I had never imagined that bringing him a coffee would lead to this.
Of course, it wasn’t just about the coffee. I still could barely believe that I’d asked him to dinner with me, and even more than that, things had been unmistakably flirtatious between the two of us as I admitted this wasn’t the kind of thing that I’d done with any other employees.
He was technically employed by me at the moment. Oh, he might be freelance at the end of the day, but all the same, this probably wasn’t anything that I should be doing. And not only that, he was a father. I definitely shouldn’t be getting involved with him. There were too many complications, and the last thing I needed at the moment was more complications.
But here I was, sitting up on the desk that he’d been working on, half on top of his notes as he stripped me naked. Far from telling him to stop, I was leaning into each of his touches, my fingers grasping at the collar of his shirt so that I could pull him closer and kiss him again, my lips demanding against his.
He got my shirt off and dragged his thumb across my bra, making a murmured noise of appreciation. Next were my tights, discarded carelessly on the floor. But I was far from complaining as he pushed my panties to the side and plunged his fingers into me.
He worked me over with his fingers until I was a whimpering and moaning mess, until I couldn’t think of a single reason why we shouldn’t do this. He was grinning at me when we finally left off kissing. I was gasping for breath, and moaning wanton pleas for more.
I fumbled at his belt, and he smirked as he helped me out, letting his pants drop down towards the floor. He produced a condom from somewhere, tearing open the foil packet and sliding the latex down his length with practiced ease. He gave me barely a moment of warning before shoving my panties to the side once more and plunging into me.
Crying out his name, my whole body was prickling with a heady combination of embarrassment and lust. I hadn’t locked the door, and even though everyone had already gone home for the night, there was definitely a part of me that was certain someone might walk in at any time and find us there. What would they think of me if they did?
But it was hard to hang on to those thoughts now, with Hayden moving so perfectly against me, thrusting into me again and again, breaking down my barriers. It had been too long since I’d had sex with anyone, and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever had sex with anyone as attractive as Hayden—or as attentive. It was as though he knew my body already, despite this being our first time together. As though he didn’t need any coaxing from me to know just what he needed to do to bring me to the edge.
And bring me to the edge, he did. Each sensation blurred together—his hard dick inside of me, his fingers gripping my hips, his teeth raking along the sensitive skin just below my earlobe. I could barely keep it together; it was all I could think to do to continue to cling to him, to drag him into yet another bruising, passionate kiss as his mouth came near mine again.
I threw my head back as he slammed into me with even more fervor, driving his cock straight through me until it felt like I would fly apart into thousands of pieces. I sobbed as he gave three more rapid thrusts, verging on the edge of overstimulation. Then, suddenly, he stilled as well, groaning out my name as he buried himself inside of me one final time.
Feeling his member pulsing within me, it matched the frantic quaking of my walls. He released his sticky, hot seed into the condom, while I tried desperately to catch my breath.
And that was when I started to realize just what we had done. I fought the urge to cover my face, but I couldn’t stop from biting my lower lip. “We can’t tell anyone about this,” I told him.
Hayden looked at me in blank surprise for a moment, and I wondered if he was planning on arguing with me. I had no idea what he was thinking. I barely knew him, after all.
I tried not to sigh. If Ace had never set me up with his brother in the first place, I probably wouldn’t have let Hayden fuck me like this. He would have been just my employee. A guy who was easy on the eyes, maybe, but a guy who was totally off limits. I had never been one to cross the line like this.
God, what would my family say if they knew? As though I hadn’t put the business in enough hot water as it was.
But no, no one could know about this. Ever. And it was never going to happen again.
It had been good, of course. And I tried to convince myself that I hadn’t really crossed a line. I might have slept with Hayden on that first date if things had gone differently. So I could give myself a pass for this first time. As long as it never happened again, it wasn’t really crossing the line.
I only wished that I could really believe that.
What if Hayden thought that this was a sign that we were, I don’t know, meant to be together or something? What if this wasn’t just a fuck to him? But then again, he didn’t know me any better than I knew him. And I had been so unbelievably rude to him the first couple times that we had met. He couldn’t possibly like me like that.
This was just a fuck. And it would never happen again.
Why did I have to keep reminding myself of that?
Why was there part of me that just wanted to curl into him now, to bury my face in the crook of his neck and let him assure me that things were going to be all right, that Mom would be okay and the IRS wasn’t going to get us and—
I shook my head. Fortunately, that was when Hayden chose to finally speak. “You’re right,” he said slowly, his eyes as serious as I had ever seen him look. He gestured back and forth between us. “That was just a release of tension. That’s all.”
“Right,” I agreed, nodding more enthusiastically than I probably should have. I cleared my throat. “It’ll never happen again, and we won’t talk about it.”
“Right,” Hayden echoed. He stared at me for a moment, his arm raising, and I swear he came this close to brushing his fingers across my cheek. But then, he froze. After a moment, he took a step back. “I’m going to have to keep working for a little longer tonight,” he said casually as he tugged his pants back up.
“Okay,” I said. “Uh, just make sure that you lock up. Like yesterday.”
I wanted to say more, maybe to joke about him not working too hard or burning out here. There was a part of me that wanted to invite him to dinner again. I knew that was a path that we couldn’t go down, though.
So I slipped off his desk, grabbing my discarded shirt and tights and starting to fix my own appearance. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I told him when I finally got everything to rights again.
“See you tomorrow,” Hayden agreed.
I could barely look at him as I slipped out of there. But when I was finally outside, I leaned back against the wall, trying to catch my breath. Unbidden, my fingers rose to stroke across my lips. I could feel a blush on my cheeks as I thought back to what had just happened.
Wow.
Chapter 17
Hayden
On Wednesday morning, I walked into my sort-of office at the winery at just five minutes past nine a.m. I tried not to think about the fact that I was almost on time, all because of Mallory. It wasn’t like I was trying to impress her or anything. The only reason I was here so early was because I had a lot that I wanted to get done that day, and I was hoping that I could get things wrapped up a little bit earlier this time, so I could get home and spend some of the evening with Booker and Ace rather than cooped up here.
It had nothing to do with the fact that Mallory and I had lost our minds the previous evening and had sex in the office. Nothing at all to do with that.
Because I was emphatically refusing to think about it.
I couldn’t help but flush as I looked at the crumpled papers on my desk, though. Things had gotten heated fast. I hadn’t really intended for that to happen. I hadn’t expected Mallory to let me take things that far. And I definitely hadn’t expected things to be that good for us.
It was going to make it difficult to keep my hands off of her. Even though I knew that the only reason I had su
ch a strong reaction to her was that I hadn’t slept with anyone in a long time now. That was all it was. We only had chemistry at all because we had such clashing personalities and yet a desperate sort of attraction to the other person.
Or something. That’s what I tried to make myself believe, anyway.
Because otherwise, I would have to face the fact that I liked Mallory. She was way sexier than she realized. And sure, she was a tough cookie to crack. She had barriers a mile wide. But I had a feeling it wasn’t that she didn’t like me. She was just nervous. I was too.
I shook my head. She had made it very clear afterwards that we were never going to have sex again. I was her dirty little secret. That was it; nothing more.
It made me wonder if she had ever done this before. Slept with someone here at work. But I doubted it. She just didn’t have that kind of vibe about her. It was probably just down to the fact that Ace had tried to set us up in the first place before I started working here. We were both just curious about what might have been. Now, we had gotten it out of our systems. For good.
I forced myself to focus on the numbers in front of me, but it was hard to concentrate. I drummed my pen against the desk, wondering what Mallory was up to right now and what she was thinking. I had been nearly on time that morning, but she hadn’t come in with coffee again. I should have known that would never happen again anyway.
Why did I feel so irrationally disappointed?
There was a part of me that wanted to go find her. Maybe I could invent some sort of question for her. Find some illegible part of the books or something.
But I knew that she would see right through that. And anyway, I couldn’t think of a suitable excuse. If I had a question about anything, she would probably just tell me to go talk to Charlie about it, rather than her.
I pressed my fingertips into my closed eyelids. Things had just started to get almost good with Mallory. I liked spending time with her, and the previous day, it had started to seem as though we might be able to be friends, at least while I was working there. Now, she was probably avoiding me entirely. There was no going back, either.
“Got a headache?” Mallory asked from the doorway.
Immediately, I straightened up, staring at her in surprise, hardly able to comprehend the fact that she was there. I had managed to convince myself that she wouldn’t be in there and that since we had slept together, things were bound to be different. That she would remember the fact that she was technically my boss and decide that she needed to keep her distance.
But was there a chance that she felt the same way that I did? Did she realize it would be impossible for the two of us to keep away from one another?
“No, no headache,” I said, recalling her earlier question. “Just doing some thinking.” It was a lame thing to say, and I knew it. Mallory grinned like she knew exactly what I was thinking about.
She wasn’t giving me anything to go on, and I couldn’t tell if she was sorry that last night had happened. But at the same time, I couldn’t tell if she wanted it to happen again or not. Last night, she had practically run out of there, yet here she was seeking me out this morning.
There was no tactful way to ask her about it now, though. Especially since we weren’t the only people in the office now.
“I know you’re hard at work, but do you have a minute to take a walk with me?” Mallory asked.
I frowned at her. Take a walk? That sounded serious. I wasn’t sure that I was ready to have that sort of conversation with her. Even if we were out of earshot of everyone else here at the winery, it would be pretty damned suspicious for the two of us to just be walking around together. Although we were supposed to be working on some sort of ‘secret project.’ Maybe this was more about that idea, upholding the appearance that we were working on something together.
So, a walk with Mallory it would be. Whatever we talked about, I had a feeling it would be difficult for me to keep my hands off of her. Here in the semi-privacy of my office, I could only remember kissing her the night before, stripping off her tights and sliding into her. Mallory was still grinning like she knew just what I was thinking about, and it was all I could do to keep from dragging her into my arms again.
Maybe some fresh air would do me good, though. Make my brain a little clearer. It wasn’t like I had been very good at focusing on the numbers in front of me that morning anyway. My thoughts seemed to keep coming back around to Mallory.
“Let’s go,” I decided, getting to my feet. I had come into work early that morning, so I could make some decent progress on the books. But I didn’t feel any remorse as I followed Mallory outside to the vineyard. I’d get a little fresh air, and then I would be able to concentrate and do better work that afternoon. I was sure of it.
Unless Mallory wanted to talk about the fact that what happened yesterday could never happen again. But if she didn’t want a repeat, I reasoned with myself, she probably would have left me alone for the morning. Right?
It had been so long since I’d been with anyone, I could barely remember how this shit worked anymore. Anyway, Mallory wasn’t like any of the other women that I had ever been with. She had her shit together. She had a business, and she had her life figured out.
And she still wasn’t giving me any clues as to what she was thinking.
Instead, we strolled around the vineyard in silence for a bit. “I know that Charlie has already given you a tour of the place,” she said finally. “Where everything is and what we do and all of that. But I just—” She trailed off, looking like she didn’t know what to say. I wondered if she felt as nervous and uncertain as I did.
She pointed towards a tree in the middle of the vineyard. “My parents got married under that tree,” she said quietly. “And it’s one of my earliest memories of the vineyard. I climbed up it when I was maybe five and couldn’t figure out how to get myself down,” she grinned. “Gramps called me ‘kitty kat’ for months after that because he joked that I was just like a cat. Too curious for my own good, and liable to get myself stranded up trees and other high places.”
I laughed and shook my head. Somehow, I could almost picture a younger Mallory, indignant with her hands on her hips as she lectured her grandfather about how she knew just what she was doing.
“This section is the first set of vines that I ever had a hand in planting,” Mallory continued, gesturing with her hand. The vines weren’t nearly as thick as some of the ones Charlie had shown me that first day out here, and I tried to remember what he had told me that meant for the harvest.
“So more grapes but less flavor?” I finally said.
Mallory gave me an approving look. “Exactly,” she said. “But still just as vital for the process of making wine.” She paused and gestured around. “And all of this is an investment for the future, remember. One day, these vines here will be the old vines. For my children, or whoever.”
I tried to figure out what that was in her face and in her voice. Some emotion that I only vaguely understood. Wistfulness, maybe, and that same nervousness. She was afraid that her grandfather and her mother, plus Mallory herself, had invested their whole lives in this venture, only to have it crumble to dust after an IRS audit.
Sure enough, I wasn’t far off. “My family has been tied up in this winery for decades now,” Mallory said, and there was an unmistakable sadness in her voice. “My grandfather bought this land and built it up, and my mother has left her mark on the place, too. I don’t want my mark to be the destruction of it all.”
I shook my head. “We’re going to figure out the problem with the books,” I promised her. “You’re not going to lose this place.”
Mallory gave me a small smile and then sighed. “I sure hope so,” she said quietly. She stared out over the vineyard, and I wondered if she was imagining her future children running around out there, playing hide and seek, picking grapes during the harvest season, and eventually growing up to run the place.
It was kind of nice, I thought, to have a fut
ure so mapped out like that. But it must be scary also, to know that you could lose it at any time. Between the IRS and poor harvest seasons, things could easily go wrong. I had to admit, Mallory was pretty damned brave to be able to take this all on. Things might not be easy, but she refused to bend under the pressure.
“I really think Booker would love this place,” I finally said.
Mallory turned towards me, looking surprised. Then, she smiled. “Why don’t you bring him out here sometime?” she suggested. “I know he’s in school right now, but what about this weekend? The winery isn’t usually too busy on the weekends, so we’d basically have the place to ourselves.”
I grinned back at her, although my heart was definitely beating faster at the thought of what we had gotten up to the last time we had been alone here. “That sounds like a great idea,” I told Mallory.
“Good,” she said, nodding at me. “It’s a date, then.” Before I could respond to that, she was walking again, telling me even more stories about her childhood at the winery.
Chapter 18
Mallory
I didn’t have any meetings scheduled for Thursday, and with the hours I’d been putting in lately, I knew I probably needed a day off. When I worked too hard, I tended to burn out. That wasn’t going to help the winery at all, I knew. Anyway, now that Hayden was working to straighten out the books, there wasn’t much that I could do about the auditing problem. I would only be in the way if I tried to go through the books at the same time as he was. And besides, he was the professional.
I had to trust that he was going to discover the problem and fix things. And in fact, I was actually starting to believe that he really could do what Charlie had said.
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