Page 19 of Unwrapped

“You know what?” I ask a few minutes later after opening the fridge several times. “I need to go grocery shopping. How do you feel about pizza?” I pull out a menu from the drawer right next to my dishwasher and spread it out in front of her.

After deciding on a large pepperoni and two small side salads, I take the stool next to her. The room goes quiet, and she does her best to avoid my gaze, but I grab her chin and force her to look at me.

“Staying away from each other doesn’t work for me, Miranda.” She opens her mouth to speak, but I put my hand against her lips, silencing her. “I know. I’ve heard all of your concerns. Your mother works for me. The age difference and my lack of melanin.” I give her a smile to let her know I’m kidding, and she rolls her eyes at me. “Did I get everything?”

“It’s not funny. We have some serious issues, Nick. We only stayed away from each other for two days. Maybe we didn’t give it enough time. We didn’t even know each other a week ago.”

“I gave it as much time as I could. If I didn’t run into you today, I was going to the mall to find you. The issues shouldn’t stop us from being together. A week ago doesn’t matter. I know your main concern is the fact that I’m your mother’s boss, but I meant what I said two days ago. I don’t want this to be a secret. Let’s tell her.”

“Tell her what exactly?” she asks.

“That we’re in a relationship. Look, the way you were upstairs tells me you didn’t like being away from me either.” I brush the hair off her forehead and stroke her cheek. She leans down and kisses my hand before she looks into my eyes. “We have a connection. I know you feel it. I felt it the instant I looked into your eyes. We can figure everything else out. I promise.”

She lays her hand on top of mine as I stroke her cheek. She closes her eyes, and I imagine she’s thinking about what a relationship between us would look like.

“I feel the connection too. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since I left here Monday morning.”

Relief washes over me. I pull her from the stool and place her on my lap, kissing the side of her neck.

“I’m glad to hear that.” I kiss her neck again and feel her shudder against me. I slide my hand inside her robe, giving her small breast a hard squeeze.

“Did you think about me?” she asks.

“Every second.”

“This is crazy, right?” She turns in my arms, stands up, and puts her forehead on mine. “We just met. We should be able to walk away from each other. When I broke up with my last boyfriend, I just went on with life. I was more upset at losing my old job than him, but when I ended things with you, I was miserable.”

“Let’s just go with it, okay?” I run my hand over her body, and even with the thick robe covering her, I still feel her curves.

“Is that your old man advice? Just go with it.” She runs a hand through my hair at the exact moment I slap her hard on the ass. She lets out a little yelp, and the impact of the slap pushes her closer to me. She starts to say something, but I stand, pick her up, and toss her over my shoulder. She yells and laughs at the same time, and I tease her by spinning around.

I do it several times as I laugh right along with her. The only thing causing me to stop is the ringing doorbell. When I put her down, she’s so dizzy, she has to hold on to the counter.

“Keep calling me old,” I tell her, slapping her butt again before I open the door and grab our food.

CHAPTER 14

NICK

“I need some furniture,” I say between bites of pizza. I reach over and adjust Miranda’s pillow. Once satisfied with it, I grab both of her legs and lay them across my lap.

“I know this floor can’t be good for your old man back.” She wiggles on the hardwood floor to make her point. I tickle one of her feet, catching her off guard and causing her to drop her slice of pizza on her plate. While she’s still distracted, I lift one of her legs and spread her open, getting a great view of her pussy.

“Hey! Perv.” She makes no move to pull her leg from me. In fact, she spreads wider, and I can’t help but run my knuckles over her clit. She sighs at my touch and when I see the lust in her eyes, I drop her leg.

“When’s your next day off?” I ask her.

“Friday, but then I have to work the entire weekend.” She does this adorable pout.

“You and me then. I’ll take the day off and we’ll go furniture shopping.”

Her eyes light up at the thought, and I find myself getting excited right along with her.

“And a Christmas tree and decorations.”

“Deal,” I tell her. “When do you want to tell your mom about us? Tomorrow?”

She stops chewing, her eyes widening at my questions. She drops the half-eaten slice on the plate and reaches for my hand. I prepare myself for whatever she has to say, knowing I’m not going to like it.

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