Page 18 of On the Fly
His arms tightened around her, drawing her flush against his body.
“That explains a lot.” His face was close to her neck, and the small puffs of his breath sent tingles stampeding down her spine.
This had the potential of not ending well for her, especially since he was her boss. Oh yeah, that was the exact reminder she needed and let go, dropping to her feet. He loosened his arms but didn’t release her completely.
“I think there was water left inside the bucket.”
Her hand went to her butt, saturated completely through the jacket she’d had tied around her waist, the other followed and the intimate moment came to an end as she stepped a couple of inches back. She released a heavy sigh as she looked up at this beautiful man. She could see he’d stepped in as some sort of chivalrous act on his part. Maybe someday they would laugh about their predicament. But that didn’t answer why he had to be so nice looking. She scowled at him. “What am I going to do now?”
“Change your clothes? That water doesn’t look clean,” he said, looking over her shoulder toward the bucket, misinterpreting her question.
She nearly rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, changing my clothes would be lovely, but I still need to find my room.” After that, she’d figure out how to correct the mess he’d tossed them into.
He just grinned at her, never fazed by any sass she threw his way.Exasperating.
“That I can help you with.” He reached for the door handle, pushing it open. She had to give it to him, he was being sweet and patient as he held the door open for her, but she extended a hand, letting him lead the way.
He led her to the kitchen where someone was working feverishly on the dinner plates being loaded on big trays by servers. She hadn’t had a full tour, but from what she’d seen of the house so far, the place was amazing and the entire staff ran with precision.
“Can you help me find her room, Gina?” he asked, gesturing behind him. Emma took the opportunity to untie her jacket. Then cringed at the damage. One ruined capri pantsuit.
“Sure thing, honey. Go to your mom’s office. The reservations are on her desk. Here’s my master key,” she said, offering her hip where a set of keys was attached. “It’s the sparkly one. I like my sparkles.” She winked at Ander and went back to her tasks.
“Can you let the father of the bride know there was a tiny accident and Emma will be down as soon as she changes?” Ander asked.
“Anything for you.” Gina gave a rousing cackle of a laugh. Oh lord, he had the ladies eating out of his hands. She rolled her eyes. Then tingles shot down her spine as he placed a large warm hand on the small of her back to lead her out of the kitchen and farther down the hall. She was in so much trouble with this man.
Chapter 8
Ander escorted Emma to her assigned room and waited patiently in the hallway, marveling again at the changes his mother had made to the layout. This end of the house, that now housed guest rooms, had been nothing more than storage. The abnormally shaped rooms had sharp angles due to the roof. But from the glimpse he’d had before Emma shut him out, someone had reconfigured the walls to allow for an oddly comfortable bedroom space.
Emma was as far away from the main part of the home as she could get, and she was sharing the room with two of her elderly aunts who needed access to the elevator—another new feature. Imagining the trouble he and his siblings would have gotten into with access to an elevator made him quirk his lip in smile.
She wasn’t happy with her sleeping arrangements, but other than a deep breath and a slight grumble he couldn’t make out, she hadn’t said a word of complaint. Did she stand up for herself with her family at all? Lord knew she had no problem raising grievances with him.
He tucked his hands in his pockets, staring down at the new carpet with its intricately woven pattern. He stifled a groan as his actions caught up with his brain. Of course, he’d been acting on autopilot when he’d insinuated himself into Emma’s weekend plans. Over the last couple of days, he’d unintentionally developed a small working knowledge of Emma’s family from the conversational breadcrumbs she’d dropped. She’d been an open book about her life until she’d found out who he was but seeing her stepmother in action showed him firsthand the struggle Emma endured. He admired how she stood up for herself in work settings, never backing down from a fight. Her placating personality with her family disturbed him in a way he didn’t want to analyze.
Whatever possessed him to jump in like he had continued to motivate him. Lack of sleep had to be the culprit or frustration with his family over wanting him to save a company his father never wanted him in charge of. How else could he explain acting so far outside his general nature? Maybe it was nothing more than a diversionary tactic, a much-needed mental break from the heavy weight of his own family obligations. Either that or he had a brain tumor—he’d heard they could make a person do exactly the opposite of what they would normally do. Ander sighed and shook his head at his own crazy thoughts.
No matter the real reason, he’d offered himself up as her date for the weekend wedding.
And not as just a date, but as her boyfriend. He tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling. Why had he taken things that far?
Maybe he really should get a checkup. A small brain scan might not be a bad idea.
“Okay, I’m ready.” Emma’s voice had him snapping his head back down and watching her exit the bedroom, pulling the door closed behind her.
She now wore a casual, yet stylish long dress, which captured her beauty perfectly in both color and fit. At that moment, he couldn’t deny the real reason he’d done what he had: his incredible attraction to this sassy creature. His cock stirred as he took in her latest ensemble. He didn’t like to pare anything down to just sex, but he couldn’t deny the sexual chemistry driving him into something so dumb and reckless at a time he needed to be focused and sharp. He also couldn’t deny the need to push her back through that doorway and tumble her onto the bed just beyond. He forced himself to take a deep breath and hold his ground as she came closer.
“I’m never going to get sleep. It appears both my aunts have sleep apnea machines. It should be a great time.” Her little eyeroll made him want to grab her and ravish her mouth while pressing her against the now closed bedroom door. Why on earth did her sassiness eradicate his restraint so easily?
She started down the hall, barely glancing over her shoulder at him. He in turn watched the sultry sway of her hips as the silky soft material of her dress swished and swirled around her shapely legs.Get yourself under control, man.
Ander shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. He could kid himself all he liked, but in truth he’d do whatever it took to wind up in her bed. He had rules about this. No sex in the workplace. He typically looked for women who were in it just for the fun—no strings attached. He wasn’t Lucky, his wild and crazy brother who would take any risk if the payout promised to be fun and games. Ander was the responsible one. And right now, he didn’t have time for complicated relationships or complicated women.
Besides, he’d never before been attracted to anyone this unpredictable or hard to get along with. But he couldn’t deny her appeal—that wholesome, sunny, hottest-girl-in-the-crowd thing she had going on. At least until she opened her mouth. Heaven help him, her sass and no-holds-barred comebacks were what really attracted him.
“Wait. We have to talk.” He lifted a hand from his pocket in a gesture to stop.
