“Dahlia Aldridge, I’m here for—”
“Me. She’s here for me,” Yates announced, walking in from the back hallway, his eyes instantly narrowing on the man in front of me. Although I could barely see anyone else in the room right now, because good lord, Yates wore a suit way too well.
His entire frame was covered in an expensive dark blue material, and his large muscular chest had my hands twitching as I wondered what it would feel like, considering the button-down he had stretched across it. I swallowed, almost feeling nervous, my gaze taking in his tie that was loosened slightly, before realizing he was still scowling at the man at the reception desk. The one who was now staring at the computer, completely ignoring me. I glared at Yates, his attempt to ruin any of my possible friendships, as per usual, very successful.
“I’m actually not here for you,” I teased as he placed a hand on my lower back, leading me towards what I assumed to be his office. I couldn’t help the anticipatory smile growing on my face at the rumble that broke from his throat. Oh man… I was going to have way too much fun driving him bonkers.
He wanted me to work here? No problemo. He was going to wish he had never suggested this in the first place, mark my words.
“You sure as shit aren’t here for him.”
As he ushered me through a pair of large white doors, I was taken off guard by the massive, beautiful office we entered. I could feel his hand on my lower back still, and my brain was firing with a million different responses as a truly devious thought had me smiling. I turned to look at him, momentarily ignoring the entire back wall of the office that was filled with bookshelves that stretched to the tall ceiling, the glass window wall behind his desk, and the massive, expensive, executive desk that sat in the middle of the room. No, I had something far more important to focus on.
I was going to get out of this job.
“You know, Yates, I’m officially your employee, technically,” I began, stepping back from him and going to sit down in the large chairbehindhis desk, before putting my purse to the side. I offered him a small smile as he prowled in front of the desk, narrowing his eyes on me, probably trying to figure out what I was getting at.
Was it just me, or did he seem particularly worked up today?
“So?” he finally hedged.
I pulled my hair over my shoulder before crossing my arms and leaning forward. “You can’t touch your employees, Yates.”
We all knew I didn’t mean the touch to my back. Man, King could not have told me about all of this at a better time. I was starting to recognize that the frustration Yates had with me may have been heavily tinged with sexual tension. I sort of loved that.
Realization turned his eyes dark gray as he let out a small curse, sitting down in a chair across from me before pinning me with a look and running a hand through his hair. I could see his mind moving a million miles an hour, and I was truly wondering what was going to win out here.
“You haven’t signed any HR documents yet, right? My dad didn’t send them?”
Oh my, he was making this ten times funnier.
“I mean… I haven’t signed anything, but if I feel uncomfortable, I may complain or quit.” I bit my lip to hide my laughing.
He narrowed his eyes, his gaze jumping down to my lips before he tilted his head up, seeming to be really having a tough time choosing between whatever this was between us and his plan to monitor me. If the man had wanted to spend time with me, he hadn’t needed to go to all this trouble. Although, to be fair, I would have given him way more crap if he had just asked outright.
I still would have showed up, though.
“So, you either work here every day and I can’t touch you, or you don’t do this job and Icantouch you? Am I understanding this correctly?”
“I presume you will pick the first,” I mused and then continued, “Can’t imagine why you would want the ability to touch me. Plus, conflict of interest with employees can get messy, I’ve heard. I mean, can we even hang out after work then?”
Yates’s gaze filled with a flash of amusement, and I could feel the tone shift as a small, wicked smile broke onto his lips. I knew that I was screwed. Any time Yates looked that confident, it meant he was up to something, and he almost always was successful. It was a shame that we couldn’t act like we hated one another anymore, though… it had been sort of fun. Maybe we could still pretend.
Yates stood, rounding the desk before turning sharply and leaning over me. My cheeks heated as I shifted slightly, not letting my eyes dip to where I was almost positive he was hard. My fingers dug into the arm of the chair as his warm, familiar scent wrapped around me. A small sound broke from my throat as he captured my chin, his eyes filled with heat and cockiness.
“Say it.” His demand had me letting out a small, amused hum.
“Say what?” I wanted him to say it first. To say what we were both thinking and address the elephant in the room. Clear the air. He could also clear the space between us with a hard kiss. I wasn’t picky.
His smile grew. “Say it, bunny.”
“Say what?” I mused, my fingers running up his chest as I tugged on his tie. A small shudder worked its way through him as his hands tightened on the chair enough that it groaned. I couldn’t lie, him over me like this? It had me shifting my legs open slightly, wanting him to be as close to me as possible.
“Say that you want me to kiss you,” he demanded softly, his voice edged in a dark tone. I swallowed, losing my confidence as I squeezed my thighs together, unable to help the way my nipples tightened against my shirt, his gaze flashing down my frame as he offered me an amused, heated smile.
“Why would I want you to kiss me?” I asked somewhat breathlessly.
“Dahlia…” he warned, his voice running over me like honey as my toes curled.