Untimely You (9 page)

My eyes skim over her naked thighs just below the bottom of the shirt and my cock grows hard.
Jesus!
Turning, I stalk away and pace the room without looking at her.

“I can’t do this. I’m not strong enough and you’re…you’re…”

Too alive. Too real. Too perfect. Too much. Not her.

“Adrian. Listen to me. Let me keep my sales support job. I need it. I swear to you, I’ll never look at you again. You’ll barely notice I’m there. Please,” she chokes out, “I’m begging you.”

I risk a glance at her. Her dark hair is a wild mess and her hazel eyes glint with fear. Being continuously absorbed in my own world, I’ve never really taken the time to appreciate just how damn cute she is. And if I let myself stop and notice her beauty for too long, I’ll royally fuck things up. Because everything in me pulsates to storm over to her and press her down against the bed. To yank my cock out and drive into her soft, tight body. To stare at her pretty features and admire each and every one.

“No,” I say with finality. “It’s done. Go grab your things and stay away from me please. I can’t look at you.”

Without awaiting her response to my words, I bolt from the room so I don’t end up changing my mind.

I
knock on Mr. Andrews’s door and chew on my lip to keep from breaking down. Last night was a disaster. Everything with Adrian, although hot as hell, was wrong. And now, he’s clearly punishing himself for what we did consensually. While it was a mistake—something that never should have happened—it did happen. Firing me won’t somehow fix the pain he’s dealing with.

“Come in,” a deep voice answers.

Glancing down at my attire, I sigh. After leaving Adrian’s, I’d gone home and showered. Now, I’m not dressed for work, being fired and all, and am donning a pair of jeans, tennis shoes, and a fitted black T-shirt. I should have dressed better to beg for my job. Hindsight of course.

I step into Mr. Andrews’s office and skim my gaze over to where he sits at his large desk. His hair is several shades lighter than Adrian’s and thinning slightly. He’s still a good-looking man but he’s nothing like his partner.

Adrian’s presence is alluring and powerful. He’s sexy as hell. And he smells good enough to eat.

“Miss Noble. I thought you’d be at the Hocksted’s. Is everything okay?” His concern is warming and it makes me less nervous.

“Please, just Neesy. And, yeah, everything is fine. Can I talk to you about something?”

He stands and strides over to the door, closing it behind me. In a comforting move, he places a hand on my shoulder. His eyes are blue and piercing but they’re kind. “What’s wrong?”

Tears swim in my eyes, and I war with what I want to reveal to him. I know he’s close with Adrian—like brother-type close, but I also don’t want to betray Adrian no matter how awful he was for firing me.

“Adrian let me go this morning. But, Mr. Andrews, I need this job. I’m trying to get a loan, and they need twelve months’ worth of proof of income. Is there something else I can do? Where I don’t have to see him?” My chin quivers and he frowns.

“Call me Eric. Why did he fire you?”

A tear spills over, and I shrug. “I’d rather not say. I can assure you it had nothing to do with my abilities or my being unethical or anything like that. It was…” I trail off searching for the rights word. “Personal.”

He surprises me when he pulls me to him and hugs me. “Did he hurt you?”

“No.”

“Did he touch you?”

I swallow. “Not against my will. Nothing like that. Please don’t say anything, Eric.”

His body tenses but he releases me to frown at me. “We’ll find you something else. The accounting department was needing someone to help with payroll. I can see to it that we transfer you over there. Listen,” he says with a grimace and scrubs his face with his palm, “please don’t say a word about this to anyone. Adrian’s suffered a lot and for a long time. He tends to blow up and act irrationally. I’ll talk to him and smooth things over. In the meantime, take the day off and I’ll work on getting you a new position that doesn’t require being around him. I’m sorry, Neesy.”

“Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.” I throw my arms around his neck and hug him again.

The door swings open, and I feel
his
presence before he even says a word. “I’m pretty sure I fired you.”

I jerk away from Eric and meet the enraged glare of Adrian. His eyes are darting between us as if the hug we shared was anything remotely close to what he and I shared last night. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s jealous, judging by the way he’s clenching his jaw in fury.

“Adrian, we need to talk. Neesy’s going to help over in accounting. She needs this job, and I have a feeling she was being wrongfully terminated anyway.”

Adrian’s stare never leaves me, and I don’t miss the way his eyes skim over me almost hungrily. I didn’t put on any makeup after my shower this morning and my hair is still a wet mess twisted into a bun. I look terrible and yet he’s inspecting me in a way that makes me feel otherwise.

“I can’t be around her. She…she…” he trails off and grips his hair almost brutally. The urge to grab his wrists and tug his hands away from his head is intense.

“What did she do?” Eric questions, his voice a firm challenge. The brotherhood between these two is strong and despite Eric’s protecting me, he’s also protecting Adrian.

Adrian’s gaze flashes to mine and shock morphs over his features upon the realization that I haven’t ratted him out. “She makes me uncomfortable.” The defeat in his voice is transparent, and I feel bad for him.

“For the record, you make me uncomfortable too,” I mutter in response.

Eric shoots me a look that begs me to behave, and I shamefully look away.

“Adrian, man, you can’t fire people because they make you uncomfortable. You’ll get us wrapped up in a lawsuit so fast it isn’t even funny. I feel like there’s more neither of you are telling me and I can respect that. We’re all adults here, and I have a funny feeling some lines were crossed. Let’s move past that and create a new plan of action. Neesy, tomorrow you can start with Bonnie. I’ll shoot her an email after we’re finished here. Adrian, you stay and we’ll talk this out. Wouldn’t be the first time something like this happened in the world and you two will survive.”

Adrian begins pacing like a caged bull, and I can’t help but stare at him. His dark navy suit only serves to accentuate his power and authority. I’m drawn to his magnetic presence.

“Two days ago I would have never touched another woman.” His tone is defensive, and I sense that he’s not done beating himself up over it.

“I know, buddy. Just calm down,” Eric says to him. “Nees, go enjoy your day. We’ll talk soon.”

I nod and start to leave but my eyes find Adrian’s. Our gazes lock and he holds me prisoner with his stare. My mind flashes back to last night. The way our tongues tangled desperately with the other. How his scruffy face rubbed my lips and cheeks raw with his frantic kisses. We’d almost slept together. And at one point, his dick teased my pussy in such a way I nearly begged for it. Instead, I’d pushed him away. It was the right move, but I can still almost taste him.

“I’m sorry,” I mouth to him and then leave before Eric can change his mind.

“Wow,” Shawna mutters on the other end of the line. “You sure do get yourself into some weird situations.”

I laugh and glance out the window of my apartment. Today it’s cloudy and windy. Chilly weather is headed our way, such a stark contrast from yesterday. “If you saw him, you’d get yourself into the same weird situation. Trust me.”

“Too bad you couldn’t have gotten laid in the process. Would have made the whole almost getting fired thing more bearable,” she teases. “So what’s up with Noble House? Any closer to getting a loan?”

“I wish. As of now, it’s still at a standstill.”

“Have you ever thought about starting it up online first? It doesn’t have to be brick and mortar in the beginning, Neesy. I know you have big dreams of being a big publisher, but sometimes you have to start small.”

My best friend is always my voice of reason. I start to pace the room with my phone clutched tightly at my ear. “I know. I’ve thought about this a lot. It might help my chances of getting a loan to have Noble House already up and running. I’m not sure what’s keeping me from taking the plunge.”

“Find a web designer, set up a social media account, and get some promotional material. Start there. Baby steps, Nees,” she tells me. “Anyway, girl, I gotta go. Brad will be here soon. He’s taking me to a movie after dinner. Talk soon!”

We hang up and I frown. Brad is so damn boring. And Shawna is so lively and stunning. Brad must have a huge cock because, for the life of me, I can’t see why a tall, sexy blonde like my best friend would want to go out with a short, stocky balding man. I mean he
is
a doctor, so there’s that. And he
does
drive a badass Porsche, so there’s that too. But still. He’s so…boring.

My phone rings and I snatch it up without checking caller ID. “Sheesh, Shawna. No need to micromanage, I’m searching for a web guy now,” I lie. I pick up the worn copy of
Great Expectations
from the table and sigh. This book got me into a heap of trouble.

The line is still silent.

“Shawna? Did you butt-dial me again? If I hear you and Dr. Brad having sex, we can no longer be friends.”

“You have problems.”

The voice.

Dark, rich, delicious.

My belly flops and I bite my lip. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black.”

He sighs into the phone and the cracking on the line from his breath causes a shiver to ripple down my spine. “Neesy, I’m sorry. I overreacted.”

I flip open my laptop and start browsing web designers. “Yeah. Go on.”

“I just…”

“Need a friend but not a fuck buddy?” I quip.

His breath hisses. “Yes.”

Glancing out the darkening window, I let out a sigh. “Adrian, I don’t know. I can’t have you firing me every day.”

“Please. Come back tomorrow. I swear I won’t touch you or anything. I’ve gotten a handle on my,” he says and then pauses, “urges. But I still need you.”

I don’t fall for his stupid words and strike a bargain of my own. “Three thousand. I come after you leave and am gone before you get home. If you want to be my friend, then you can call me or text me. I’m not negotiating this one.”

The line is quiet.

“Adrian, that’s the deal. And, you have to tell Eric that I’m not showing up for the accounting job.”

“I can live with that I guess.”

“Good, I guess.”

“Neesy?”

“Yeah, boss?”

“Dress comfortably and bring books she’ll like. And by comfortably, I mean wear pants please.”

I smile. “Thanks for being clear. Last time, I was just sure you’d hired me to be your naughty sex slave. I’d thought I’d landed me my very own Mr. Grey.”

His chuckle reverberates through the phone, and I close my eyes.
So beautiful.

“I haven’t had sex for close to twelve years, Neesy. I can assure you I would have been fifty shades of premature ejaculation.”

I burst out laughing. “Well, shit. I dodged a bullet there, old geezer.”