Page 6 of Winter Wish

“We’ll meet you guys at The Range in about an hour. Jorie, you’ll ride with Ezra and me. It’s supposed to snow later, and we can’t have our rookie mechanic calling work for a tow because she doesn’t know how to drive in it. It would look bad for business.” He laughed.

Ezra could tell Jorie was still undecided as she peeked up at him again, as if seeking permission. He liked that. With a small lift of his chin, he gave her his approval. Her cheeks flushed, and she scurried past him, heading into the employee locker room and then out to the parking lot.

***

As Ezra showered, he wondered what he was going to do about Jorie. She was a skilled mechanic, but that wasn’t the problem.

The problem was his overwhelming attraction to her. What was it about her? She wasn’t classically beautiful, but there was something undeniably cute about her—her pert nose, sparkling blue eyes, and the way she often looked like an impish little girl,especially with her braided pigtails and nerdy safety glasses. All she needed was a lollipop and one of his button-down shirts to complete the look.

Before Kirsty, Ezra had never defined his dominant nature or the things he preferred sexually. He hadn’t thought about it while he was with her either—it just wasn’t part of their dynamic. But now, the feisty little blonde working for him had him thinking about all sorts of things. Especially what he wanted to do to her… and with her.

His body responded immediately, and he reached for the beard conditioner. Pumping a generous amount into his palm, he let it warm before wrapping his hand around his cock and giving it a stroke.

His eyelids dropped closed as his hand found a steady rhythm. He imagined Jorie’s blue eyes widening with desire as she watched him. In his mind, she was kneeling at his feet, her warm hands resting on his thighs as she leaned into him.

He teased the head of his cock against her lips, a silent demand until she opened her mouth and let him in. Her soft tongue flicked over the glans. Fuck. Ezra groaned low in his throat as he thrust into the depths of her mouth, pulling back and pushing forward again, hitting the back of her throat over and over.

Jorie’s hum of excitement vibrated against him. His balls drew tight, and his legs began to shake. He braced his free handagainst the glass, his cock hardening painfully as he neared his release.

Just then, Aaron pounded on the bathroom door. “Ezra? Let’s go, man. I’m starving!”

Ezra groaned. He was starving too. But food had nothing to do with it. She was his employee. He needed to maintain his distance. Nothing good could come from this attraction.

Chapter 5

On the drive home, Jorie couldn't shake the feeling that she was being followed. She glanced in the rearview mirror again, but with the oncoming lane clear, she made a snap decision and turned left without signaling. When the truck two cars back kept going straight, she breathed a sigh of relief. Lordy, she was obviously losing her good sense.

Honestly, she had no idea what the hell she was thinking. This invitation to spend social time with the guys and her bosses was driving her crazy.

She’d managed to resist past invitations to hang out with the guys, but it wasn’t that she didn’t want to join them. As the newest coworker and the only woman, she didn’t want to risk any misconstrued expectations or unnecessary tension at work.She would have made another excuse, but then she made the mistake of locking eyes with Ezra.

There was a glint in his gaze… She couldn’t quite place it—a dare? A challenge? Weren’t they the same thing? A dare seemed playful, while a challenge turned whatever this was into a competition.

From what she’d overheard, ever since his ex-girlfriend left, Ezra didn’t play games.

Jorie knew, instinctively, that if Ezra did decide to play, it would only be because it was advantageous to him. And she doubted Ezra ever lost.

So, where did that leave her? The answer was painfully simple. She didn’t stand a chance. If Ezra won, she’d lose. He had more experience, and as her boss, he held all the cards.

Jorie's best strategy would be to decline the invitation again, but when Ezra raised an eyebrow and tilted his chin—nonverbally ordering her to move—her breath caught in her throat, and heat spread across her cheeks. She succumbed to his authority. Hurriedly, she made her way toward the employee entrance to escape the weight of his watchful gaze, a gaze that both unsettled and thrilled her.

She wasn’t sure if men stressed about how they behaved around each other, in and out of work, but she sure did. At the sametime, she couldn’t stop worrying about what the heck she was going to do with her damned hair. Aaron hadn’t given her enough time to wash, dry, and style it.

As she waited to turn into the driveway, she noticed a dark vehicle, similar to the one she thought had been tailing her earlier, approaching from the other lane. It slowed, then passed by without incident.

“Way to freak out, Jorie,” she muttered to herself.

A lot of people drove black 4x4s with tinted windows. Ezra did. And since this was his driveway, he would’ve turned in if it had been him. Actually, if he’d been behind her earlier, he’d have beaten her home. As she pulled into the driveway and parked, she saw that Ezra’s truck was nowhere to be seen, but Aaron’s was parked in front of the garage. Ezra could’ve already pulled his truck inside. Lordy, now she was definitely overthinking things. She shook her head. She was definitely a can or two shy of a six-pack, as her dad always said.

Pushing aside the vehicle and her paranoia, Jorie rushed up the stairs to her apartment, slamming the door behind her. She stripped, leaving a trail of work clothes as she hurried into the bathroom. She shivered as she turned on the shower, waiting for it to warm up.

There was no way she was getting into a cold shower. Been there, done that, and had the bruises—when she bolted right back out—to prove it. She didn’t care if she was late or not; a hot shower was a must. While she waited, she pinned her braids up on top of her head and plugged in the automatic curling wand. After the quickest shower she’d ever taken, she finished toweling off and rushed into her bedroom, only to stop in front of the closet.

What to wear? Jorie rifled through her clothes, tossing one sweater after another onto the bed. This wasn’t a date, she reminded herself. But did she listen? No. No, she did not. She wished she had time to call Jolie. Her sister was always the epitome of calm and collected, while Jorie felt anything but.

Except Jorie hadn’t told Jolie, the closest person to her in the whole world, about the crush she had on Ezra. There, she admitted it. The reason she was acting so stupid was because she was crushing hard on her boss.

When Jolie arrived next week, she’d take one look at Jorie and, if she didn’t already suspect, know something was going on. Not much got past her twin, even with twenty-five hundred miles between them. Jorie would eventually have to confess, but for now, she needed to get ready for her not-a-date—and she’d better hurry.

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