“Of course,” he said smoothly.
Chandler leaned casually against the banister. “Should we . . . give you a moment?”
“No,” I said.
“Yes,” Belle said at the same time.
I glanced at her. She was still looking at me the way she had on the staircase. She was flustered, curious, caught somewhere between embarrassment and something far more dangerous.
I tightened the towel slightly at my waist, willing my body and my desire to behave itself. But it was of no use. I knew from the moment I felt her hand on my bare skin that I was rock hard.
“This is concluded,” I informed them
“Clearly,” Chandler murmured.
Geoffrey inclined his head with the dignity of a man who would absolutely be recounting this to himself later.
“We’ll be in the study when you’re . . . appropriately attired.”
They retreated. Belle exhaled slowly.
“I am never recovering from that,” she muttered.
I looked down at her, at the flush still warming her skin.
“You nearly fell down the stairs.”
“That is not the part I’m talking about.”
I was increasingly aware that if I did not step away now, I might not.
I straightened. “Stay seated,” I instructed.
“I hate when you say that.”
“I am aware.”
And I retreated to the safety of my bedroom. But I could still feel where her hands had been. I felt like she had branded my skin with a simple touch. It had been so long since I’d felt something like that. So long since anyone, let alone a woman as irresistible as Belle, had touched my bare skin, my bare chest.
My damn dick was hard and not going down anytime soon. I fisted the base. I was going to have to take care of this before I returned to my day. It wasn’t going to take long, not with the feel of her pressed up against my bare chest still seared into me.
One pump had me groaning her name. What was I going to do about this attraction that was becoming undeniable? That was a problem for later. I knew how to take care of the problem I was facing right now.
I started pumping my fist over my cock, thinking about her luscious body, the little indignant ‘V’ that appeared between her brows when she was mad at me, the gasp that left her as her lips parted, the feel of her pressed up against me.
That did it. Just the thought of her body held close to mine had me spilling all over my hand.
What was I going to do about this?
I got myself cleaned up and headed into my office, where Chandler and Geoffrey were already waiting for me.
“Not a word,” I said as I sat down.
Later that day,I took her to retrieve her check. I accompanied her inside Whitaker’s office that morning, not aggressively, not posturing, simply present. Tripp’s demeanor shifted the moment he saw me. The envelope was handed over without commentary. Belle thanked him. I did not. The matter was resolved for now.
But Tripp Whitaker remained on my radar.
The rest of the day unfolded in its usual cadence. I worked from my study while Belle remained downstairs, alternating between ice packs and what she described as ‘the worst reality television ever produced.’ Raised voices, dramatic music, and manufactured conflict intermittently filtered up the stairs. It made her laugh. The sound did something inconvenient to my focus.
