“Mhm. I see you, Jack Deacon. Trying to make light of something that I could guess is a bit heavier than that. I answered your question, now answer mine.” She pauses, treading lightly and watching my body language. “Why waffles?”
I lower my camera and my eyes connect with the swirl of browns and greens staring at me from a few feet away. “The first time I went to a waffle house, I was nine years old. I just had the worst night of my entire life, and not like I lost a toy kind of bad.” I take a breath and try to remember. “A fireman took my sister and me to a waffle house and it was the first warm meal I had eaten that month and the best meal I had ever had in my whole life. It was a giant Belgian waffle.”
She smiles at me. “Let me guess. Syrup, whipped cream, strawberries, and bacon.”
I nod. “It was life changing.” Telling her this doesn’t change the mood. I feel good sharing this small piece of me. After those waffles, my new life began. Life before waffles was unpredictable. I was scared all the time. For my sister, for my mother. I was scared of the things that happened, as all those men would come to see my mother. I was frightened every moment of every day. After waffles, nothing seemed too horrible any longer.
I never share anything like this with people, and especially never with women. The last thing I want is for anyone to know too much about my life. The glossy version of it is far more palatable, even if it makes me look like an arrogant playboy. I don’t open up like this. And I know that’s exactly why I’m never in a relationship longer than a vacation. I’ve also never met anyone I truly wanted to tell.
This woman, with her confidence and the way she can own a room with an idea, is mesmerizing. I’ve seen the way people respect her in this office. But it’s also the way she makes people feel comfortable. She makes it easy to be around her.
“Jack!?”
“Yea? Sorry.” I zoned out. I pull myself back to the moment and realize I’m not ready to be done with this just yet.
“I said, are we all set here? I need to wrap a few things up before I head out for the night, and it’s already...wow, yeah, it’s already after six.” She stands up and walks toward the far side of the room where her clothes are draped over a chair.
“I’ll send these your way and you can decide if you want us to include any in the new materials. If you don’t, then we should bring in someone to model these pieces. I’ll speak with Law about it, but these clothes should be worn, not just laid out, they’re too good. It’s better to show how they fall. That’s the point, right? Comfortable and sexy.” That’s her in this moment, exactly. Comfortable and sexy as hell.
“Yes, that’s exactly the point. I love everything about this line. I’m so excited for it to launch.” She pulls the sweatshirt off her head and says, “I’m glad you pushed me to do this. It's so far out of my comfort zone, being on this side of things.” She turns slightly toward me, smiling. “You’re good at your job, Jack. It was fun, and believe it or not, I did relax.”
Standing there paying compliments in nothing more than a glorified bra and boy shorts, I realize that Everly has no clue how incredibly beautiful she really is, and that alone turns me on even more. Her body is built to be looked at, touched, worshiped. She has toned legs that have seen plenty of hours playing outdoors, and a gorgeous peach-shaped ass that makes me want to bite it, mark it up a bit. Her breasts are magnificent and I’m craving to see what they look like out of the bra. I have to take a steadying breath just looking at the swell of her tits peeking over the top as she breathes. They make my mouth water, thinking about how I’d like to tease and explore, how they’d move under my hands and tongue.
She’s watching me canvas her body from a few feet away, and she shifts uncomfortably, probably realizing the way I’m looking at her is dangerous. And right now, it is, because nothing else exists for me other than what’s buzzing between the two of us. I take three steps toward her. She backs up, but I keep walking, closing the space between us.
“Wh-what are you doing?” She smiles tentatively, then says, “Oh, is this your thing? You make a move on your models after you take their photos? Jack, you’re forgetting...” Her voice lowers in a teasing, low tone as she whispers, “I’m not one of your models. I’m your boss.” She’s trying to play off what she can see in my eyes, what I’m intent on doing to her. I’ve made her nervous, but a joke isn’t going to save her right now.
I push my fingers against the seam of her shorts, guiding her backwards toward the wall. Her breathing picks up in time with my own. She knows exactly what’s going to happen next, so I’m not going to answer her. If she doesn’t want to kiss me, then she can tell me, because I’m not interested in reading between any lines or stopping this feeling between us. I’m crossing this line with her, and I’ve never wanted to taste someone’s lips the way I want to devour hers right this second.
Her back meets the wall, and in one fluid motion, I push my fingers through her hair and frame her face with my hands. I rub my thumbs along her jawline. Her skin is warm, soft, and I want to touch her everywhere to feel all the things she might be feeling right now. Be able to absorb it. She looks at my lips and then back to my eyes, silently challenging me to keep going.
“Don’t insult me, Miss Riggs. I’m far from a good guy, but don’t think for one minute you’re in the same league as any of the women I’ve fucked before.” She flashes a confident smile. She took that as a compliment like I’d intended, whereas most women would have taken it as a negative. Andthatis the kind of woman she is, self-assured, powerful, and it’s intoxicating. “I’ve been turned on since I walked in on you touching yourself the other night. It took every bit of my willpower not to crawl on my knees to you, slap your hands away, and taste that sexy pussy of yours.” She moves her hands to my chest and her breathing picks up even more, as if she’s just been running. “Tell me right now if you don’t want this, because once I start, I’m not going to want to stop.”
She stares up at me, lips parted. I can tell she’s turned on and equally unsure if the next move is mine or hers. She leans forward, slowly, and as eager as I feel to capture her mouth, I want her to make this choice. Close the gap between us. She’s in charge for now.
Finally, her mouth brushes against mine. She sweeps her lips softly, so lightly, as if she’s making sure this line is worth crossing. The gentleness of it unleashes me. I flatten her body against the wall, my body pressing against hers, and I grip her hair tighter, tilting her head so I can deepen the kiss. She licks across my lower lip, and I can’t help but groan. I grant her access, and our tongues collide in a frantic dance, making everything in my body come alive with need. Ineedthis woman.
She smells like oranges and tastes like vanilla frosting with a hint of the smokiness left behind from the scotch she was sipping. Fucking delicious. My hands trail down the curves of her body, and finding the exaggerated rounds of her ass, I grab underneath, lifting her up. Wrapping her legs around my waist, she can feel exactly how turned on I am. I grind my hips into her, my cock rubbing against the seam of her shorts. I’ve hit her exactly where she wants, because she moans softly into my mouth. Even the smallest movement against her feels incredible, and I want more of it.
Suddenly, I hear a huge crash of something hitting the ground behind us, and it jolts both of our attention toward the door.
“I leave you two alone for a few hours and you’re practically fucking each other in the office. Geez, Ev!” Law says casually as he picks up the light kit equipment he just barreled over.
I hold on to her, even though she’s trying to wiggle down out of my arms. Instead, I carry her over to the table where she left her sweatshirt, hold her up with one arm, and grab it for her. Ignoring Law, I make sure she’s covering herself up and not embarrassed by being interrupted by her brother, of all people. But when I look her in the eye to make sure she’s alright, she rolls her eyes at me, flicking her gaze to her brother. She gives me a quick, light kiss on the lips and then looks over her shoulder to address him.
“The fact that you’re still standing there, cock-blocking me right now, Law, makes you an asshole, not a protective brother.” A mostly dressed Everly stalks toward her brother and stops mid-stride, halfway between us. She holds her pointer finger up to him, indicating for him to wait, and whips back around to face me. Then, she walks back and leans into me with a huge smile on her face, whispering in my ear. “I’m sorry about the other night.” I lean back to look her in the eyes. “I should have never said what I said, and if I hurt you in any way, I’m sorry.” That hits me right in the gut. I wasn’t expecting an apology from her, but I give her a nod. I wasn’t holding any hard feelings, because while her assumptions weren’t accurate and ticked me off at the time, the lifestyle I portray makes it easy to jump to conclusions. She brushes her lips softly against mine again and before she pulls away completely, she whispers, “We’re nowhere near finished here, Jack.” Then she pats my chest and turns back toward her brother, who is still hovering in the doorway. I can still feel her ass in my grip, her mouth exploring mine, and I quietly groan. She’s right; we’re nowhere near done.
Law stays where he is, looking back at me. He’s trying to figure out how to navigate this. The guy likes me, but he’s trying to be a good brother here. “She’s a badass, but don’t hurt her. I like you, Jack. Don’t make it so I have to change my mind about that.”
I give him a quick nod. Fucking cock-block.
“Want to grab beers and burgers?” His tone changes completely from just a moment ago.
I just laugh at the instant shift in conversation. “Nah, I’m going to hang here for a bit longer and then just grab something on my way back home.”
“Alright, man. Text me if you want me to grab takeout for you. I’ll be there for at least a couple of hours. I’m meeting up with this redhead who does visual effects for one of the movie finalists for the film fest. She had a friend, but well, a double date with her seems like a weird thing to do with you now.”
I just give him a smile and nod. We’ve become friends, but I’m not about to tell him that I’ve been stuck on his sister since she walked into the kitchen on my first day in town.
My phone vibrates in my pocket.
Benny:Need to talk, got a minute?