Page 5 of Theirs to Take

“I do,” he said. “I also own half of this place. My cousin, Braden asked me to go in on this place with him and I saw it as an investment. He’s the only family that I have left on my mother’s side, so I couldn’t turn him down. Besides, it’s been a good business venture.”

“You have your hand in a lot of pots,” Nova said, giggling to herself. “My grandmother used to say that to me when I’d tell her about all of the clubs and extracurricular activities that I was going out for in college. She’d tell me to keep my eye on the prize and remember that I’m there to get a diploma and not to join so many clubs that I fail out in my first year at school. She was right, I had to drop a few of the clubs to keep up with my coursework, but it all worked out. I found my balance and then, I felt as though I was unstoppable.”

“Your grandmother sounds like she’s a very wise woman,” Alex said.

“Yes,” Nova agreed. “She was. She passed away just after I married Simon. She never even got to meet Jack, and that always made me a little sad. My mother was never really a part of my life. When she left me, my grandmother took me in and raised me.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “How old were you when your mom took off?” Alex asked.

“I was fourteen,” she said. “Mom said that I was a handful, but the truth of the matter was she wanted to follow her roadie boyfriend on the road with the band he worked for. I was just holding her back from being with him and living her dream life out on the road, so she dumped me at her mom’s house and took off. My grandmother never spoke of her again. We both knew that she’d never be back for either of us, so we just kind of forgotabout her. That’s what I’m worried about happening with Jack,” Nova admitted.

“It’s not going to happen because you have me in your corner now, honey,” he assured.

“I appreciate that, Alex. I also appreciate the job you’ve given me. I won’t let you down,” she assured.

“Then, why do I get the feeling that you’re about to let me down in a major way, Nova?” Alex asked. Had she been so easy to read? Most people said that her facial expressions were her tell, but she didn’t know if that was the case with Alex since he really didn’t know her.

“Because I’m going to have to tell you no now, Alex,” she said. “I need to end our night before it goes further. I want this job and I really like you. You’re easy to talk to. I don’t want to mess that up. I think that we should keep things platonic between the two of us, Alex.”

“I understand,” he breathed. She could tell that he was lying. He didn’t understand why she had turned him down, but she hoped that sometime soon, he would.

“I’m sorry, Alex,” she whispered. Nova stood from her chair and bent to gently kiss his cheek. It wasn’t the way she should have ended her evening with her boss, but she wanted to let him know how much she appreciated everything.

“Good night,” she whispered into his ear. Nova stood and smiled down at him staring back up at her. “I’ll see you in the morning, Alex,” she assured.

“See you in the morning,” he said back to her. She didn’t waste time getting out of there. She needed some air to clear her head before she did something stupid and marched back into that restaurant and told him that she changed her mind. She couldn’t do that. Nova needed to stick to her guns and the only way she’d be able to do that was to get into her car and drive away before she changed her mind.

Alexander

Alex spent the rest of his night trying to figure out what in the hell happened. How had everything been going so smoothly and dare he think it—perfectly, and then bam, Nova took off on him? He replayed the entire evening in his head, over and over, trying to pinpoint the exact moment where he fucked up, and he just couldn’t figure it out. Had he done or said something that would make her bolt the way that she had?

He was being obsessive, but how could he not be? He had just hired the woman to be his personal assistant and sure, maybe it was the wrong move to ask her to go to dinner with him, but he wanted her and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. Nova was his walking wet dream, but there was more to it. The more they talked, and he got to know her, the more he liked her, and working late hours, in close quarters wasn’t going to make his longing subside.

By the time he got home and climbed into bed, he was dog-tired. He slept like a rock until his alarm sounded and he almost turned it off and rolled over for a few more hours of sleep. Then, he remembered that today was going to be Nova’s first day andthe thought of seeing her again had him hopping out of bed and into the shower. He wasn’t going to waste a single second with her today. Hopefully, he’d be able to convince her to have dinner with him again tonight. He wasn’t above using the rouse that he wanted to talk about her case some more to get to spend time with her. He’d help her get her son back, but he wanted to help her with so much more than her custody hearing. There was something about Nova that made him want to swoop in and save her—help her in every way possible and make her his. But she had made it perfectly clear that she didn’t want a relationship with him outside of work. He had heard that loud and clear. Alex just wished that there was some way that he could convince her that her job would be safe, no matter what happened between the two of them. He had a feeling that he was going to have to prove that to her, show her, and not just give her the words. She didn’t really know him. Nova wouldn’t know that his word was golden, but she’d soon find out.

He got into the office earlier than he planned and when he found her desk empty, a part of him worried that she was going to not show up. He checked his watch and realized that she still had about fifteen minutes before she was due in, and he went back to his office to try to calm the fuck down.

He thumbed through a few of the files for the cases he was working on, reorganized his desk, and even read a few messages from the day before that he had to return today. All that had taken a whopping five minutes and he sighed knowing that the next ten minutes were going to feel like an eternity. All of his self-doubts plagued him—all the what-ifs played through his mind. What if she didn’t show up today? What if she decided that he was too forward, asking her to dinner, and didn’t want the job anymore? What if something happened to her on her way into the office and she was hurt, or worse? He was going to drive himself insane with all of the possibilities.

“I need a distraction,” he decided. He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, picturing Nova when she walked into the restaurant last night in her tiny cocktail dress that barely covered her gorgeous breasts. God, she was beautiful, and she had no idea just how she affected him. Half the men in the restaurant last night couldn’t seem to take their eyes off of her, even with Alex mean-mugging them.

Alex undid his belt and pulled down his zipper, letting his cock spring free from his slacks. He never wore underwear—hated them actually. As soon as he ran his hands over his shaft, he moaned, thinking about how good it would feel if they were Nova’s hands stroking his cock.

“Yes,” he hissed as he ran his hand down his erection. He was thinking about all of the things he wanted to do with Nova and didn’t even hear the door to his office open. As soon as he heard her gasp, his eyes popped open and he found her standing in the doorway to his office, her eyes on his hand stroking his cock. He didn’t try to hide what he was doing—she’d already gotten an eyeful.

“Um, I’m sorry,” she squeaked. She quickly turned to leave his office and all he could think about was stopping her.

“Don’t go,” he growled.

“I didn’t know that you were—I mean, I should have knocked,” she insisted.

Even in his wildest dreams, he couldn’t imagine being walked in on by the woman who was playing through his fantasies. He was getting off to the memory of her from last night and all he wanted was the real thing—touching him, wanting him.

He shrugged, not taking his hands from his cock. Nova watched him with so much intensity, that he wondered just how far she’d let him push her. “I don’t mind you watching, honey,”he breathed. He sounded needy and breathless. Alex was close to finding his release, especially with the way Nova watched him.

“I shouldn’t,” she whispered more to herself than to him.

“But you want to, don’t you Nova?” he asked.

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