“Oh no,” she said quickly, cheeks going pink. “I mean, I know I have a reputation for being … I don’t know, reckless. But I’m not reckless enough to jump in bed with m pseudo-boss if all I wanted was sex.”
I let out a heavy sigh, my whole body relaxing at the news.
“Well, don’t look too happy,” she teased, the embarrassment fading to something soft.
“I really,reallyfucking like you, Kodi. A part of me would’ve been crushed if you said you wanted to forget everything that happened last night.”
Kodi licked her lips and reached one hand over the counter. I immediately took it.
“This sounds a little egotistical, but I get the feeling that you’re further down the feelings road than me.”
I threw my head back and laughed, a full, hearty laugh.
“That is 100 percent accurate.”
“You’ve got a nice laugh,” Kodi said, head tilted as she looked at me. “It’s a shame I hadn’t heard it till now.”
“Well … I had a chip on my shoulder. And when I got over that, I … was focused on figuring out if there could be something between us.”
“And that’s why you got the guys involved?” she asked with a little laugh.
“I didn’tgetthem involved.” I huffed. “They … intervened when I was being an ass and it sort of snowballed from there.”
“Hmm, that tracks.” Her eyes rested on our hands, fiddling our fingers together. “But what I was gonna say with the whole you like me more thing, is that you might … want more than what I’m ready for. Like we’re starting at wildly different points on the map. And I can see where you’re at and I can see megetting there. But I can also see how easily things could go wrong starting a relationship like this.”
I took a slow breath and squeezed her hand.
“I know there’re some complications. We’ll work them out. And … I’ll get you to … like me more.” I cringed as I said the words and Kodi giggled. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I do.” Kodi squeezed my hand before letting go and sitting up. “Under all that grumpy, stoic demeanor, you’re actually very sweet.”
I grumbled in response, not sure what to say.
“There’s that stoicism I’m used to.”
Rolling my eyes, I moved back to get mugs for our coffee. The island chair scuffed and within seconds, Kodi was beside me, bopping my thigh with her hip.
“So complication one, my job as your PA.” As I reached for the pot of coffee, Kodi slid her mug away, pouring a shit ton of sugar into her cup before moving it back for me to pour for her.
“I figure if we get you the social media job, that issue is solved.” I watched as Kodi finished fixing her coffee, dipping her spoon into the caramel, gathering a large dollop of it, before putting the spoon into her coffee. My teeth ached at the idea of how sweet that drink would be.
“Well, yeah, it’d definitely ease some tension. Though even if I wasn’t your PA, I’d want to date low-key until we felt … solid. I imagine the boys will have a field day with us getting together and if for some reason it didn’t work out, it’d be awkward.”
I really didn’t like the idea that Kodi was bracing for things to go wrong, even if it was a logical thing for her to do. But before I could get sour about it, Kodi took the spoon out of her mug, a thin coating of caramel on it, and put it in her mouth. She closed her eyes and moaned and all thought beyond that sound was gone.
“Whoa!” Kodi screamed as I grabbed her by the waist and put her on the counter. “What’re you doing?”
“I can’t remember why I wanted to talk anymore,” I murmured before kissing her, relishing the way she tasted even if it was too sweet.
“I think it was about us getting on the same page,” she said, giggling through my kisses.
“Mhmm. And that’s getting you the other job, dating, then publicly dating, right?” I kissed down her neck and Kodi laughed, finally setting aside her mug.
“Yeah, something like that.” She leaned her head to the side, allowing me to lick up her neck.Thiswas the taste I preferred. Her sweat, her heat, the feel of her pulse under my tongue, that was something I could taste every second of every day.
“Good, I’ll talk to Hansen about it tomorrow.”
“Oh, absolutely not,” she said, pushing me away by the shoulders. “Under no circumstances should you talk to him about the job.”
