Maid to Crave (Man Maid #2) (7 page)

“I think I finally get your whole ‘girl next door’ fascination. I didn’t before, but
damn
…did you see that?” Caleb asked, pointing in the direction of the kitchen.

“I mean it, man. Back off. Not cool!” Seth said angrily. What was wrong with him? This was Caleb! Seth would never deny Caleb anything, especially now that he’d been injured. But the idea of him and
Tori
made Seth physically sick.

“Sorry,” Caleb said, holding his hands up defensively. Then he gave Seth a look that said he had just caught on to a secret. “She’s the one who dissed you. Isn’t she?”

He could only give Caleb a dirty look before slowly turning around and walking back toward the kitchen to face the new star of his next erotic dream. Maybe he should offer to stay overnight to help Caleb out and also to ensure that things between the two of them remained strictly
friendly
. As he rounded the corner, he was again met with a visual image he did not need of his nerdy new boss…who could barely tolerate him.

She was bent halfway across the counter, facing Zach who sat at the bar. Her tiny but nicely rounded ass swayed in those jeans. Then, upon hearing him enter, she looked back over her shoulder. Suddenly the image in his mind was of him behind her in such a position…making her disorderly hair even messier.

He scanned her from head to toe and was shocked to find she was also barefoot. Her tiny feet merely completed the picture. Forcing his eyes back to hers and his mind away from the fact that his all-time greatest fantasy was standing right in front of him, he could only stare until she turned back to Zach.

She really couldn’t care less that he was not only scoping her out, but was having a moment of full-blown lust because of her. She continued talking to Zach as if Seth wasn’t right behind her enjoying the pleasure of her body with nothing but his eyes.

As much as he wanted to find some way to get her alone and inspect this new side of her…
personality
, he knew better. He needed this job more than he needed to get laid, even if she
were
interested in him. He stared at the far wall for several moments trying to clear away the image of her tight butt in those jeans and her perky breasts displayed perfectly in the tight white tank top.

“Are you sure you don’t mind Caleb crashing here? Hopefully it will only be for a day or two at the most,” he managed to say a little breathlessly. “I can stay as well to keep an eye on him.”

“No. I don’t mind at all. He’s sweet. You don’t have to stay over. Go on home and get some rest. I don’t really have anywhere for you to sleep anyhow. However, you don’t need to worry. I will take good care of him,” she replied, glancing again at him over her shoulder.

Damn she was more than hot. She was smokin’ hot! His own words from a little more than a week ago, about how nerdy and unattractive she was, filtered through his mind like a slap. Then just as quickly as the image of her bent over the counter shot straight to his groin, his next thought left him feeling completely at a loss for words.
Was she interested in Caleb instead of Seth?

Experience told him some women liked to take care of a man while others liked a man to take care of them. Some women liked being in charge while others liked the man to take control. Tori Stewart was a contradiction all the way around, and not just in her switch from nerdy to hot as hell. She’d hired Seth to take care of her, but she looked almost eager to take care of Caleb. Was it because she was a caretaker type or because she was interested in his brother? For the first time in a long time, a woman’s motivation really mattered. Trying to persuade his mind that it only mattered because she had no interest in him whatsoever, he walked a little farther into the kitchen.

“Thanks for hitting the gym with me, little man,” he said to Zach. Then looking at Tori again, he said, “I should go then, but I’ll see you tomorrow. You have my cell phone number so don’t be afraid to call me, even in the middle of the night, if Caleb needs anything. I can be here in like ten minutes and I’ll be by first thing in the morning,” he offered.

Then he pictured Tori with her arm around Caleb’s waist trying to help him to the bathroom and decided he would make sure
that
wouldn’t be necessary before he left. Hell if he would give her an excuse or an opportunity to touch Caleb. If she wanted to touch a man, she could touch Seth…for free. No tips required.

He helped Caleb to the restroom and then helped get him situated for the night, complete with the TV remote and a glass of water. Caleb only grinned and gave him a knowing look. Ready to escape his own ridiculously jealous thoughts and ludicrous feelings toward Tori Stewart, Seth left so quickly that he only realized he hadn’t given her back Zach’s booster seat when he pulled up in front of his apartment building.

By the time he made it upstairs to his apartment, he was starting to get annoyed with himself and his inability to get her out of his head. It was
Tori Stewart
. No one had sexual fantasies about a chick that nerdy.

She hadn’t been nerdy tonight, though.

Again and again his mind brought forth images of her bent over the counter. By the time he made it into the shower to wash off the grime of the gym, he was fully aroused.

Maybe he should pick one of the phone numbers from the box under his bed. The good looking chicks who slid their numbers into his G-string were as far from nerdy as possible. He could call one of them and forget about Tori Stewart being in the same house as Caleb and possibly interested in his brother, but not him. Seth was even more aggravated at himself by the time the shower was over because he knew another woman wasn’t going to fix his issues.

Stepping out of the bathroom, he could hear his cell phone going off. Pushing the button, he answered without looking at the number. “Yeah?”

“Seth.”

The sound of his name coming from the very woman, who not even ten minutes earlier had been in his mind assisting him in gaining sexual release, had him closing his eyes.
Focus.
She was probably calling because Caleb needed something.

“Yeah. Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yep. Everything is great! Caleb is sleeping like a baby. I, uh, I wanted to call and say thank you for taking Zach to the gym with you today. It meant a lot to him…and to me. He’s asleep, too, said he was tired from growing his muscles.” She laughed.

God help him, he grinned, too.

“You’re welcome. The boys and I had a good time, but I still have his seat in my car. I forgot to give it back, but I’ll be over first thing in the morning to check on Caleb anyway so I’ll bring it with me,” he replied. She was being nice to him, actually
talking
to him. He felt his heart hammering in his chest and his breathing was coming in short bursts.

“That’s fine. No big deal,” she replied.

He just had to know if she was interested in Caleb, he craved an answer like a drink of water after working out. The reasons didn’t matter. He
needed
to know, had to find out right now or he would never sleep tonight.

“I should thank you for taking care of Caleb for me, he’s a good guy, but can be awful demanding sometimes,” he prompted. “I should be able to find somewhere else to stash him tomorrow and get him out of your hair.”

“Really, I don’t mind. I like to help people,” she replied. “Besides, you’ve helped me out with Zach this week. A couple of times, in fact. It’s the least I can do, especially since Caleb is a little easier to entertain than Zach is.”

Damn, damn…
damn
. “I have to go out of town tomorrow night so I won’t be around to help him. I figure maybe Ian or Rusty can help with him and hopefully by Saturday the elevator will be fixed. I really didn’t think they would release him so soon or I would have been better prepared.”

“There is no reason to move him from place to place. He’s fine here, I don’t mind helping him…really, I don’t,” she insisted.

Well, at least he had his answer.

Never again would he say something so mean, especially not about someone he didn’t even know that well. If he hadn’t said something so stupid about her, it might be him she wanted to take care of rather than Caleb. Seth made another attempt to convince himself that he was only jealous that she’d chosen his brother over him because he wanted what he couldn’t have.

“Okay, if you’re sure. Don’t be afraid to tell me if he is imposing,” he said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight, Seth,” she said quietly.

He lay awake until sometime after one in the morning, or at least that was the number the red glow of his alarm clock indicated the last time he’d looked at it before finally falling asleep. When it went off the following morning, it felt like he’d just dozed off. A nap would be a must if he planned to have enough energy to drive to Columbus this evening, perform, and then drive back so he would be in town for Caleb.

He’d just managed to pull on some shorts and a T-shirt and brush his teeth when he heard Ian in the living room asking if he was ready to hit the gym. Since he performed tonight, Seth would lift weights this morning and the cardio would come later in the form of dancing. He needed to be on his game tonight. If he made decent tips he might be able to pay off one of Caleb’s many bills completely.

So far he had paid the anesthesiologist’s bill and most of the surgeon’s bill. Soon he could focus on the actual hospital bill and the bills from physical therapy and Caleb’s stay at the rehab center. Seth was getting there, slowly but surely, but it was taking every dime he had and every dime he could make dancing. Sometimes it seemed as if for every payment he made, three more bills came. It was overwhelming. If not for working for Tori, he and Caleb would most likely be living in Seth’s car, existing on bread and water, or moving back home with their mother.

“Where’s Caleb?” Ian asked, sticking his head in Seth’s bedroom. “Your voicemail said he was released yesterday, but I saw the sign on the elevator.”

“He’s at Tori Stewart’s house,” Seth replied. “How’d the fight go?”

“It was probably the equivalent of fighting your mama.” Ian sighed. “The promoter told me if I ended it that quickly next time, I wouldn’t be invited back. How was I to know that the other fighter was really a little pussy? The toughest thing on him was his mouth, which I shut up in less than five minutes. It was bad.”

If Ian’s size didn’t give a person cause for hesitation, he had speed, agility and muscles as backup. He was so laid back and jovial, though, that he didn’t realize his own strength until he was in the middle of a fight and determination kicked in. Seth’s other friend and fellow brother in arms, Ronnie, was also big at around six feet four inches, but Ian was even taller and outweighed Ronnie by about forty pounds.

The drive to the gym found Seth once again lost in thought until Ian said, “You okay? I’m sorry Caleb ended up at Tori’s house. He can crash at Rusty’s until they get the elevator working at the apartment. I can figure out something else or stay at the apartment until he’s ready to switch back.”

“Yeah, I’m good. Tori said it was fine for Caleb to stay at her house for a day or two, but it just seems weird for my boss to be taking care of my injured brother,” he said.

“Maybe Caleb will tap that ass and she’ll be a little nicer to you. Rusty told me she overheard your comments at the wedding. That probably makes for an awkward work environment,” Ian said with a smirk.

Caleb better not tap anything. As awkward as it was to work for someone who could barely stand to be around him, working for someone he wanted but couldn’t have would be even worse. Ian continually shot Seth concerned glances while they lifted weights. Even the strenuous activity followed by cutting it short so he could shower and make it to Tori’s house by seven-thirty wasn’t enough to get his mind off of her.

As he entered Tori’s house, he could feel tension in the air. Zach sat at the kitchen bar eating cereal while Tori, appearing disheveled, paced and looked at the clock as though willing Zach to eat faster. She merely smiled at Seth so he headed into the living room to help Caleb.

“You look worse than me,” Caleb said after taking in his appearance.

He helped Caleb up off the couch and down the hall to the bathroom. This situation wasn’t Caleb’s fault. It was Seth’s fault. Caleb wasn’t the one who had offended Tori, effectively killing any chances of getting with her. Seth and Seth alone had committed
that
crime. Now he would be paying the penalty by watching his brother getting the attention from Tori that Seth wanted for himself.

“She’s nice, Seth. Smart, funny… She’s girlfriend material. Maybe you should just skip this one since we both know you’re not anywhere close to relationship oriented,” Caleb said before closing the bathroom door.

Seth stayed right outside the bathroom door listening to see if Caleb needed help and praying that he didn’t. More than anything else, Seth wanted to be able to focus on his performance this evening rather than thinking about Tori and Caleb getting to know each other. From what Caleb was saying, it sounded as though his brother might be just as interested in Tori as she was in him.
Damn!

“I am leaving to take Zach to school now,” Tori said quietly from behind him.

He turned in her direction not realizing just how close she stood. Her lips were full and pink. How had he missed that? They looked kissable, and he imagined they would feel incredible any place she chose to use them on his body.

Ducking slightly so she could catch his gaze, she said again, “I’m taking Zach to school. I’ll be back.”

“Yeah, okay,” he finally managed to reply.

After she left and Caleb finished eating the breakfast, Seth had picked up for him from a drive thru, Seth decided to once again cut the grass. Then he would see if any boxes were still left to be unpacked, aside from Tori’s stuff. That would take his mind off of her and Caleb both.

By the time he finished with the yard, he needed another shower. Walking back inside the house, he was surprised by the sound of Tori’s giggles coming from the living room. Rolling his eyes, he could not stop his legs from carrying him toward the sound. From the doorway, he took in the sight of Caleb smiling at her and her trying to contain a laugh behind one tiny hand.