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“Ohh!” I yelp and try to pull away, but he holds me in place.
“Stop,” he commands, wrapping his other hand around the front of my neck and tugging my head to the side so my neck is stretched. “Just relax and take in a few really deep breaths, exhaling through your mouth. I promise it’ll fix it.” I take in one breath as his thumb repeats the pattern. “Unclench your fists.”
I didn’t even realize my hands were curled into themselves, clenching tightly.
“Speaking of work, any new developments I should know about?”
“No. I’ve been making it a point to not stay late at the office so I don’t have to walk through the garage alone. I noticed you weren’t there after work today when I left?” I was surprised, and I even looked for him in the garage as I walked to my car.
“Oh, I was,” he chuckles, a soft puff of warm air hitting my hair. “Just not in the way you think.”
“Huh?”
“I have a tracker on your car, plus I have—let’s just sayaccessto your firm’s security cameras.”
“Is that legal?” I say, attempting to spin around and look at him, but he squeezes my neck, keeping me in place.
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want to be liable for knowing the answers to, Juliette.” The way my name falls from his lips in a low rumble has my belly doing a little flip as my hands nervously ball into fists again. “Unclench your fists and relax,” he commands.
I close my eyes, unfurling my fingers and taking in slow, deep breaths as I try not to focus on the fact that Alex Rockwell has me pressed against his rock-hard chest as he massages my neck in my bedroom. It’s actually working, though. I take in another deep inhale as he pulls my neck a little harder with his left hand, his right thumb rubbing small circles over my skin . . . and then it happens.
“Ohhh,” I let out a moan. My eyes pop open, and my face grows cherry red as my entire body goes flush with embarrassment. “Oh my God.” I panic—I don’t know what to do—so I step out of his grasp. “Thanks, um, I think you should go. I need to make dinner.”
“No need to be embarrassed.” He smiles and it only makes it worse. I wish I could fall into the center of the earth right now. “I hope it helped give you some relief.”
I stand there staring at him, his voice heavy with innuendo. I swear his eyes darken, and the tone of his voice drops as he drags his hand over his jaw. In some unhinged state of delusion, I say, “Thanks, but after the last few months I’ve had, that is not the kind of relief I need.”
What the actual fuck did I just say?
I think that maybe he’s going to ignore the comment and leave, but his head falls back, a loud roar of laughter erupting from his chest. “Shit,” he laughs, stepping toward the bed as he leans down to pick up the tablet, his eyes traveling down my body. “As much as I’d like to offer that kind of relief, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
My mouth falls open. “That isnotwhat I was suggesting. You wish!” I cross my arms over my body, attempting to hide myself.
Oh God, I sound like I’m in junior high right now.
His expression grows serious as he makes no attempt to hide his eyes perusing my body. “Or maybe you wish. But if I had to guess,” he steps closer, his hand reaching out to finger the end of the ponytail that’s hanging over my shoulder, “with how uptight you are, it would take a lot more than once to get you the kind of relief you need.”
“Mom?” Chloe pops her head into my room, probably saving me from another very embarrassing reply to Alex.
“Hey, sweetie! Ale—Mr. Rockwell was just showing me all of the different camera angles on his tablet. He was just about to leave.” I say the last part a little louder, shifting my eyes toward him.
“I want to see!” she says, stepping inside.
“I’ll show you after dinner, Chlo. Mr. Rockwell was just telling me that he’s already super late for another meeting.”
“You should stay and eat dinner with us.”
“That’s very kind of you, Chloe,” he smiles, “but like your mom said, I’m already running late for something else. Plus, it’ll be good practice for your mom to show you the tablet now that I’ve taught her how to access the cameras.”
“Okay.” Chloe mopes as she walks behind Alex.
“Come on,” I say, placing my hands on her shoulders, “let’s order pizza.”
* * *
“Aw, no Daisy?”I say referring to my friend Harper’s daughter as I approach the table. She stands to give me a hug and an air kiss.
“No Daisy. She was being too fussy today, so she stayed home with daddy. She’s been dealing with teething, so her sleep schedule is screwed up and she’s constantly crying. I could use an hour of no crying and a mimosa.” She smiles.
