It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Falls in Love

by Drea Riley

  Laughing, she looked up to see Ben staring over her shoulder. Turning, Rob was staring intently at them. Rachel hoped Rob realized that her exchange with Ben was harmless and that she didn’t want Ben the way she wanted him.

  Looking back at Ben, Rachel gave him back his computer pad. “Here you go, baby, all done.”

  Ben didn’t take it. Instead, his eyes were locked with Rob’s. A little miffed, Rachel looked over her shoulder in search of Rob but saw him go back to the staff lounge. She thought about going to track him down and ask him what his problem was, but was distracted by Ben’s next comment.

  “That man wants you, Rachel.”

  “Who? Because I know for a fact that Rob doesn’t. He won’t even bring himself to talk to me, much less be in the same room with me.”

  “That man wants you plain and simple. And that look he just gave was to warn me off.”

  “The hell it was.” But as she watched Ben leave, his words played around in her head. Could it really be that he wanted her? Not yet, but he would. Nobody had ever said no to her. It was just a matter of time.

  Going back to work, Rachel put both Rob and Ben out of her mind.

  ***

  Rob wanted nothing more than to smash his fist through the delivery man’s face. On his way to the break room, he had heard Rachel and the guy, Ben, flirting, getting too close for comfort. He knew Rachel had been trying her damnedest to get his attention. At first he had stayed away from her because she was his boss, but later he’d enjoyed her flirtatious attempts to get him to notice her. Call him whatever you want, he was honored she was paying so much attention to him, the maintenance man. Though he was so much more.

  Needing a break from the restrictive restraints of his college obligations, he’d seen the job announcement for the maintenance position while reading through the paper. At the time, he was a visiting professor in the English department at Texas Tech. Rob had accepted the year-long invitation, hoping to get re-energized to finish writing his latest book. But the pressure to finish had scared his muse away. After his position expired, instead of going back to his job in West Virginia, he applied for and was hired on as the maintenance man for the apartment complex. Several of the college students living there recognized him and were constantly asking him to read something for them.

  The only person in the office who knew about his double life was Jonica, the person who’d interviewed and hired him on. She’d seen right through him and confronted him, forcing him to tell her the truth.

  “I don’t know what you are trying to pull, but you can drop the act and sorry excuse for an accent you picked up.”

  “Accent?” he’d asked. Nobody had known his usual proper English hid a heavy country accent and a stuttering problem he had managed to control after years of teasing and taunting.

  “Yeah, accent. I can’t believe nobody has called you out on it until now. And you can drop the blue collar worker act too. I know you have a Ph.D. in English, and you’re a visiting professor at Tech.”

  Rob could only shake his head at the spirited woman. He wasn’t all that certain he wanted to know how she had figured all that out.

  “Fair enough,” he responded in his native deep southern drawl. “I don’t know if I should be worried that you know all this about me.”

  “Nope, it’s my job to check everyone out thoroughly. I run intensive background checks on everyone. Plus I am nosy as hell. Add to that, my girl can’t keep her panties dry every time you’re around. Yeah, I know all about you, boy. I should also tell you that I only know one way to kill a man. And that’s till he’s dead. Understand?”

  Rob

  learned then and there to answer Jonica quickly and succinctly. She didn’t care for long, drawn-out conversations, and if you earned her smile, you’d better treasure it as well as take it as a warning. Although Jonica had mentioned Rachel, nothing could prepare him for her.

  The woman was everything every schoolboy ever dreamed of. And some things they didn’t have the brain power to imagine.

  Dressed in a sexy fitted skirt and buttoned-up shirt, she was the sexiest woman he had ever seen. His tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth at the sight of her, so he was unable to talk to her when they were introduced. Rob was so shaken every time he saw her, he was afraid that he would sound like the stuttering hillbilly people accused him of being.

  It didn’t help that Jonica would shoot him daggers and laugh. So instead of being friendly, he opted for silence.

  But his patience was running out, especially after seeing Rachel flirting with Ben. Going into the break room, he found Jonica by the fridge.

  “What’s up with you?” she asked as soon as she saw his face.

  “Nothing.”

  “You know better than to give me that bullshit, Rob.”

  “Ben was just here.”

  “Oh, so you finally saw their flirting. I already told them to take that shit outside or to a backroom. It’s not professional, talking like that in front of the residents. So, you like our little Rachel? I knew you did. Why didn’t you say something? You know she has the hots for you, right? Why haven’t you taken what she’s offering?” Jonica rapidly fired the series of questions at him.

  “Yes, I want her, but where I’m from, it’s the man who does the chasing. And if I ever find her with Ben in a backroom somewhere, there is going to be hell to pay.”

  “Well, then why don’t you do something about it?”

  Rob didn’t say anything; he just grabbed the bottled water and walked away, Jonica’s warning following him out.

  “You’d better do something before she finds somebody else.”

  Like hell she was. He may be nothing more than a maintenance man, or rather English professor, but she was his, and it was time for Rachel to get what she wanted: all six foot three, two hundred twenty-five pounds of possessive, dominant male.

  Rob turned around and walked back to Jonica. “I’ll do something about it when you stop running from that doctor. Yeah, I noticed you playing cat and mouse. Why else would

  you have me start coming to the hospital to bring you files or call me and have the phone on speaker? I may be from the country, little girl, but I am not stupid. You got an itch too. Why don’t you get it scratched?”

  Rob watched as color stained Jonica’s cheeks. He thought for a moment he’d gone too far. Then she lifted her head, and he saw determination and resolution in her eyes.

  “Deal, hillbilly. I go let the good doctor figure out what ails me, and you go screw the lungs out of Rachel.”

  Rob hesitated a moment before shaking Jonica’s offered hand. He should have been ready for her to clamp down on his fingers like a vice as she added, “and remember, fuck it up and hurt her, and I will kill you dead.”

  “Yeah, well, you tell that doctor if he don’t do you right, I’ll make him a permanent patient of the hospital.”

  ***

  Rachel had had enough. She was tired of throwing herself at him only to be rebuffed again and again. So she decided to ignore the stubborn man and move on. Work kept her busy—the new school year was starting soon, so that meant new college kids moving in. The beginning of the semester was always the most stressful time, because these spoiled little brats thought they could get away with anything. They soon found out otherwise. Usually Jonica handled them, but since she was busy making sure her mom was settled and had the new man in her life, Rachel had to use her tough, take-no-shit persona that people obeyed.

  Not even a week after moving in, she had had to warn four different residents about their loud and obnoxious behavior. So she was in no mood when one of their newest residents came in to complain about the water pressure in his unit.

  “Like the announcement said, we are working on the problem as fast as we can, but there is only so much we can do. We are waiting for the water department to fix a water main pipe in the area.” They were standing next to her desk as she explained the situation to him again. He had called earlier and w
as told the same thing. Today was one of those days when she wished Jonica was back in the front office. People didn’t test Jonica, and subsequently, they didn’t test her for fear that Jonica was somewhere nearby with a “listen motherfucker” perched on the tip of her tongue.

  “Well, then why don’t you show me your shower, and we can wash each other’s backs?” the little cretin asked, invading her space, his hand reaching for her ass.

  He didn’t stand a chance. Taking his wrist in her hands, she twisted it, almost breaking it, as he howled in pain.

  “You bitch, you broke my fucking wrist. I am going to sue,” he threatened. Rachel just applied more pressure, bringing him down to his knees.

  “You even think about touching me again, and a broken wrist is going to be the last of your concerns. Get out.” She released his wrist and stepped back, watching as he continued to scream about his broken wrist.

  The office erupted in applause. It was a good thing they were in the office—the security cameras had caught everything. So when the idiot’s lawyer called her later that afternoon to let her know his client was pressing charges, Rachel hand-delivered a copy of the videotape. She was informed then and there that they were not going to pursue the charges.

  Going back to the office, she finished up some paperwork in a rotten mood. Everyone left her alone. The only person brave enough to approach her was out of the office. So everyone tiptoed around her, taking all phone calls and walk-ins.

  It was late when Rachel finally left for the night. She noticed Jonica’s truck was parked nearby. Rachel thought that was odd, since her friend hadn’t come into the office. Walking towards her truck, she took out her phone and dialed Jonica’s cell. It went straight to voicemail. Rachel started to leave a message but stopped mid-word when she saw Jonica coming out of Rob’s apartment. Yeah, Rachel might have said she was moving on, but seeing her best friend—hell, sister—coming out of the apartment of the man she had been lusting over for the past couple of weeks sent Rachel into an angry red haze.

  “You have ten seconds to tell me why the hell you are coming out of Rob’s apartment this late. Is he the new mystery man you’ve been seeing? Is he?!”

  “You’d better back up right now, Rachel. You know I would never do anything like that to you.”

  “So then what the fuck are you doing in his apartment?” Hands on her hips, she was shooting daggers at Jonica. Rachel knew she was being irrational, but she couldn’t think straight.

  “Bitch, don’t you dare take that tone with me. I was coming into the office, after finding out you were almost assaulted, when I ran into Rob. He needed someone smaller than him to squeeze in to fix his toilet, hence me wearing my belt.” Rachel looked down and saw the purple tool belt riding low on Jonica’s hips. “But since you don’t believe me, why don’t you ask him?” was all the warning Rachel got before Jonica grabbed her arm and pushed her into Rob’s apartment. “Rob, you’d better fuck her brains out before I beat them in. You’d better set her straight. And then I want you both to be in my office tomorrow at eight a.m. sharp for apologies.”

  Rachel caught her balance, hearing her friend slam the door behind her. Looking up, she saw Rob was sitting at a baby grand piano, his hands hovering over the keys, staring at her.

  “I, uhm—” Rachel was at a loss for words.

  “Jonica was in here to help fix my toilet. I was just coming back from the hardware store when I ran into her. She offered to help me.”

  His voice was deep and sexy. Thick and slow like molasses. It washed over her like a blast of warm air and tingled all the parts of her that came from having two x’s. She closed her eyes and dropped her head back, the mini-gasms that danced along her nerves tormenting her and stoking her fire. For a moment she forgot to be pissed. And that pissed her off even more.

  “I can’t believe the first words you speak to me are to tell me that Jonica was helping you fix your damn toilet.” Rachel directed her anger at him. She had made a fool of herself, thinking Jonica would ever hurt her that way. And the way Rachel saw it, it was all his fault.

  “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find a way to apologize to my sister and not get killed in the process.” Rachel turned to leave, knowing she would have to beg and plead for Jonica to forgive her. How could she have been so stupid? She was so busy castrating herself that she didn’t hear Rob get up, quickly closing the distance between them, and stop her from leaving, pushing the door closed with the palm of his hand, blocking her grand exit.

  “You are not going anywhere, Rachel. Do you know how long I’ve wanted you in here?” Rachel couldn’t stop the shiver that went through her body.

  “How could I? Up until now, you have never spoken a word to me, remember?”

  “I apologize for that, honey, but that was all your fault.”

  Rachel turned to face him, exploding in anger.

  “My fault? All of this was my fault? Do you know I just made a big fucking mistake, thinking Jonica would go behind my back and go after the man I wanted? I am going to have to get down on my knees and beg for her forgiveness for the next fucking year.” With each word out of her mouth, Rachel poked his chest with her index finger, pushing him further and further back into his apartment until the backs of his knees hit the piano bench. Sitting down, Rachel loomed lividly over him, one hand on the top of the piano for support, the other hand still poking a hole through his chest.

  “And you have the fucking nerve to say that this was my fault? No, motherfucker, it ain’t. If you just had the common fucking decency to talk to me, to tell me ‘hey, I am not interested’ or whatever, I wouldn’t have wasted my time humiliating myself and then thinking the worst about my sister. So fuck you!”

  Done with her rant, she turned to leave, again. Again in quick strides he was by her side, turning her to face him.

  “You’ve had your say, so now it’s my turn,” he growled out, not unaware he had let his natural accent take over. It seemed to lend a new power, a new dimension to his command. He’d always seemed to hold himself in check with women, but Rachel, with her sassy mouth and endless flirting, was sawing away at the tethered beast. “It is your fault, because since the first time I saw you dressed in that tight pencil skirt you love to tease me with, I have wanted nothing more than to order you to my bed.” He paused at her sharp intake of breath. “That’s right, Rachel—I said ordered. I don’t play at being dominant or possessive like other men do. I am. So you’d better decide now whether that’s something you want, because I am about two seconds from ordering you into my bed after I strip you naked.”

  Those were the very words Rachel had wanted to hear since she’d first laid eyes on him. But now they were coming a little too late. Rachel needed to get to Jonica and apologize.

  Looking him straight on, she straightened to her full height. “I need to talk to Jonica, so let me out.” She was proud of how strong her voice sounded. But his next words shattered her self-control.

  “No, honey, you are not going anywhere tonight. I plan to fuck your brains out just as Jonica’s been daring me to. Just like my body has been telling me I should. God in heaven only knows why I’ve been waiting, but damn it all, you are mine now. And I will not stop until my dick breaks off in your body. We will apologize tomorrow morning if we are alive, but tonight is for us. Tonight I am going to finally find out what you taste like. What color your nipples are. See that full ass naked, across my lap, ready to be spanked. Tonight, Rachel, I intend to have you. Over and over again.”

  His whispered words held her captive, and the lick of his thick tongue against the shell of her ear damn near made her tie herself up and beg for him to ravage her. Her panties were damp when she thought of him, drenched when he spoke and flooded before the last syllable left is lips.

  “Turn around, Rachel.” She couldn’t ignore the steel command behind those three words. Unable to resist, Rachel turned, slowly raising her head to meet his. Backing up to the door for support, Rachel saw the ra
w, naked desire in his green eyes, mirroring her own.

  “Drop your purse on the ground and unbutton your shirt.”

  “It’s a five hundred dollar purse. How clean are your floors?”

  Where that question came from, Rachel had no idea, but it gave her time to regroup. She wasn’t going to make it that easy for him, no matter how much of a wicked picture his words promised. Not after he’d ignored her and made her question Jonica. Chica, you can repeat that all you want, but the reason you are resisting is because you want to feel the flat of his hand on your ass, her inner freak taunted.

  “Drop the purse,” Rob repeated again.

  Rachel’s hand opened, the purse falling with a loud plop.

  ***

  It was all Rob could do to keep the stern look on his face and not crack the smile that was threatening to surface at her resistance. His dick was throbbing inside his jeans, wanting to come out and make itself known as he watched her small manicured fingers begin to undo the buttons on her shirt.

  With every piece of skin revealed, his hands itched to feel her softness. Everywhere. Finally all the buttons were undone, the sides gaping open, exposing a white bra. He would leave her like that for now.

  “Now take off the skirt.”

  She immediately followed his directive, his heart almost stopping as she shimmied out of the damn tight-fitting thing. Now it was him having trouble breathing, watching as she kicked the material out of the way. Rob had to summon his soon-to-be-shot-to-hell patience seeing Rachel standing in black heels and a matching white panty and bra set, with her shirt hanging open. Wet dream come to life.

  Reaching out, he caressed the exposed skin of her belly with his hand. She trembled as his hand made its way up, pushing the material of the shirt first off one shoulder, then the other.

  “You look so sexy standing there in heels and this soft lacy underwear. How do you feel, Rachel?”