“Well, I haven’t—”
“I’m going to show her around, see you later.” I tightened my grip on her hand and strode from the kitchen, headed for the dining room. I felt a finger poking my shoulder and slowed my pace, turning my head to glance back at Sienna. She didn’t say anything, and I stopped to face her fully. “What is it, baby?”
She raised a single eyebrow. “Oh, am I allowed to speak now?” I grinned and motioned with my hand for her to continue. “Are you always going to be this bossy?”
“Probably,” I answered immediately with a shrug.
Sienna rolled her eyes to the ceiling and sighed. “At least you’re honest about it,” she muttered. Damn, she was cute. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d smiled so much. “Well,” she continued, “cut the ventriloquism act. I’m not a puppet and can speak for myself.”
Something inside me burst with warmth and before I could check the instinct, I tugged her forward until she fell into my chest. My arms went around her and I lowered my head to brush my lips over hers. “Fuck, you’re as soft and sweet as you look,” I murmured. I allowed myself one more touch of our lips and enjoyed the sight of her brown eyes darkening with desire and a sweet blush gracing her cheeks.
The fog cleared, and she quickly took a step back. I let her leave my embrace but once again, took her hand firmly in mine.
“Is kissing you in the job description?”
I smirked and tapped the end of her nose. “Nope, just a perk.”
Her eyes dropped to my lips for a second before she seemed to realize what she was doing. She huffed and muttered something as she marched past me, entering the seating area of the restaurant. My eyes followed her example and dropped down, except they were glued to her ass as she walked ahead of me.
I showed her around the rest of the space and introduced her to the staff on duty. Her eyes sparkled, and it was easy to see her falling in love with the place. I was extremely pleased with her reaction as I always hoped my wife would be as passionate about Saphyre as I was.
Wife.
Fuck, that sounded good. I couldn’t wait to put my ring on her finger and my baby in her belly. However, for the moment, I kept those thoughts to myself.
Saphyre was just opening their doors for lunch when we finished, so I commandeered a small table in a secluded corner and ordered lunch. She asked me about my plans now that my show was done and I told her about my goal to open another restaurant, as well as a guest spot I’d agreed to. I was going to be a judge on a reality cooking show.
I asked her questions about her classes as well as her family. Her parents apparently lived in a small town a couple of hours away, and she had a brother who was a pilot and lived in Chicago.
“Do you have class tonight, baby?” I asked when we finished eating. She shook her head as she sipped from a glass of sparkling water.
“I go to school in the mornings and twice a week I have labs at two in the afternoon.”
I stood and held my hand out to help her up. “Great. I can take you to your new home, and we’ll get you moved in this weekend.”
She placed her napkin on the table before allowing me to help her stand. Straightening her shoulders and spine, clearly attempting to close as much of the gap in our height difference as possible. She looked me square in the eye with a determined glint. Part of me wanted to laugh at her effort to be intimidating, the other was wary of what she had to say.
“I told you before, Owen. I’m fine with my current living arrangements. You don’t even have to add the cost that you would have paid in room and board to my salary.” I was about to steam roll over her and demand that she move in with me, but then I saw a shadow pass over her face as she mentioned her place. I decided to dig into that a little later, while taking the bees and honey route for a moment.
“Let me at least show it to you and then you can decide.” I smiled hopefully and in the next breath, her shoulders sagged and she agreed. We headed to my office to gather my things and while she was a few steps ahead, I pulled out my phone to text a friend of mine. He owned a security company, and I wanted him to run a check on Sienna. I needed as much information about her living arrangements as possible so I could come up with leverage to move her in with me as quickly as possible.
4
Sienna
“Mmm,” I sighed, waking up feeling deliciously warm. I stayed where I was, keeping my eyes closed, and enjoyed the sensation. It wasn’t until I stretched my arms above my head that I realized most of the warmth was coming from a body sprawled next to me. I tried to scoot away, but I was pinned to the mattress by a heavy arm draped over my belly.
“What the—” I twisted to the side and found Owen there, sound asleep. It all came rushing back to me. My interview that resulted in a job offer I hadn’t been expecting. The way he’d maneuvered me into visiting his undeniably gorgeous home. How we’d sat outside and chatted about everything and nothing at all over a glass of wine. One glass turned into two, and then Owen insisted that he had to feed me since I’d been drinking. I’d watched, enthralled by the sight of him in the kitchen, as he’d whipped together a delicious meal with only the contents of his pantry since he’d been out of town and didn’t have anything in the fridge. He was even more impressive in person than on television... which is why I’d helped to polish off another bottle of wine with dinner.
The surreal situation I’d found myself in had definitely called for liquid courage. If only I hadn’t taken it a glass (or more) too far and landed myself in an even more unbelievable position—me, in bed with an incredibly sexy man. I wasn’t completely certain how I’d ended up here, let alone with him asleep beside me. The details after dinner were kind of fuzzy.
Did I?
Did we?
I couldn’t even finish the thought in my own head. Lifting the sheet up with a trembling hand, I heaved a huge sigh of relief when I found myself dressed in a long T-shirt and a pair of boxers. If I’d been too drunk to remember losing my virginity to Owen, then surely I would also have been too drunk to think to ask for clothes to sleep in. Right?
The only person who could answer that question pulled me closer to his body and whispered in my ear, “Morning, beautiful.”
Holy wow, the sound of his raspy morning voice would have had my panties melting off my body... if I’d been wearing any. My silent freak-out ratcheted up a couple of notches as I once again thought about what might have happened between us last night.
“You sleep okay?”
“Yeah.” My reply was barely audible, more just my lips moving without any sound coming out. But that didn’t make my answer any less truthful. I’d slept better than I had in months, which was crazy considering it was the first time I’d ever spent the night in bed with a man. You’d think that would make for a restless night.
“Good.” He dropped a kiss on my shoulder—a freaking KISS—and rolled out of bed. My gaze slid down his sculpted chest, counting the ridges as I skimmed down to his black boxers. I yanked my head back up when it dawned on me what the tented material meant. He was hard. And freaking huge!
“Umm.” My cheeks filled with heat, and he smirked at me with a knowing look in his eyes.
“Get used to it, baby. You’re going to be seeing a whole lot of me.”
“About that.” I jumped out of bed and searched the room for my clothes. “How much of you did I see last night?”
“Not as much as I’d have liked.”
That’s a shame.
What? Where did that thought come from? My head jerked up as I paused in my frantic search. He was stalking towards me, and I backed up a couple of steps, holding my hands up to ward him off. “So we didn’t? You know, do the horizontal tango?”
“No, Sienna. All we did was cuddle and sleep.” His green eyes flared as he took another step closer. “When I have you under me, there won’t be any doubts in your head about what happened between us. You’ll remember because you’ll feel where I’ve been for days.”
“Yeah,” he admitted sheepishly. “Normally, I’m not much of a cuddler, but I wasn’t about to pass up the chance to have you in my arms.”
“The only chance,” I gasped, bumping into the wall as I tried to back further away from him. “If you’re going to be my boss, this”—I waved between us and the rumpled bed—“can’t happen again.”
He moved closer, wrapping his hands around my wrists and yanking me into his body. “There’s no if about it, Sienna. I am your boss, and this is going to happen again, along with a helluva lot more.”
I fought against my sudden urge to relax into him and instead, narrowed my eyes. “We’ll table discussion about how I got changed for now. I don’t have time to argue with you about this right now. I have classes this morning. I need to find my clothes, get dressed, stop at home, take a shower, and grab my school stuff before I head over to campus.”
I was a list person. They were my comfort zone, and rattling off all the things I had to do today made me feel less unnerved. More confident.
“Take a shower here.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Owen brushed his lips across mine and effectively shut me up.
“Without me.” He quirked an eyebrow and flashed me a rakish smile. “This time around at least.”
“All the times,” I corrected with a stomp of my foot.
He smiled, tweaked my nose, and backed away from me. “Go ahead and keep fooling yourself if that’s what it takes for you to pack your stuff up tonight and move in here.”
“No, I—”
“Don’t even try it, Sienna. You already agreed last night, and I’m not going to let you change your mind. It’s done. Living here is a requirement for your position as my assistant.”
I knew I should argue more. Try to get him to see reason. Make him understand why it was a really bad idea for us to live under the same roof. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it; not when there was a little voice inside my head that kept reminding me of the reason why it was also the best idea ever.
The house where I rented a room was in a great neighborhood. I had my own ensuite bathroom, and it was less than three miles away from campus. The woman who owned the house was incredibly sweet, and she didn’t ask a lot from me as her tenant. She charged me way less than she should in rent, and all my utilities were included. I had a guaranteed parking spot in her driveway. She even made extra food for me so I’d have home-cooked meals to eat since I was hopeless in the kitchen.
When I’d signed the lease, it was the perfect living situation. Then I’d met her son a month after I’d moved in, and it became incredibly awkward. I didn’t like the way he looked at me. Moving out would be a relief, even if it was a bit like jumping out of the pot and straight into the fire. It was an appropriate analogy considering who Owen was, but the risk of getting burned by the sexy chef who I’d secretly lusted over was scary.
“Fine,” I huffed. “But you’re going to clean out your guest room so I can stay in there. No more sharing your bed.”
When I turned on my heel to make my way to his bathroom for my shower, I heard what suspiciously sounded like something about not caring which bed we slept in as long as it was the same one. I didn’t respond, but his persistence stoked the flame of desire inside me even brighter. I was close to spontaneous combustion when I poured body wash into my palm and the scent surrounded me in the steamy shower. It smelled like Owen.
“Damn it,” I groaned.
As I slid my soapy hands along my body, my intent was just to get clean. But when my fingers swept over my clit, I couldn’t resist the temptation. With my head flung back, the hot water beat against my body while I circled my clit with one finger. It didn’t take much to get my legs shaking and my toes clenching. With the water cascading down my body, it was easy to imagine Owen on his knees in front of me, his mouth on my pussy. His fingers clenched against my ass as he pulled me close and devoured me. The fantasy burst into my head, the image crystal clear, and shoved me over the edge while I whimpered his name.
Once I was able to see straight again, I hurried through the rest of my shower and finished getting ready. Knowing what I’d done in there, and what I’d pictured him doing, I couldn’t bring myself to meet Owen’s gaze. I mumbled something about needing to hustle or else I’d be late for class, accepting the travel mug of coffee he offered and running for the door.
“Sienna,” Owen called out as I was about to step into my car.
I looked over my shoulder at him. “Yeah?”
“That orgasm you gave yourself in my shower? It’s the last one you’re going to have without me watching.”
Holy crap... I was in way over my head with him.
5
Owen
I watched Sienna until her car disappeared down the street, then went back inside to get ready for the day. Last night had been an exercise in control with her soft, supple body pressed to mine all night.
When I’d convinced her that she needed to stay the night since she’d been drinking, she’d stripped off her clothes on the way to the bedroom. I honestly didn’t know how I found the strength to coerce her into one of my T-shirts and a pair of boxers. After an icy shower, I’d slipped into bed and pulled her into my arms. I almost came in my fucking underwear when she snuggled her sweet little ass up against my groin.
With a sigh, I reached out and slid the handle all the way to the coldest setting. I gritted my teeth and washed quickly, trying not to think about what she’d been doing in there earlier that morning.
I was just stepping out of the glass enclosure when my phone started ringing. Wrapping a towel around my waist as I walked, I made my way to my dresser. A quick look at the screen told me in was Xander, the owner of Gray Security.
“What do you know?” I asked in lieu of a greeting.
“You’re not going to like it,” he warned.
“I figured,” I growled, already pissed as fuck before I even knew what he had to say.
“Is she with you?”
“She just left for school.”
“So she didn’t go home?”
Fury was building inside me with every second, my mind whirring through worst case scenarios.
He went on to describe her living arrangement in a house in an upscale neighborhood not far from mine. “The landlord doesn’t charge her much, so she can afford to pay her tuition.”
I was annoyed that the circumstances didn’t give me more leverage, but I waited to hear what else he had to say. Obviously, he hadn’t reached the part that he’d warned me about.
“Up until about three months ago, I would have said she was in a great position.”
I waited silently for him to get to the fucking point.
“The woman’s son moved back in with her,” he stated.
“Other than wanting to kill the motherfucker for being around my woman all the time, what is it about him that’s bothering you?”
“He moved back in after being released from prison.”
My jaw clenched and my free hand balled into a fist, while the other squeezed the phone so hard I was surprised I didn’t crush it. “What was he doing time for?”
“Assault. He put his last girlfriend in the hospital.”
“What the fuck?” I shouted. I wrenched open a drawer and snatched underwear, a T-shirt, and socks. Then I tossed them on the bed as I headed to my closet.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Owen,” Xander cautioned.
“If it were Calista, what would you do?” I snapped. Despite her being a badass and one of Xander’s best security specialists, he was extremely protective of his wife.
He sucked in a breath, and I heard what sounded like a faint growl. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, motherfucker.
“I’ll meet you with a couple of guys at her address in an hour and we’ll clear her out of there,” he i
nformed me. “Do not go in before we get there.”
I started to argue, but he cut me off. “You can’t protect her from prison, man. Calm the fuck down and think logically.”
He was right, but it was a struggle to agree. “One hour. But, if you guys aren’t there in sixty minutes, I’m going in and that asshole better pray he isn’t there.” Xander made a sound of confirmation and we both hung up.
I was ready, out the door, and waiting just up the street in twenty minutes. To keep myself from doing anything stupid, I sent a text to Sienna.
Me: How is your day going, baby?
I wasn’t sure if she was in class and unable to answer, but the text bubble popped up less than a minute later.
Sienna: It’s all academic.
I chuckled as I typed a response. Before I could finish, another text appeared.
Sienna: My name is Sienna, not “baby,” Owen.
This time I laughed out loud. She was fucking adorable.
Me: When are you done today, baby?
I could practically feel her sigh in irritation, making my smile wide.
Sienna: Actually, my last class of the day was cancelled, so I can come in to the restaurant early.
I spotted a couple of black SUV’s pulling up to the house and shot off a last text.
Me: That’s great, baby. I’ll meet you and we’ll have a late lunch.
As an afterthought, I added,
Me: Go straight there.
I didn’t wait for a response before shoving my phone in my pocket, pulling the car forward and climbing out of my deep blue Jaguar. Xander lifted his chin in greeting, and I responded in kind.
An hour later, we’d collected all of Sienna’s possessions, paid the rest of her lease in full, and put the fear of God into the pathetic, sniveling weasel whose eyes filled with lust at the mere mention of my woman. He only escaped with his face intact because Xander had stepped in before I snapped.
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