Attraction Series Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by J B Heller

  “Wow, you eat a lot of take-out, huh?” she noted.

  “Yeah, I can cook, but I just can’t be arsed by the time I get home most nights.”

  She nodded to herself before picking up a menu and reading through it. If anyone understood, it was Ivy. She knew the hours I worked, knew how dedicated I was to my clients. Big or small, I had a job to do, and they deserved my best efforts. I glanced back over at her; she was chewing on her bottom lip.

  I wanted to chew on that lip damn it. I turned slightly away from her so I could shift my cock again. This was going to be a long fucking few weeks.

  “This sounds good, can we get Chinese?” she asked.

  “Sure, what do you want and I’ll ring it through.”

  “Honey chicken please. I haven’t had it for ages.”

  I’d have given her anything to see that smile on her face, and all I had to do was get her honey chicken. Easily done. I rang the order through while Ivy went to do something in the lounge room. I could hear the TV going but I had no idea what she was watching. When I got off the phone, I wandered in to see.

  She was crouched down behind the TV cabinet muttering to herself. There were a few cords in one hand while the other was on the floor keeping her balanced in an awkward position. Her arse was up in the air again. I walked further into the room to find Kai sitting on the couch, beer in hand, enjoying the show.

  I smacked him up the back of the head. Pervy bastard. He just grinned at me. I nodded towards her and quietly asked him what the hell she was doing.

  “Connecting her Wii? What the fuck is a Wii?” he answered.

  How should I know? I shrugged and walked over to her, placing my hand on the small of her back. She jumped under my touch, causing her to lose her balance and fall. I caught her easily and she was now in my arms with a cute little grin on her beautiful face.

  “Sorry, you startled me. I didn’t hear you come in.” Then she saw Kai sitting on the couch behind me. Her gaze narrowed at him, “Where’d you come from? I told you, I don’t like that sneaky ninja thing you do.”

  He shrugged and I looked back and forth between the two of them. What was I missing here?

  She steadied herself and pushed out of my arms.

  I had to ask, “What sneaky ninja thing?”

  “Him,” she nodded towards Kai “he’s a sneaky bastard. Moves around all stealthy like, it creeps me out. He just shows up, like he teleports into the room or something.”

  Her arms were crossed under her boobs now and I saw his eyes sweep across the words covering her chest. I was shooting daggers at him and I couldn’t stop it. He was one of my oldest and best friends, but he was checking out my girl’s tits. In front of me!

  Whoa, wait, no, not my girl. Shit. I dropped my gaze to the floor. I had no right to get the shits with him. Just then, the doorbell rang. “Food’s here,” I grumbled.

  Ivy was excited. She bounced on her toes and clapped her hands like a seal being electrocuted. “You right there darlin’?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’m just hungry. And I told you, it’s been ages since I had Chinese.”

  Okay then. I’d never seen her get excited about food before. I was seeing a completely new side of her. At work, she’s all business, except if you got between her and her coffee. Then the claws came out and you may as well have a sign on your head that read Dead Man Walking. Other than that, she’s very professional, and super-efficient. But here, now, she was so laid-back and I don’t know, peppy?

  I smiled and went to get the food.

  She had plates and cutlery out when I came back into the kitchen. I looked at her and shook my head, “Umm, no. Take-out means no clean up. Put that stuff away, we’ll eat out of the cartons.”

  “But what if I want to try some of the other stuff, too?” she whined.

  God, she was pouting. “I’ll share, I promise.”

  She beamed and bounced over to me, taking the bag of food from my hands. Yelling out to Bitch Face that dinner was here, she dug into the bag, finding what she wanted.

  I’d never, in all my life, seen two women eat like this pair. It was something else. How they were both in such good shape, considering the amount of food I had just seen them consume, I had no idea. If I didn’t witness it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it. I had planned to take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow, but there weren’t any. When I looked over at Kai, I could see he was thinking the same thing.

  Tomorrow I was going to have to get more groceries than I thought. Ivy had a satisfied look in her eyes; she was happy and relaxed. I hadn’t seen that look for a while. I leant back to the sideboard behind me and pulled a notebook and pen from the drawer, I slipped it across the table to her. “Write a shopping list. I’ll pick it up tomorrow.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t have to do that. Tessa and I can go when I finish work.”

  “Nope, you two aren’t going anywhere without one of us,” I replied quickly, motioning over to Kai with my thumb and he nodded his agreement. “Bitch Face can work from here during the day. It’s safe here, nobody can get in. And neither of you are leaving the house unaccompanied. Okay?”

  They sat there in stunned silence. Bitch Face was the first to speak up. Not surprising, since I’d just used my nickname for her, to her face.

  “Did you just call me— Bitch Face?” she asked.

  I nodded, “Yep.”

  She placed her hand over her heart, “Naw, how sweet, you have a pet name for me.”

  “Umm, what? It’s not supposed to be a compliment,” I said confused.

  She lifted a shoulder and flipped her hand around in the air, dismissing me, and then moved on to the next topic. “So you’re saying I’m pretty much under house arrest?”

  She’s a head case, I’m sure of it. “You could look at it like that, or you could look at it like this. You’re safe here. Safe is good. Don’t mess with a good thing.”

  “What if I have a meeting with my agent? Or I suddenly get my period and have to go get tampons. Hmmm? What—”

  Ivy’s hand shot out to cover her cousin’s mouth. She was beet red. But not Bitch Face, she wore a smug expression, glad she had made Kai and I squirm at the mention of female bodily functions we’d rather not hear about.

  “Oh my God, ignore her, let’s pretend she has Tourette’s,” Ivy exclaimed.

  I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “We’ll deal with that if it happens to come up, okay? Give Kai your number so you can call him if you need to go out, for any reason.”

  After dinner, Ivy asked me to help her set up her Wii. I’d never heard of one before but whatever. I’d accepted that I would do anything for her if she asked. It didn’t take me long to connect all the cords up to the TV. When I turned around, she was putting a black board on the floor beside the cabinet.

  “What’s that for?” I asked.

  “It goes with my Wii.”

  “What the hell is a Wii anyway?”

  “It’s a game thing, you know, like X-Box or PlayStation. I don’t use it for the games; I use it for the personal trainer. See?”

  She handed me a game case, called Wii Fit. I flipped it over and skimmed over the back. Looked different. Can’t beat going to the gym though.

  “Why do you need this? Why not just go to the gym?”

  “I’d rather do it at home. I put on my music and off I go. It’s pretty fun. Plus, when I first started doing the yoga routines I sucked arse, I was always falling over because I had no balance. I’d rather save myself the embarrassment.”

  Yoga, shit. She’d better not do that shit while I’m at home. I ran my hand through my hair; I did not need a visual of her being all flexible and shit.

  “When do you normally do all this?” I’d try and make sure I wasn’t around for it. Or I’d be toast.

  “Mornings, evenings, whenever I get the time really.”

  The next morning, I woke up later than usual. I hadn’t been able to get to sleep last night and I’d forgotten to set my alarm. I
tossed and turned for hours, imagining Ivy bent over in all sorts of tricky positions. I had to beat off twice before I finally fell asleep.

  I showered and dressed before walking down the hall and into the kitchen, where Kai, Bitch Face and Ivy sat drinking coffee. Ivy had brought her own coffee machine with her, just in case mine wasn’t up to her standards. Since I hadn’t gone shopping before everyone came, nobody was eating breakfast. “Sorry about the lack of food, guys. I’ll hit the grocery store today. You girls write a list?”

  Ivy nodded and slid the note pad from last night over to me. Glancing down at it I nearly died when I saw in writing that definitely wasn’t Ivy’s, the word tampons. I dropped the pad on the bench and glared at Bitch Face. She wore an evil smirk. “Oh, hell no. I’m not buying that shit.”

  Ivy reached for the pad again and laughed when she saw what I was talking about. “It was a joke Gabe; she’s got all that stuff covered. Trust me.”

  A shiver ran down my spine. Gross, I didn’t want to know about her bodily functions. “Yeah well, it’s not funny. Keep that shit to yourself.”

  I directed my stare right at Bitch Face. She shrugged and stood up from the bench stool she was sitting on, put her coffee mug in the sink and went back to her room. I heard her mutter as she walked passed me, “Kill joy.”

  Ivy came around to my side of the bench and rested her small hand on my forearm, calming me down. Bitch Face pushing my buttons had put a scowl on my face, but Ivy’s gesture wiped it away. She smiled back at me, then turned and put the dirty mugs in the dishwasher. “You ready to head in? I figure I may as well ride with you since you’ve appointed yourself my new babysitter.”

  “I prefer the term bodyguard.”

  The sexiest little smirk touched her lips as she glanced at me over her shoulder. How had I missed all this before? She’s sexy even when she’s not trying to be. I wonder if she even knew how beautiful she was. She doesn’t act like it. I leant back against the bench, just admiring the view, as Ivy flitted around my kitchen grabbing dirty cups and spoons. I loved how at ease she was in my house.

  Later in the day, I briefed Kai on the cases I was supposed to have been working on the last few weeks. He took it all in his stride, as he did with everything. Kai was not a complicated guy. If you asked him something, he’d tell it to you straight. He was also very observant. That’s why I wasn’t surprised when he hit me up about Ivy.

  “So, you and Ivy, when are you finally going to grow a pair?”

  I rubbed the back of my neck. I’d only ever been honest with Kai; he knew everything there was to know about me. No point lying to him now, “I can’t man. You know her. She’s too good for my sorry arse.”

  He didn’t miss a beat. “She doesn’t seem to think so.”

  “Yeah, I know. She told me a few days ago. But I can’t. I feel like I’d be bringing her down to my level. I can’t take her off her pedestal.”

  “You’re the one who put her up there, man, so why the hell not? She wants you to. Shouldn’t it be her choice?”

  “I know, I know. She’s just so fuckin’ pure, man, I don’t deserve her.”

  He just shook his head, picked up the case files we’d been going through and stood to leave my office. Before he opened the door, he turned back to me, “Don’t let her slip through your stubborn fingers. You’re worth more than you think.”

  I tried not to dwell on his words too much, I wanted to believe them, but I knew better.

  After a day of digging into any and all possible suspects from Ivy’s past, I had officially ruled them all out. How could such a sweet girl attract this kind of attention?

  Then it hit me, that night at the bar. She’d been dressed to kill, and she’s too polite to give the evil eye that most of the bitches throw at every dude that looks their way. She probably smiled at the wrong pervert when he was checking her out and that’s all the encouragement he needed.

  I rang the owner of Grimm’s, the bar we’d been at, and arranged to go see him tomorrow. I’d go through all his surveillance footage from that night. It was a long shot that anything would turn up, but it was worth a try. Other than baiting the prick, I had nowhere else to go from here. Putting Ivy in harm’s way was not something I was willing to consider.

  After I’d made the call, I went out to get Ivy, “You wanna hang around here and head back with Kai or go grocery shopping with me?”

  She looked up from the stack of papers she was shuffling through and there it was; that smile. “Sure, just let me put these away. They can wait until tomorrow.”

  I stood against the wall, hands in my pockets, watching her as she filed the papers. When she finished and grabbed her bag, she noticed me watching her. A beautiful blush spread over her cheeks.

  I couldn’t even lie to myself anymore. The attraction between us was undeniable.

  I didn’t move from my spot against the wall as I waited to see what she would do. Heat filled her eyes as she straightened her back and stalked towards me.

  Shit.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  I had stopped myself from launching onto him last night when I had busted him watching me in my room. I wasn’t imagining it; he was finally done fighting his attraction to me. I could see it; it was all over his face. He wanted me as much as I wanted him. But why wasn’t he doing anything about it?

  He just stood there, watching me. When I saw the heat flicker to a burning fire in his eyes, I decided I was done waiting. He straightened up against the wall and as I stalked towards him I watched his Adams apple bob as he swallowed. My tongue slid out to wet my suddenly dry lips.

  I was in front of him now, my small hand against his large chest. He smelt so good, causing me to inhale sharply. I lifted to my tiptoes, but even in five-inch heels, he still towered over me. As I ran my nose against the column of his throat, he tensed but didn’t speak. When I reached his ear, I whispered, “I told you, you would finally see me.”

  Then I stepped back and waved goodbye to Kai, who’d set up a temporary workstation on the other side of the room. He grinned and waved back. Then I walked out the door and got into Gabe’s car.

  The drive to the shops wasn’t too awkward. I mean, it was a little, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Not if it meant I was finally making some headway with Gabe. He kept readjusting the crotch of his pants as he drove, while shooting cautious glances towards me from the corner of his eye. As if he thought I was going to pounce at any minute. I smiled and looked out my window.

  Fuck, Fuck, Fuck. She’s going to kill me. She sat across from me in the car as if nothing had happened. Nothing at all. I had no idea what to say, how to act, or what to fucking do. She had me all tied up in knots, that had never happened to me before. If there was one thing I knew, it was women. I knew how to handle them. Sexually I mean, not emotionally. I ran as far and fast away from that shit as possible. Yet here I was, trying to figure her out.

  If my dick had his way, we’d have fucked against my car in the parking lot. I had to take a few minutes to pull myself together before following her out to my car. Kai, that rat bastard, started laughing his arse off as soon as she was out of ear’s shot. I shot him the harshest glare I could muster, but the fucker just laughed harder. I flipped him off on my way out the door.

  Having Ivy in my house was not good for my sleep. The girls have been here for a week now and I’ve probably slept a total of ten hours in that time. I’m averaging two hours a night, and it’s killing me. A constant flow of images start running through my mind, like an erotic movie, every damn time I close my eyes to go to sleep.

  I’ve wacked off more in this last week than in my whole fucking life. I swear Ivy doesn’t know how to close her goddamned bedroom door. Every time I open my door, she’s there, in various stages of undress. Usually she’s in her bra and panties, or a towel. I react by either, staring at her like a tool and then fumbling over my words when she notices me, or by walking straight back into my room and having a cold shower and a pull.


  This morning I was hoping I could get away without having to have a cold shower. I was getting sick of them, and frankly, I’m not sure how much longer they’re going to do the trick. I’m becoming more irritable and a bigger arsehole than usual, with each passing day. Not only am I battling sleep deprivation, but extreme sexual frustration too. Today’s plan was to get up extra early and get out of her vicinity before she woke up.

  I seriously didn’t know if I’d survive watching her eat her breakfast again. Yesterday morning she had Nutella and Peanut Butter on toast. Seems harmless right? Fuck no. The spreads melted on the hot toast, making them runny. When she took her first bite, it smeared over her plump bottom lip and some of it ran down her chin. That conversation went something like this—

  Me- “You can’t eat that shit anymore.”

  Her- “Excuse me? Why the hell not? It’s my favourite.”

  Me- “It’ll make you fat.”

  I couldn’t stop it. It was all I could think to say. The words were out of my mouth before I could do anything about it. Bitch Face nearly launched over the breakfast bar to throttle me, I didn’t blame her, but Ivy stepped in front of her, preventing her from reaching me. There was no point trying to redeem myself from that, so I turned tail and took off down the hall. I could hear Bitch Face yelling after me, calling me all the things I was already thinking about myself at that point.

  Watching Ivy try to lick it off her chin nearly killed me. I wanted to lick it off her, and taste it on her tongue. There was no way I could say or do that and a cold shower didn’t help ease the situation. A good hard wank helped somewhat, although I was still a moody bastard.

  Opening my bedroom door slowly and poking my head out, I couldn’t see Ivy anywhere. Her door was wide open but she wasn’t in there. Then I heard it, a male voice, coming from the lounge room. It wasn’t Kai and it sure as hell wasn’t me. What the fuck! I took off running. When I reached the lounge room, I stopped dead in my tracks.