there…”
“She’s right, you know.” I stop in front of the elevator and face her. “If you went with us, I’d give you the same deal that you’re currently getting in terms of royalties. Way better than you’d get anywhere else. And we’ll handle all the marketing.”
She nods once. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good. I’m serious about this. We’re going to make something great here.”
“I bet you are.” She glances over my shoulder. “If I do decide to go with you… I want her on my team.”
“Done.”
“Okay then.” She turns back to the elevator and hits the button to call it. “I’m not making up my mind yet, just to be clear.”
“Understood.”
She gives me a tight smile. The elevator arrives and she steps in. The doors shut around her.
I turn back toward the kitchen and Avery appears in the hall. “Did she just leave?” She sounds so disappointed, I can’t help but smile.
“You are amazing,” I say, walking over to her.
“What did I do?”
I grab her, pull her against me, and kiss her hard.
She melts into the kiss. I can feel my blood pumping in my veins.
Fucking hell. This is what I’ve been craving all night. I don’t really care about sealing the deal with Haylee. I’d give that up if I could get a taste of Avery.
The kiss finishes and she stares up at me. “I guess she was happy?”
“She wants you on her team.”
“Oh… really?”
“Really. Think you can handle it?”
“I don’t know,” she admits.
“You can,” I say.
“So she’s coming with us?”
“Maybe. I think she will, but we’ll see.”
She bites her lip. “Julian…”
“No,” I say softly. “Just be happy. Okay?”
She hesitates a second. I can tell she wants to ask what the hell is happening between us, but she decides to stay quiet.
I kiss her softly one more time. “You’d better head home.”
“Yeah.” She takes a sharp breath. “See you tomorrow, I guess.”
I watch the elevator doors swallow her up and I suddenly feel like I’m making a mistake. I should call her back, strip her down, and get that taste I really fucking need.
But no, I can’t. Not yet at least. Things are still so hazy. This deal, this weird relationship… it could all easily blow up. Everything’s so fragile.
No, this kissing, it’s fucked. It’s a mistake. I don’t care how gorgeous Avery is, I need to restrain myself.
At least for a little while.
5
Avery
Julian closes the deal a week later.
I don’t know the particulars, but it has to be pretty favorable for Haylee. Julian’s taking a big risk on her and betting big that her next series is going to do as well as her first, and I think he’s probably right.
We’re sitting in the conference room. Haylee’s sipping a bottle of water and Julian leans back, stretching slightly. The lawyers just left with signed documents, and now everything’s official.
“So, Avery,” Julian says. “How do you feel about all this?”
“I feel great,” I say. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”
“I’m sure.” Haylee gives me a tight smile and looks back at Julian. “Are you going to be reading all my drafts?” she asks.
He shrugs. “Maybe, maybe not.”
“I could use your advice. I mean, I don’t normally have a male offering edits.”
“I’m not exactly the best at editing,” he says, laughing. “I’m just the business end.”
“Oh, come on. This new series, I’m picturing something more… erotic. You’d be the perfect reader for that.”
I frown a little bit. Haylee smiles at Julian, leaning toward him over the table. Is she… pressing her boobs together?
He doesn’t take the bait. “We can find a male editor for you,” he says. “Erotic sounds interesting. Sex sells, right?”
“Of course,” she says softly. “But you’re the owner here, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but like I said, I’m just a businessman.”
She laughs lightly.
I stare at the two of them and Julian glances at me. I think he’s actually uncomfortable, and I’m not sure what to make of that.
She’s so clearly flirting with him. I mean, it’s gross and obvious. I didn’t know she was interested in him like that, and although I can’t blame her….
It pisses me off.
I haven’t kissed Julian since that night. He’s been respectful and professional in the office, and we didn’t speak at all during the weekend. I want to say that I don’t care, that it doesn’t bother me, but that would be a big fat lie.
Truth is, I keep thinking about him. I keep thinking about that kiss, about his body against mine, the way he just took me like a man and…
Oh, crap.
This is exactly what I need to avoid.
“We’ll work something out,” Haylee says lightly. She stands up and stretches, shoving her boobs out at Julian again.
He smiles and they shake hands. “I’ll walk you out,” he says.
I stand. “I’m excited to work with you!” I say.
Haylee glances at me and frowns a little. “Yeah, same.”
She leaves the room and I fall back into my chair with a sigh.
What the hell happened? Julian said she specifically requested me, but now she’s acting like I’m in the way. I don’t get it at all.
He comes back a few minutes later and shuts the door behind him. He’s grinning at me.
“We did it,” he says.
“Yeah, we did.”
“We signed her. I mean, holy shit. I didn’t think she was going to do it, but here we are. And I have you to thank for it.”
“Me?” I ask him and laugh. “I don’t think she signed for me.”
“Why do you think she signed?”
“Uh, I mean,” I start, but stop myself. “It’s nothing. Never mind.”
He leans up against the table next to me, a little smile on his face. “Come on. Say it.”
“No. It’s nothing.”
“I want to hear you say what you’re thinking. We can’t work together if you’re holding back.”
I grimace. “I think she’s flirting with you.”
He laughs at that. “She absolutely was.”
“And… that’s okay?”
He shrugs. “Who the hell cares? She can do whatever she wants, so long as she writes some great books for us.”
I glare
at him. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am very serious. Are you jealous, Avery?”
“No,” I say quickly, and even I can hear how false that sounds. “I mean, no, not at all. It doesn’t matter, right? We just work together.”
“Yeah, we do. But we kissed last week.”
I blush a little. “Oh. Yeah, I mean, I guess.”
“Did you forget?”
“No,” I say.
“Good. I haven’t either.” He moves closer to me. “Truth is, I’ve been distracted with the business, but I haven’t forgotten about you, Avery.”
“I know you haven’t. I’m your assistant.”
“Not just professionally.” He reaches down and takes my hand, pulling me up from my chair. The blinds are down on the windows, giving us privacy, but that door doesn’t lock. Someone could come walking in at any moment.
“Julian,” I say softly.
“I like that you’re jealous, but forget about Haylee. She’s just an author. You’ll have to work with her but find a way to get past all that crap. She doesn’t matter beyond the business.”
“What does matter, then?”
He smirks, cocks his head. “You don’t want me to answer that.”
“Of course I do.”
“You won’t like the answer. I think it might scare you.”
“I don’t scare easy.”
He grins a little. “Come on, Avery. You’re not very tough.”
“I’m tough.” I grin and push him a little.
He pulls me against him and kisses me.
I’m surprised, but only for a second. I fall into the kiss as his hands pull me against his body.
This is what I’ve been craving this past week, ever since that dinner. I hate being professional with him. I hate pretending like nothing’s going on between us.
This is always there, always lingering in the air. We’re always thinking about it, always wondering if this is going to be the time that one of us slips up. I can’t stop thinking about his hands on my body and every second I do something for him, I wonder if he’s finally going to ask me to undress.
His hands roam along my body and I feel him slide my skirt up my thighs. I gasp as he bites my lip and his hand moves up between my legs, teasing my pussy gently.
“I like that you don’t wear tights,” he whispers. “I’m not being professional. But fuck, I’d be lying if I weren’t fucking hard every time I see these legs.”