AllFreeNovel
Share Us
No matter how much I wanted to.
Every time she was in the room with me, I found myself paying more attention and going out of my way just to mess with her. Pushing her buttons and seeing how long she lasted before she got riled up satisfied me immensely. Watching her carefully constructed professional persona dissipate filled me with a strange sense of satisfaction and being subjected to the resulting spitfire in private left me with a heat simmering inside of me that I wanted to satisfy.
But there were days, when she stood across from me, and all I could think about was her full, luscious lips, and how it would feel to run my fingers over her smooth, tanned skin. A part of me wanted so badly to make the woman who always had something to say, say nothing but my name. Now and again, I imagined what it would be like to have her turn the full force of her gaze on me as I pinned her underneath me.
Goddamn it.
Meghan was my employee, and my sister’s best friend, and my lawyer's daughter. Acting on these thoughts would be playing with fire.
After years of causing consistent in-house problems, I was not going to let myself fall back into old patterns.
With a slight shake of my head, I sat up straighter and brought my focus back to the meeting, the fourth in a long line of them that I had been dragged into since setting foot in the office this morning. When the lights were dimmed and someone began to talk, I sat back in my chair and listened. At the end of the meeting, I gave the speaker a courtesy smile and rose to my feet.
Before I could get dragged into any more meetings, I made a beeline for the elevator and waved at my secretary. He gave me a firm nod and said something into his earpiece. Downstairs, the elevator doors pinged open, revealing my driver, leaning against the counter in a pressed suit.
“Actually, I changed my mind. I don't need the car. I want to walk. Thank you, Jeffrey.”
Jeffrey, who was a decent looking guy, and definitely ripped enough to make the ladies notice, nodded and happily went back to his conversation with the receptionist, who was batting her eyes at him. As soon as I stepped outside, a warm breeze rustled past. People rushed past in either direction, heads lowered, and phones held up to their face. I glanced down both sides of the street before setting off at a brisk pace, letting my mind catch up on the day.
A new project was exactly what we needed, and I wasn’t sure why I was holding back. Especially considering a beach resort was a surefire way to ensure a steady flow of cash. Meghan was right.
She had done her homework.
All of the meetings I had been in had one goal; proving what a good idea it was.
And they weren’t wrong.
But the project was still giving me pause, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on why that was. I looked up at the café across the street, nestled in between a hotel and a laundromat and saw her through the window. Meghan sat in her knee length skirt with a button-down shirt tucked into it and one leg crossed over the other. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head, a few wispy pieces had fallen out around her neck, and she looked perfectly undone. She held the book up to her face, a look of fierce concentration etched onto her face.
Without thinking, I crossed the street and headed straight for her. Like a moth being drawn to a flame.
In the doorway, I paused and yanked on the knob. It made a low jingle to signal my arrival before the door clicked shut behind me. A few of the tables were full, people had their heads bent in conversation or were hunched over their laptops. I weaved in and out of the tables till I reached Meghan who sat at a table by the window, a mug of steaming coffee in her hands.
“Wow. That’s bold, reading smut in public, huh?”
Meghan glanced up, and rolled her eyes once she realized it was me. “It’s not smut, Killian.”
I sat down opposite her and gestured to the cover of the book. It was red and had a woman with long hair and armor on the cover. “Looks an awful lot like smut to me.”
Meghan lowered the book and frowned. “I didn’t ask you.”
I leaned back against the chair and draped an arm over the back. “You know, it’s much better to experience these things in real life.”
Meghan took a sip of her coffee and set it down. “I’d rather claw my own eyes out than have a demonstration from you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Who said I was offering a demonstration?”
Meghan folded her arms over her chest. “You’re not as subtle as you think.”
“And you’re not as invincible as you think.” I laced my fingers together, and leaned over the table and looked directly at her. “Just because you’re my sister’s best friend doesn’t mean you can talk to the CEO however you want.”
Granted, I had been goading her, but I didn’t like that she didn’t back down.
Or at least that’s what I kept trying to tell myself.
Truthfully, I liked that Meghan didn’t back down easily and that she wasn’t afraid to challenge me. Considering how many women threw themselves at my feet, it was a refreshing change, but I knew she was going to succumb sooner or later.
She was like an itch I couldn’t shake.
