Page 12 of Come A Little Closer

“That’s really not necessary either. We’re both adults. We can share a bed without making it weird.”

“I’m your boss,” he said.

I stood up from the couch I’d been on, smiling, and I focused on those eyes that somehow held their sparkle even in the deepest dark. “So what? If I promise to keep my hands to myself and not to cry sexual harassment in the morning, will you please sleep with me, Niall?”

6

NIALL

Iwoke up a bit disoriented but deliciously comfortable. Wrapped around a very warm, soft pillow, I tightened my grip, inhaling deeply and finding a pleasant hint of vanilla in the air. The scent was as soft and warm as the pillow, and my lips curled into a smile.

Whatever new detergent the housekeeper is using⁠—

My eyes flew wide open when I realized it wasn’t detergent. Or a pillow. Or my house. Well, theoretically, it was my house, but it wasn’t the one I lived in. In reality, I was spooning Tallulah. She was the pillow and it was her scent intoxicating me.

Snuggled up next to me, she was fast asleep. Her black curls shielded her face, but as I quietly untangled myself from her, I caught a glimpse of a soft smile on her lips in a gap between her curls.

I groaned quietly as I got up, careful not to rouse her. Why is my brain telling me to get back in bed with her and never leave?

We were both fully dressed, to my relief, but even that felt wrong. I wanted to crawl back under the covers and pull her into my arms, but I wanted to do it with nothing separating us. Shaking my head at myself, I bent over to collect my shoes, knowing I had to get out of her bedroom as fast as humanly possible. Before she had me under her spell completely.

As the events of last night came back to me, I remembered her asking me to sleep with her, but she’d only meant sleep. I was awake now, and climbing back in bed with her, even fully dressed, would amount to an obvious breach of professional boundaries.

It was a line I’d never crossed before, and I didn’t even like this woman. A part of me scoffed at the thought. Stop lying. You’re intrigued by her. Fascinated. Captivated. She looked you right in the eyes last night and asked you to sleep with her. No one’s ever done anything like that before.

Of course, I hadn’t been able to see her eyes clearly, but I’d felt her gaze on mine. Moreover, I had been able to see a glimmer when the lightning lit the room, so I knew where her eyes had been. That was enough for me to conclude that she’d looked right at me, unwavering and confident when she’d made her request.

After sliding my feet into my shoes, I lingered for a moment, knowing I was being a creeper, but I just wanted to take one last look at her while she slept. The woman confused the balls off me, but she looked so innocent and relaxed in her sleep that it was hard to even remember why when I looked at her now.

So far, she’d actually struck me as a pretty straightforward person. She’d come right out last night and told me that she liked the way I spoke. Even in her interview, she hadn’t held back her thoughts, directly saying that she hadn’t wanted to work for me because of my attitude.

No one had ever told me anything like that before either, and even though she’d ended up taking the job regardless, I knew she hadn’t done it because of me. She hadn’t suddenly changed her mind about working for me, but she’d taken the job because she genuinely wanted to do this specific work—and she’d gotten a place to stay out of the deal to boot.

With her features all smoothed out, that soft smile on her face, and her curls so wild and free, she was even more beautiful than before. Devoid of makeup, pretense, and even that constant, knowing twinkle in her eyes, she was stunning.

But I did miss that twinkle. Strangely, considering that it was one of the things that annoyed me most about her.

Eventually, I tore my gaze away from her creamy skin and headed for the door, quietly leaving the room. Breakfast and coffee would set my mind right. At the last minute, I had remembered to stock the fridge before she moved in. Tallulah had appreciated it, and I was pretty thrilled right at that moment too.

I had a routine in the morning which, to be fair, also included showering and clean clothes, but the most important part of it was my coffee and toast. I needed those two things more than anything else to start the day. Since I didn’t have any clean clothes, I went directly to the kitchen.

The idea of being naked in such close proximity to her was too enticing, which was why showering was out of the question. My libido was already awake and raring to go. I was a master of self-control, but there was something about this unusual situation I was wrapped up in with a gorgeous employee that was already threatening to snap something loose inside me.

Sighing, I switched on the coffee machine and headed over to the fridge. She hadn’t eaten much of anything yet. I frowned, wondering if I’d selected the wrong groceries, but it was pretty standard stuff.

Some fruits, vegetables, cheeses, butter, yogurt, cold cuts, some meat, and more of that sort of thing. None of the packages or containers had been opened, though.

I pulled out the butter and turned, then blinked hard when I found her standing in the doorway, evidently watching me with a playful smile on her lips. “Good morning. Sleep well?”

“I—yes.” Seeing her with her hair all mussed from sleep and wearing nothing more than cotton shorts and a tank top that hugged every curve, I could so easily take her back upstairs and do a lot more than cuddling.

Thank heavens, it had been too dark last night to see what she was wearing when I’d climbed into that bed with her, or else I might’ve tried my luck regardless of any boundaries. Oblivious to my filthy thoughts, she sashayed into the kitchen and reached for two mugs in the cabinet above the coffee machine.

“Thanks for coming to check on me last night and for sticking around this morning,” she said, apparently unaware that we’d slept completely intertwined. “I’ll admit that I was a little freaked out before you got here.”

At her words, I forced my brain out of the gutter. Clearly, this girl was opposed to asking for help, and though she seemed to like pretending she didn’t need it, it suddenly became obvious that she did. “Do you eat?”

She frowned before she let out a chuckle. “What kind of question is that? Of course, I eat. Doesn’t everyone?”