Page 3 of Falling for Them

I could always get my teaching job back since there were always last-minute teacher openings and not enough credentialed teachers to fill them. I’d just tell my brother I couldn’t handle the stress of the city or the pressure of helping to run a foundation and new community center.

A pang of guilt hit me thinking about leaving teaching behind, but I shook it off. It wasn’t like I hadn’t finished out the school year, but it still felt like I was somehow abandoning the people who needed me the most. Which was ridiculous since I had quit to help develop a community center that would help even more people.

Shaking my head at my ridiculousness, I dug through my purse for my phone which I’d dropped into the depths for safekeeping as soon as I’d left the train. I always held my purse close, but people were sneaky.

When I was finally able to find it and pull it out, I wanted to cry. Ten percent battery was not going to help during a power outage, and I hated the dark.

With a shaky hand, I slipped my phone back in my purse. The power would come back on soon. The building was state of the art, and with so many wealthy people living in it, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were generators that would click on any minute.

I shivered violently, the cold air from the air conditioner that had been on finally registering with my body. Ryker had money,but leaving it on full blast when no one lived there was so wasteful. It felt like I’d stepped inside Mr. Freeze’s lair.

Not wanting to leave a trail of water everywhere and create a hockey rink, I peeled off my jeans and shirt, letting them fall with a plop next to the door. I might as well have jumped into a swimming pool. Even my bra was soaked through, the cups absorbing water like sponges.

I unclasped it and let it slide down my arms, catching it by one of the straps. It felt like it weighed three times as much from the water it had absorbed. It was going to take forever to dry if the power didn’t come back on so I could throw it in the dryer.

As if to remind me of how sensitive they were, my nipples hardened. Small handfuls as they were, they were not the kind of boobs that could go braless; they’d poke an eye out.

A sound came from down the hall, and I froze, my arm outstretched and ready to deposit my bra on my heap of clothing.

What the hell was that?

I heard it again, and my heart leapt into my throat. I was either hallucinating or someone was walking toward me. My mind was telling me to run and scream, but my body wouldn’t listen. I was frozen, listening to the soft thwacking sound coming closer and closer.

The lights flickered back on, and a scream echoed through the empty space.

But it wasn’t mine, at least not at first.

A man, who I was all too familiar with, was standing right across the entryway from me, his eyes wide in terror at finding a half-naked woman standing before him. I screamed right along with him and threw my bra at his head on instinct, my feet finally deciding to work.

Unfortunately, my bag was right in my path, and I tripped over it, falling hard onto the floor.

“Shit. Elizabeth? Are you okay? Why the hell are you naked?”

Damn. For a moment, I’d hoped I’d only imagined things, but I knew the owner of that voice. I’d had to listen to it for hours on end over the last several months at planning meetings I was required to attend.

My cheeks burned to the point where I was certain they were redder than a baboon’s ass. If my undressed state wasn’t bad enough, he was wearing only his briefs that left nothing to the imagination. What was the point of wearing any at all when I could practically see all his goods right through the white fabric?

My God. He was barely contained.

“What are you doing here?” My heart showed no signs of settling down as I quickly rolled so that my back was to him, covering my chest with my arm. Maybe he had been so surprised and scared he hadn’t had time to sneak a peek at the goods.

Sure, Libby. Just like you haven’t checked out his junk.

“I live here,” he said slowly as if he was confused. “At least until next week. You aren’t supposed to move in until next weekend.”

“Yeah, well, I needed somewhere to stay tonight. Last minute change of plans thanks to my train being delayed.” With my shaking free hand, I unzipped my bag to find a dry shirt, only to find nothing was dry. “What do you mean you live here? This is my brother’s condo. Don’t you have a penthouse and an entire hotel?”

“My penthouse is being renovated. Ry offered to let me stay here until it’s done since it’s in the same building and more convenient.” His voice was tired with sleep, and I wondered briefly—very briefly—if this was what he sounded like in the morning.

“He what?” I practically shrieked, looking over my shoulder at the man towering over me. His dark hair was disheveled, and his body looked like something I’d like pressed against me.

No. Absolutely not. I would not lust after one of New York City’s most notorious playboys, my soon-to-be boss, and one of my brother’s best friends. This was the man who annoyed me to no end every time he opened his mouth.

Because you feel guilty about wanting him.

Telling myself no was one thing, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the way a dark trail of hair traveled down into the waistband of his underwear or how the V cuts of muscle seemed to point right to his very impressive bulge.

Nope. There was no way I was attracted to Leo Caponetti.

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