This was absurd. Why did I find his smile so freaking attractive?
The apartment complex was named Charlene’s Garden in honor of the Codys’ mother. The two-story building had a redbrick façade and special red roof tiles. They were designed with a minimalist style in mind but looked pretty classy for the apartment’s price range. I thought to myself that if my housekeeping job didn’t pan out for some reason, I might ask Jamie if I could be put on the tenant list.
We stopped at the onsite office, and he introduced me to his staff, but only one person was in the office.
Jamie put his arm around my shoulders casually. “Hey, Lisa, this is my girl, Simone. Simone, this is the office manager, Lisa. We’ll probably see Greg, he’s my partner, and Carlos, he’s our foreman, out back. We’re working on the drainage pond today with the welder subcontractor.”
I was oblivious to Jamie’s insinuation until I realized that the office manager saw me in a different way. “Oh, I’m the Codys’ new housekeeper. I used to be their babysitter a long time ago.”
Lisa smiled, but it didn’t seem she really believed I was a housekeeper. Perhaps I wasn’t dressed like people in that trade. I caught Lisa secretly scrutinizing the Burberry blouse I wore and the custom-made Saville Row loafers on my feet.
Before I left New York, I sold most of the high-ticketed items in my wardrobe on an online auction site and put the money aside as emergency savings. Selling expensive clothes to buy cheap ones seemed silly to me, so I kept what was left.
“So you’re that Simone. I heard a lot about you from Jamie,” said Lisa. “Are you currently living with him?”
I thought I detected an air of jealously from the girl. Lisa was quite an attractive young woman in her mid-twenties. She was a redhead with healthy freckles on her face. She wore minimal makeup and her beauty shone naturally. I liked girls who didn’t paint their faces like a mask. I wondered if she and Jamie had a history.
I smiled graciously. “It’s a live-in position. I have to take care the three of them and keep the house running—just like old times.”
“Ah, that’s nice. I also heard you’re quite a cook.”
“A cook?” Jamie butted in. “Simone is the Julia Child of domestic goddesses. I haven’t had excellent home-cooked meals in a long time. I might have to get a gym membership sometime soon to burn off the calories. Her peach cobbler is to die for.”
“It’s been his favorite dessert since he was little,” I hurriedly added to neutralize Jamie’s gushing compliment. Men could be insensitive at times. There was nothing worse for a woman than being indirectly compared to her rival about her cooking.
Lisa smiled along with us. She couldn’t fool me, though. It was a fake smile, and her eyes told a different story.
That girl didn’t like me one bit.
“Shall we get going then?” I reminded Jamie. I was afraid that a prolonged stay would only make the situation more awkward. “I still have to do the grocery shopping and prepare for dinner.”
“Oh, sorry. I’m just gonna grab my keys.” Jamie went to his desk and rummaged for something in a drawer. “Got ‘em.” He closed it with his knee and jangled the keys. “I’m going to show Simone the finished units. Tell Greg I’m taking the spare keys,” he said to Lisa.
“Sure,” she said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lisa,” I said with a hundred-megawatt smile.
“Same here,” Lisa replied with a smile just as fake as mine. “Drop by often. It gets lonely sometimes being the only girl in the office.”
“Of course. Thank you for having me.”
I was curious about Jamie’s relationship with Lisa as we walked onto the model units, but I didn’t ask the question. It wasn’t my business, and I had no right to ask it. Still, the curiosity lingered. Nate had dubbed Jamie the Bellwood heartbreaker. Just how many hearts had Jamie broken?
Jamie chirped happily about his project. I could tell this apartment complex was his baby. He wasn’t just after the profit, he wanted to provide people on low incomes with quality products that lasted. In the age of greed, it was refreshing to see someone who wasn’t corrupted by money. I was proud he’d turned out to be a good man with integrity. To see such a quality in a twenty-seven-year-old man was heartwarming.
He gave me the tour of the site as if I were a prospective buyer. We did a walk through of the finished units and visited the back area where they were going to build a playground for the children in the complex. The foundation had been dug and filled with sand and gravel. Next, they’d bring in swings, sliders, climbers, and even a mini zip-line. I could already imagine the laughter of the children going to brighten up this new community.
Before we wrapped it up, Jamie made a stop at the back where they were digging the drainage pond. Jamie introduced me to his partner and the foreman, and we exchanged pleasantries. While Jamie and his partner discussed something about work, I moseyed around to kill time.
Last night’s rain had hampered progress, and the big excavator had stopped working a while ago. The huge crater was filled with dark water that kept rising. I could see the drainage pipes that came from the direction of the complex, but I didn’t see any water coming from the pipes. My curiosity was piqued. Had the crew accidentally hit a spring-water source? That would be fabulous since spring water beat municipality water any time, right?
I edged closer to take a look, careful of the slippery grass. Movement on the ground caught my eye. From the tall weeds a few feet away, a huge rat darted toward me, running past my feet. I panicked, stomping my loafers, and before I knew it, I slid straight into the water with an epic splash.
Luckily, the drainage pond wasn’t too deep, and it only came up to my hips. But the shock of it made me splutter and cough like crazy.
Oh my God, this is silly. Falling into a ditch at my age? And I’m not even drunk.
A second splash burst out before my eyes.
As I struggled to wipe the water from my face, someone grabbed me.
“Jamie!” I yelped. My maternal instinct kicked in. “My goodness. Why did you jump in like that? Did you hurt yourself? Let me see.”
“Hey, that’s my line.” Jamie glared at me.
“Sorry.”
Jamie was a mischievous kid; he got into trouble at least once a week. The day I wasn’t pulling my hair when I babysat him was as rare as two-dollar bill.
He grabbed my arm. “Did you get hurt?”
“No. Just wet. And look at you.”
Jamie eyed me critically then unbuttoned his denim shirt.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
He yanked his shirt off and draped it over me. “You’re wearing a white blouse. I don’t want them to see you like this.”
They? See me like this? I examined myself. My silk blouse had stuck to my skin and the crepe pants molded to the shape of my underwear I was wearing. Yeah. Big deal. I wasn’t a wet T-shirt model or anything. Who was going to ogle an overweight thirty-something gal?
“Are you all right?” called someone from the bank. Greg, Jamie’s partner shielded his eyes from the sun. “Do you need help?”
Jamie cut in front of me, covering me from their view. “We’re fine. I’m handling this.”
I rolled my eyes. Jamie was overreacting. Clutching his shirt on me as jacket, I started wading my way toward the edge.
“Wait!”
“Yes?” I asked.
He grabbed me and lifted me in his arms. “Jamie, what the hell. You’ll throw out your back. Put me down.” He didn’t comply until we reached the bank. He put me on my feet and steered me toward his truck. He didn’t say a word: I took it as he was angry. His face showed that he was deeply irritated. Good lord, I must have embarrassed him in front of his partner and employees.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I wasn’t paying attention where I was going and the rat… Just like that. It won’t happen again. It’s not like I’m planning to go near a pond anytime soon.”
Jamie handed
me a towel. Apparently, he stowed a duffel bag of clean clothes in his truck. “You think I was angry because you fell into a pond?”
“Yes. Why else?”
“I’m annoyed because you treated me like a child.”
“Sorry, it was just kind of a reflex—”
“Look at me, Simone. I’m a foot taller than you. I’m bigger and I’m stronger. I’m not the little kid you remember.”
“I get it. You’re a big man now.”
Jamie looked frustrated. He stepped closer and practically pinned me between his truck and that solid, well-muscled body of his. “I’m not joking around. Notice me already. I’m a guy. A healthy, red-blooded guy who’s attracted to a grown woman.”
I blinked. What the hell does he mean by that?
He lowered his head. I thought he was going to kiss my cheek. Instead, he kissed my neck. I jumped instantaneously, trying to push him off, but he wouldn’t budge. In that split second, I was panicking, and I noticed he was aroused.
Well, how could I not notice since his groin was pressing against mine? And what made it worse was that my body responded to his kiss like a sexually deprived succubus. I was feeling hot despite being drenched to my skin with the muddy water. My heartbeat went wild. My pulse raced, and my face burned hot.
James Lauren Cody was trouble.
Trouble with the capital T.
Chapter Three
Since that revelation, working in the Codys’ house was filled with drama. I noticed Jamie’s flirtation. And he flirted a lot. From casually bumping my hand when we dined together to blatantly seducing me disguised as showing me how to julienne vegetables to his liking. I knew how to cut a bell pepper. I’d been doing it since grade school.
Jamie scooped himself behind me, placing his hand on mine and the other on the knife, guiding me to make neat, small cuts. He talked close to my ear with a low, whispering purr that made my pulse run faster than a rabbit on a greyhound track.
I liked my employment and the safe haven they provided, and I pretended I was oblivious to his advances. And the more I played dumb, the more frustrated Jamie seemed become. I hoped he’d eventually give up and chase another skirt.
He proved me wrong.
Jamie wasn’t only invading my personal space in real life, he also haunted my dreams. For a while, I dismissed this problem in a Freudian way, thinking that I was sexually repressed and these carnal desires were in my subconscious and when someone expressed interest in me, it acted as a catalyst that manifested it into dreams.
To be honest, I didn’t mind.
Whatever happened in my dreams, stayed in my dreams.
But when one morning I abruptly woke because I dreamed I ended up with Jamie, Luke, and Nate in the same bed doing things that would make every god and saint from every religion shake their heads in shame, I knew I had a problem.
This was not good.
Before the divorce, I could go to my therapist and vent to my heart’s content. I didn’t have real friends, but a therapist would hear all my stupid problems as long as I could pay for her expensive appointment. But now I didn’t have health insurance; Sam had cut me off, so the only thing left to do was to ignore it.
What was the worst thing that could happen when I’d already hit rock bottom anyway?
Well, I started to sink under the rock.
In the past week, my orderly new life unraveled little by little into chaos. Besides warding off the stemming attention from Jamie, everything around me seemed to be broken. The air conditioner in my room randomly stopped working. At times, it became so hot at night, I had to seek refuge in the living room or kitchen. Which meant I had to play nice with whoever was in the house at the time, be that Luke, Nate, or Jamie, and I couldn’t relax as if I were in my own room. One night, I fell asleep on the sofa and woke past midnight to find Luke curled up next to me, spooning, semi-snoring.
The shower in my bathroom made strange noises for days before it belched and dried up completely. I didn’t want to use other bathrooms in the house to shower, so I had to ask Jamie to fix it. After all, he was the handyman.
I knew inviting him into my sanctuary was a bad idea, considering he wasn’t showing any sign of relenting yet. I had no other choice. Asking Luke would be weird, as he didn’t seem comfortable with handy works. Asking Nate would be plain weird. He was the computer guy. What did he know about plumbing?
After dinner, I asked Jamie if he could take a look at my wonky shower. Luke didn’t have the nightshift, and Nate was free too, so I thought with his two brothers at home, Jamie wouldn’t dare do anything funny. Besides, I’d just leave him alone while he was working on it.
Jamie said okay. He’d do it after he made a few phone calls.
I served the brothers dessert—red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting—then cleaned the dishes. Luke and Nate retired to the living room, watching TV. Jamie did his business thing in his room. I joined Luke and Nate after I finished my chores. We watched a rerun of “Family Guy.” Halfway into the show, Luke was called into the office. His deputy said the Anderson farm reported missing cows.
Jamie then returned with his toolbox and went to fix my shower. Nate got paged by a client soon after and had to go to his room to take a call. When Jamie called me saying he needed a hand, I halfheartedly followed him into my apartment.
The bathroom was a mess. Jamie had taken down the showerhead and even popped off several tiles to expose the plumbing pipes.
“What seems to be the problem?” I asked.
“Whoever installed this pipe is an idiot.”
“Aren’t you the one who renovated this place?”
“Yeah, but someone else did the plumbing, and he did a bad job. Lucky, he isn’t with us anymore.”
“Ah.” I knew nothing about house repair, especially fixing the plumbing. I’d always assumed all the plumbers I’d hired over the years were all-knowing experts.
“Here.” Jamie motioned me to help him. “I need you to hold this wrench in place while I put the showerhead back. I don’t have enough hands to do it all at once.”
“Okay.” I shimmied closer to Jamie and did what he asked.
“You ready?” he asked.
“I think so. Uhm, ready for what?”
“I need to reattach the showerhead.”
“Okay.”
Jamie fiddled with it, and suddenly, a burst of water sprayed all over us. I squealed and dropped the wrench. It fell and hit Jamie’s shoe. As I panicked whether I’d hurt him, Jamie was able to stop the flow of water.
But the damage had already been done, and both of us were wet. Jamie had it worse; he was soaking.
We looked at each other and laughed.
“I’m sorry. I’ll get a towel.”
“No.” Jamie stopped me. “I’m fine. I’ll just take my shirt off. No biggie.” He nonchalantly pulled his polo shirt off and dumped it in the sink.
All of a sudden, I became aware of his semi-nakedness. He had a very nice body. Healthy with defined muscles and sun-kissed skin. I could also smell his scent. Male scent. Musky. Man in heat.
It occurred to me that this was a scenario in a cheesy porn flick. A guy fixing a girl’s plumbing problem (non-sexually), and it ended up with the guy fixing the girl’s plumbing (sexually).
Gah. What the hell am I thinking? My brain commanded me to get out of the bathroom. My ovaries wanted to ogle this piece of eye candy a little longer.
I roused myself. “I need to get changed. I’m also wet—my shirt that is. My shirt is wet.” I laughed lamely.
“Why? You don’t have to. You’re beautiful as you are, even if you were dressed in a burlap sack.”
I didn’t want to believe him when he told me I was beautiful.
Jamie pushed a lock of stray hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear. He stared at me with full intensity. Slowly, my face burned. My body burned. My heart thundered, and I found myself fully aroused.
What had gotten into me?
&nb
sp; Against my will, my body reacted wantonly.
This had never happened before… well… least, not lately. Okay, the past few months. My libido had gone on vacation since I caught Sam cheated on me. But now, being stared at by this hot, young hunk, a fire of arousal engulfed my whole being.
Instinctively, I stepped back and inched toward the door.
Jamie put his arm next to me, blocking the exit. “No more games,” he said, his voice husky. “I want you. I’ve wanted you since like… forever. You don’t know this but you’ve always be the perfect girl for me. You. Only you. Always.”
With that, he closed the distance between us and lowered his head, kissing me.
I knew I should push him away and stop this foolishness before it got out of hand. I don’t know what I was thinking. I couldn’t think. The moment he pressed his lips onto mine, my mind was wiped blank.
His lips were warm, and his kiss was so passionate, and it had been a long time since somebody had kissed me that way. My common sense vanished, and my basic instincts took over.
If I were asleep all these years, then I was awakened now.
Like Sleeping Beauty opening her eyes after the prince kissed her and freed her from the dark witch’s curse, Jamie’s kiss liberated me from the chain Sam put around me.
That moment my sex drive resurrected.
Jamie grabbed my shoulders and pushed me against the shower wall.
He deepened his kiss and forced my mouth open with his tongue. He went all French. Jamie melted my frozen brain.
“Jamie…”
He silenced my peep with more hot kisses that stole my breath. I sagged in his arms. My knees weakened. I trembled when he parted his lips.
“I want you.” Jamie brushed his lips over mine as he spoke. “And I won’t take no for an answer.”
With that, the last defense in my common sense crumbled to pieces. I kissed him back.
He kissed me hungrily and unbuttoned my blouse, yanking it off. He paused when he saw my black bra. His eyes widened, and his breath stalled in his throat. He took a hard inhalation through his teeth.
“You’re so beautiful.” His voice was an octave lower than usual, a ghost of a whisper. “So fucking beautiful. You’re all I wanted all these years.”
NaughtyBoys Galley Page 3