The Naughty List

by Caisey Quinn

  “You never said if you liked what I’m wearing.” Her voice is breathy as it fills the tight space between us.

  I allow my eyes to roam greedily over every exposed inch of her skin before meeting her gaze.

  “If there are angels in Hell, Hollis, ones you get to lust after for all of eternity and are never allowed to touch, I expect this is exactly what they look like.”

  She licks her lips slowly, making it hard for me to think straight. I’m so close to her skin that her scent fills my head. That vanilla cinnamon scent that makes me ache to taste her.

  “So you enjoyed those other women parading around half naked for you, but I make you feel like you’re in Hell.” She nods as if this is hurtful, but I can tell she’s taunting me. Her lips are still fighting back a grin. “I see how it is.”

  “If I step any closer, you’re going to feel how it is, Rossi.” As in, my stiff cock will be poking you eagerly, worse than Achilles begging for attention.

  Blatant desire swirls in her dark pupils. I’m not sure if it’s hers or mine reflected back at me.

  Neon red warning signs flash danger behind my own eyes, but I can’t force myself to back away from her. I’m too far gone now to remove myself from the situation.

  “Tell me the truth, Rossi. This really about the job, or something else?”

  What do you want from me, woman?

  Her full, round, partially-exposed tits heave between us. I would sell my soul to put my mouth on them right now. Mine and anyone else’s I could get my hands on.

  Her eyes narrow, but still linger on my lips.

  “I don’t want to get this job on my back if that’s what you’re asking.”

  I gesture to her body. “That’s one hell of a getup for someone trying to earn it on merit.”

  Her jaw clenches and her mood shifts instantly. It’s disappointment instead of desire coloring her features now. “You’re missing the point.”

  “Am I? Probably because I can’t think straight with your body on display like this. Find a red-blooded male who could.”

  She sighs and pulls the robe around her, effectively blocking my view and allowing some oxygen to return to my brain.

  “The point is, the things you need your assistant to do, personal or professional, I can do them. All of them, Jonah. I can definitely do them better than Dalton and maybe even better than Eli. Because whatever you ask of me, I will go above and beyond each and every time. Always.”

  I know that already.

  She was just supposed to walk the dogs when I first hired her and yet, she feeds them daily, researches the best dietary options for their respective breeds, takes them to the vet, gets them groomed, and makes sure they stay up to date on their vaccinations. She even takes them to get their teeth cleaned regularly for fuck’s sake.

  Sighing, I take a step backward. “I know that, Hollis.”

  She folds her arms defiantly and her lower lip juts out. The sexiest version of pouting I’ve ever seen.

  “Then what the heck, Jonah? What’s the problem? Why give the job to the pizza boy over me?”

  Because you say things like ‘what the heck.’

  I shake my head. “I’ve told you why. You are the one good thing in my life and I’d like to keep it that way. If you were my PA, it would get complicated. All that time together, all the…whatever the fuck it is when two people spend day after day in close proximity—”

  “Intimacy,” she breaks in. “That’s the issue? You’re afraid of intimacy?”

  She might as well have said oh, I see now. The problem is you’re a pussy.

  “I’m not afraid of anything, Rossi,” I practically growl, my testosterone level rising once more. “Frankly, if you don’t put some clothes on in the next thirty seconds, it’s about to get real intimate in here. As in, my mouth is going to intimately explore every inch of your edible body. Which will complicate things and I don’t do complications.”

  Her face loses the battle with the blush creeping up her neck from her chest.

  I take another step back because I have to before I lose control completely.

  “What’s next on your damn list?”

  She averts her gaze. “Um, break a law to give you something you want.”

  I sigh heavily. “Well, we’re about two seconds from me sexually assaulting you in a public place, so check that one off too.”

  Her coy smile returns. “There are worse things.”

  I’m about to ask if that’s what she’s aiming for when the curtain flies open, metal rings on the tension rod scraping loudly and startling us both.

  A uniformed police officer stands there and I’m speechless.

  What the fuck? We haven’t actually broken any laws yet.

  “Mikey?” Hollis screeches just before everything goes black.

  7

  HOLLIS

  BETTER NOT CRY, BETTER NOT POUT

  “I can’t believe Mikey actually punched out Jonah X,” I hear one of my dad’s old cronies say for the tenth time tonight while I’m wiping down the bar.

  “It was a cheap shot,” I mutter because it was.

  Jonah was caught off guard by my brother. I was right there and hadn’t seen it coming either.

  Thanks to Addi. She told her husband what I was up to with Jonah and he ended up punching my boss in the face.

  Tony’s Tavern, the bar my non-punching brother and my retired dad run together has been packed since I got here at six. From the sounds of it, bad news travels fast.

  Shawna Mills, our resident bar fly, leans toward me. “Say, Hollis, what were you doing in a dressing room with your boss anyway?”

  “He was helping her get undressed is what I heard,” her friend Lola Bishop says while lighting a cigarette. “Can’t say I blame you, girl. He’s fine as fu—”

  “Jonah X,” someone else calls out and I’m ready to scream.

  “Enough.” I slam my towel down on the bar and point at Tony. “I’m taking my break.”

  “But Jonah—” Tony begins before I cut him off.

  “If I hear that name one more time, I’m going to quit here and now. I’m tired of this whole place knowing my business. And you fools don’t even tell it right.”

  “—is right there,” my brother finishes, tilting his head toward my next customer.

  Jonah, in all his black leather motorcycle-jacket-wearing glory plants himself on a stool at the bar. I didn’t even know he knew where this place was.

  He doesn’t go out in public much, definitely not around a bunch of drunk dudes that like to talk trash about him walking away from the UFC.

  “Jonah?”

  He leans in to be heard over the din. “I think, technically, you have to quit now, per your last statement.”

  I can’t even form the thoughts necessary to respond to that.

  “What are you doing here?”

  His nose is still swollen across the bridge, but thankfully there’s no trace of any bruising on his face.

  He glances from me to Tony and back again. “I came to talk to your brother. Uh, the cop one. What happened today…I can understand how he felt. I don’t have a sister, but if I did, and I saw what he saw, I would’ve reacted the same way.”

  Tony’s eyes are trained on Jonah but he’s much more laid back than Mikey. “He’ll be here when he gets off. Sometime around ten if you want to hang around.” His attention shifts to me. “Get him a beer. On the house. I’ll go tell the guys to cool it.”

  Tony’s still my brother, so no doubt he isn’t thrilled about whatever Mikey told him. But he’s a businessman. Jonah making an appearance in his bar will bring in patrons far better than any advertising ever could. The last thing he wants is someone running him off.

  “What are you drinking?”

  Jonah gives me a weak grin. “I’m not. You know that.”

  He’s never said why, but Jonah never drinks. I’ve never seen alcohol anywhere near him.

  “Curiouser and curiouser,” I mumble, wi
ping moisture off the glass I just rinsed for him. “Want a soda?”

  “Water is good.”

  I chew the inside of my cheek. “Hm, yes it is. But you can’t order it in here.”

  His brows draw inward. “And why is that?”

  “Just trust me.” Jonah already has a target on his back, if any of the regulars see him drinking water they’ll laugh him out of here.

  “Here,” I hand him a glass of iced tea. “If anyone asks, we’ll say it’s a Long Island.”

  He lifts it in an appreciative gesture before taking a drink.

  “Did you ice your nose? For the swelling?”

  He sets the glass down and looks at me like I’m joking.

  “Hollis, I’ve taken way harder hits than that. Even before the octagon. Trust me, I’m fine.”

  “You should still ice it.”

  He lets out a small chuff of laughter. “Yeah, I’ll get right on that.”

  Several customers begin to crowd the bar area. Primarily of the female persuasion. A few of them are already slurring their words. Bachelorette party, I think, and they’re practically climbing over each other to get a closer look at Jonah.

  Something sour churns in my stomach.

  “Ladies, what can I get you?”

  One of them nods toward Jonah. “His number.”

  “Sorry, that’s not on the menu this evening. Can I interest you in a drink?”

  Tony told the guys to cool it. He forgot to tell the girls.

  “Um, I’ll take a dirty slut,” the raven-haired one says loudly. “And she’ll have a screaming orgasm.” She tilts her head toward her blond friend. “Make it a double. We prefer multiples.”

  Very subtle, ladies.

  “Give me just a sec.” I make their drinks as quickly as possible, eager to get them away from Jonah. He’s had a tough enough day as it is.

  Once I’ve handed their drinks over and opened their tabs, I return to where my Jonah is admiring all the Red Sox and Celtics memorabilia on the walls.

  “Nice place,” he says mostly to himself. “Your family owns it?”

  I nod and resume drying high ball glasses. “Yeah. My brother talked my dad into buying it with him when he retired from the Boston PD.”

  Jonah’s gaze swings around the room. “That explains all the law enforcement officers in here.”

  “How can you tell?”

  He’s right actually, but it’s not like any of them are currently in uniform.

  His gaze drops. “Growing up, I had several run ins with the law. You learn to spot them on duty and off.”

  “You’re not a criminal, Jonah. You don’t have anything to worry about from any of these guys.”

  He takes another drink of his tea. “I’m not worried. Cops used to make me nervous…when I was younger. Not so much anymore, unless they’re punching me in the face at the time.”

  “Yeah, about that.” I sigh heavily when another group of bachelorette party goers begin waving their arms to get my attention. “Hold that thought.”

  I get the small group the shots they request then head back to Jonah.

  “Anyways, about Mikey. He’s always been extremely protective. Of me and Tony both, but especially of me. He’s the oldest and our dad worked a lot. Growing up, he took it upon himself to be the man of the house.”

  Jonah gives me a wry grin. “I understand. I wasn’t always on the right side of the law growing up so a cop punching me was kind of karma I guess.”

  “Nobody’s perfect.” I grab some regulars refills from the tap. “But you didn’t deserve that.”

  Once I’ve handled all of the patrons at the bar, I return to where Jonah is turning his half-empty glass around and around in his hands.

  “So what kind of crimes did you commit when you were a kid? Were you more on the graffiti end of the spectrum or grand theft auto?”

  “A little of both actually. They called me pretty boy when I was young. I didn’t like it. Guess it put me on some kind of mission to prove them wrong.”

  I don’t know who they is but I’m not about to interrupt when he’s sharing.

  “Such a rebel.”

  He finishes the last of his tea and shrugs. “That’s the worst part of being a kid. Giving a damn what everyone else thinks.”

  “You don’t anymore?”

  He can sell that lie somewhere else. There’s a reason he stays hidden away up in his high-rise. Not that I blame him.

  Before he answers, my brother Mikey walks in and begins to make his way through the crowd.

  Charging toward us like an angry bull.

  “Incoming,” I warn Jonah.

  He approaches quickly and Jonah stands.

  Mikey reaches his right hand out once he’s within reach. “Hey man, my bad about today. I was out of line.”

  Breathing a sigh of relief, I watch as they shake hands. For the next few minutes I do my best to keep a watchful eye on the situation while waiting on my customers. They seem to be multiplying by the minute—especially for a weeknight. There isn’t a big game tonight so I’m thinking the masses have more to do with Jonah than what’s on the big screens.

  I watch Jonah and my brother chatting easily for a few more minutes, my nerves tensing when Tony joins them. But by the time I make it into hearing range, the three of them are all smiles.

  I arrive to the conversation just in time to overhear Jonah say, “It’s not like that, I swear. It’s never been like that. It will never be like that.”

  There’s so much certainty in his voice. Their eyes all turn to me and instantly I know exactly what he’s referring to.

  Me.

  I don’t know why it hits me so hard.

  I already know Jonah doesn’t see me like that. Even after today, I don’t think anything has changed. Except now he knows my bra size.

  And it’s not like my goal was to get in his pants or win his heart. I want the job. That’s all.

  Keep telling yourself that, kid.

  Why Addi is the voice of my subconscious is beyond me. But there are inexplicable tears threatening to form as a painful lump constricts my throat.

  It will never be like that.

  “Tony, I’m taking my break,” I choke out quickly while I can. “Cover the bar for me.”

  Without another word, I whirl around and make my way to the back alley exit.

  I shove my hand against the door so hard it stings, but once I breathe in a face full of fresh air, I forget the pain.

  Damn Jonah to Hell.

  I don’t know why he has this affect on me. It’s excruciatingly obvious I have little to no affect on him.

  Unless I’m in my underwear.

  I sigh and my breath clouds in the cold.

  This shouldn’t matter.

  Addi’s words come back to me.

  If this is just a way to get closer to a man who will eventually shatter your sweet little heart and soul, I think you should stick to dog walking.

  Even Addi knows Jonah is lightyears out of my league.

  As if my thoughts conjure him, the back door opens slowly and Jonah steps out from behind the dumpsters.

  “Is it safe for you to be out here all alone?”

  The only person I see capable of causing me pain is him so I shrug. “I’ve made it this far.”

  He walks toward me, stopping just inches away from reaching distance. He leans on the building with his hands in his jacket pockets. “So your brother seems less interested in choking me with his bare hands than I expected.”

  “Awesome,” I say without looking at him. “Mission accomplished then.”

  “That wasn’t the only reason I came here tonight,” he admits.

  I turn and lock eyes with him. “So what’s the other reason?”

  His breath mingles with mine in the frigid air between us.

  “I thought about what you said. And I wanted to explain.”

  I glance up briefly at the darkened sky wishing I could see the stars. “What did I say? I say
a lot of things.”

  His lips twitch because we both know I’m the one who does most of the talking.

  “I’m not afraid of intimacy, Hollis. It’s the consequences that concern me—what would happen after. The kind of women I’m intimate with know the score straight out of the gate. They only want one thing and so do I. They want a piece of me—but only a small piece.” He frowns. “Wait. Fuck. I mean, it’s a big piece, but only for a short amount of time and no like, commitment, or whatever.”

  “I saw your dick, Jonah. I know it’s not small,” I say with an eye roll. “But I get what you mean.”

  “Do you? Because today…that was…”

  “A little over the top?” I finish for him.

  He nods. “Yeah. I mean, don’t get me wrong, you know you’re beautiful and you looked like something straight out my darkest forbidden fantasies in that—whatever it was. Part of me, the large part we just referred to, reacted to you stronger than I ever have anyone else. I almost lost control and I do not lose control. Ever. But I think we both know where this would go if I’d acted on that impulse.”

  To a nearby bedroom?

  My head spins from the onslaught of information.

  He just told Mikey it will never be like that.

  Now he’s telling me I’m beautiful and straight out of his fantasies.

  Make up your mind, man!

  I try to organize my thoughts into a coherent list but they won’t cooperate.

  “Where do you think it would go, Jonah? You think if we hooked up I’d fall madly in love with you and quit my job when you didn’t love me back?”

  Clearly he was underestimating how badly I wanted that condo.

  He pulls his hands out of his pockets and holds them up. “I don’t know, Hollis. What I do know is that you’re the girlfriend-engagement ring-marriage type. And I am most definitely not the boyfriend-fiance-wedding bells type. So we’re shopping in different categories, that’s all.”

  The truth is, I haven’t been shopping at all. Between living with my parents and working for Jonah, I haven’t had time to meet anyone. Nothing kills the sex-me vibe like want to come hang out at my parents’ house? Oh, hang on, I have to run by the home of the sexiest ex-MMA fighter on the planet. Yeah, I have a key to his place. No worries.