Page 52 of Mile High Contract

I toss the empty bottle into the recycle bin and shake my head. “Nah. I’m settled in now. I’ll take you home tomorrow.”

Folding her arms across her chest, she says, “Carter, seriously. What are we doing? What areyoudoing?”

“I was getting you out of a bad situation.”

She narrows her eye at me. “I wasn’t in a bad situation.”

“Douche canoe was about to ask you to go home with him.”

“How do you know?” she snaps.

I grin again. “Because it’s what I would have done. He was smart about one thing, though.”

She groans. “What?”

“He chose the prettiest girl at the table,” I reply sincerely.

Taryn’s angry gaze softens. I watch her suck in her cheeks like she’s trying not to smile and lifts her chin. “Yeah, he did.”

Wow.

I chuckle, glad she didn’t choose to put herself down and deny it like I expected. I walk around to the other side of the island where she’s still sitting on the barstool and I box her in with my hands against the marble. Her face is inches from mine.

“Listen. I’m sorry if you feel like I treat you badly at work. That’s not my intention. I had a brief slipup with an employee a couple of years ago. Now Lisa thinks we should just hire old hags or men to work for us so I don’t ‘slip up’ again,” I confess. “She couldn’t deny how qualified you are so she had nothing to say. She just watches me closely.”

She nods. “That actually makes sense. She lurks around like a mother hen. I thought she was just a bossy bitch.”

I chuckle. “She’s that too, but she’s damn good at her job and I pay her well. She makes sure we stay out of trouble and is excellent at hiring and everything HR. I don’t want to lose her. And she really is nice deep down. She’s a rock star on birthdays and holidays, goes all out with food and making the employees feel special. She loves it.”

“We’ll see what she does when my birthday rolls around,” she comments with a grin.

“And when is that again?” I ask quietly since our faces are inches apart.

“August twenty-ninth,” she whispers.

I can’t stand the small space that separates us and I lean down and kiss her. She immediately responds, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me back. I start kissing her faster, licking her lips demanding she grant my tongue access. Hers duels with mine as our lips seal and unseal as we make out. I hike her skirt up and wrap her legs around me. I’m as hard as a rock and need to be inside of her.

We kiss on the way to my room. Once inside, she slides down my body and lands on her feet, her hands still on my shoulders.

She slowly breaks the kiss and looks up at me. “Carter.”

“Taryn,” I say back, out of breath.

She places her hand on my chest and looks directly into my eyes. “I am not sleeping with you.”

I’m shocked. “May I ask why? I like to think we’ve got some damn hot chemistry going right now. And I can definitely tell that you want me. Just not as much as I want you.” I bring my hand up and tuck a strand of light-brown hair behind her ear.

“Because I don’t think I’ll be able to handle how you treat me at work if we do this. Sorry, but I’m an analyzer and an overthinker. I already know what’s going to happen.”

“It won’t be like that, love,” I say quietly, trying to kiss her again.

Her hand on my chest pushes gently. “It will. Besides, you can’t just barge into a bar and drag me like a Neanderthal back to your cave and expect me to just jump into bed with you.”

“That’s not what I intended. I had to get you out of there because...” I step back and swipe a hand through my hair.

“Because why? Because I was tipsy? Because I was having a good time? Without you?”

“Because he was touching you! He had his greasy paws all over your hair and skin, trying to get you drunk and take you home...”

---