Page 43 of Joint Custody

Wait. It hit me. Her reaction wasn’t one of distaste or irritation. It was one of desire. My shaft jerked as if to say “good guessing there, Sherlock. Took you long enough,” and I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude that her back was facing me and everyone had left as the jerk became a pounding, growing ache that I was trying to fight. My desire roared within me, begging me for her body, and I detested it. I didn’t have many partners to begin with, but I wasn’t desperate enough for Tiffany Levine.

“Documents,” I growled at her, reminding myself of my contempt for her, hoping to tame the growing hunger thickening my wood.

But she couldn’t turn to look at me, handing the file to me over her shoulder. I could see that she was also struggling, and it felt like a strange sense of bonding, knowing that we were both fighting this. I moved in closer to her,not too close, I warned myself. I could see how heavy she was breathing by the movement of her body.

Some invisible force seemed to be tugging me forward as my resistance made her even more tempting. I stepped in even closer, so close I could smell her perfume. My breath hitched as I stared at the zipper in the back of her dress, wondering what would happen if I pulled at it. I wondered if she’d want me to. I wondered why I wanted to. I wished I could see her nakedness, feel it against my hands.

I jumped back in shock, thankful I didn’t trip over the edge of the pool and splash back inside of it in embarrassment as I thought about how close I was bringing myself to the possibility of being accused of harassment. I was too close for comfort anyway, and if I reached out and touched her, she’d have all rights to file those charges.

No fucking way. I wasn’t going to pass my place, first of all, and second of all, I wasn’t going to give Tiffany Levine a reason to get me fired from my own company. I could only imagine. I stepped all the way back, grabbing the documents from her hands.

Chapter 32

Tiffany

MybreathtrembledasI waited for him to take the document from my hands. I let out an inaudible gasp as I felt his presence advancing me, hearing his needy breathing the closer he got to me, feeling a bit of it brush up against the side of my neck. I fought against a shudder as my knees shook. I almost moaned out loud as my nipples hardened against my bra and my clit danced in excitement at the possibility of having contact again. I heard his breath hitch as he stood behind me and I closed my eyes, waiting for him to touch me, wondering what my reaction would be if he did.

In that very second, the thought of him touching me was all-consuming, but at the same time, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to let a second of desire cloud my judgment. Jared Crawford was a mean man, and if he touched me, if I let him, I had no doubt he would find some way to use it against me. I didn’t trust the man as far as I could throw him. Even worse, if I became a fool for him because of his touch, because I gave myself to him, I feared he’d use it to control me.

I should have spun around and thrust the document at his chest, storming out of there but the need within my body echoed louder than my fear. I almost wanted to close the gap between us by backing up an inch or two, giving us both a reason for our bodies to fall into each other. I waited for a kiss on my neck that never came as I heard his feet slap against the concrete as he walked backward, and I felt the document leaving my hand in a rush. I wasn’t even mad as he grabbed it. All I felt was the loss of what might’ve been if either of us had made a move.

I closed my eyes and pictured the brief moment he stood before me, almost damn naked. How in heaven’s name did this man manage to pull off a speedo so well? The black fabric sucked the curves of his phallus, and I couldn’t even begin to imagine how well it hugged his ass. The waist of it was flush against his flat lower abdomen, and for the brief moment I allowed my eyes to look, I noticed how narrow his waist was in comparison to his shoulders and how firm his abdomen was as water dripped off the ridges. I also noticed where a faint dark trail led. He probably shaved it since he swam in speedos at work and didn’t want to feed into the imagination of people like myself.

I still couldn’t turn to face him because it’d be quite the game of me trying to pretend I wasn’t staring at his dripping wet, hard body. I’d have to stare at the ceiling the whole time.

I took note of the fact that as he stood behind me, document in hand, he was silent.

There were no desperate pants, no closing into me, just silence except for the sounds of the pages turning. Anxiety did a good job of kicking desire to the curb as I was reminded of Jared’s judgment and wondering what he must have been thinking as he read through the document. I folded my arms in front of me as I played his demeaning voice over and over in my head. I bet he was belittling everything about my work, picking up on every single error, ready to throw them in my face. I didn’t know what I was thinking being attracted to him.

It was like someone poured gasoline inside my brain and struck a match. Flames of insecurity were set ablaze within my body and there was no way to put it out. I pressed my hand against my arm, itching with the need to turn around and defend my work, stare him down, and be ready with a retort before he could fix his mouth to say anything, but I was trying hard to make a good second impression and hold my tongue. I was trying hard to respect him as my boss so he couldn’t find a legitimate reason to fire me. Although, if he disrespected my work, I’d be tempted to push his ass in the pool.

Seconds ticked on by and I forced composure in the deafening silence. My stomach rumbled, and I began to think about breakfast. My mind started to wander to Mario and Anthony, whether they’d arrived yet. I remembered my niece’s laugh as I sang her a goofy lullaby to put her to sleep and how Chris, although drunk as hell, treated his wife with so much respect as he rubbed her swollen feet. I was set adrift in my own little world when I heard Jared’s voice from behind me, startling me.

“Thanks,” he said, and I waited for the “but,” but nothing followed. I thought I must have been too lost in my thoughts, I might have missed something. Regardless of whether I did or not, I never expected to hear the word “thanks” coming from Jared’s mouth. It didn’t sound sarcastic. There had to be a catch.

“That’s it?” I asked, looking over my shoulders.

Chapter 33

Jared

“Thanks,”Isaid,flippingthe file jacket shut, hoping that would send her on her merry way and I could have some time to recover from my reaction to her body, the smell of her perfume I never noticed before now lingering in the air around me.

I looked up and waited for her to walk away, but instead, she turned her head to look over her shoulders, and I never noticed how pretty her freckles were before or even that she had any.

“That’s it?” she asked.

The caveman inside me, the uncivilized part of my brain linked to times when the people we evolved from roamed the earth, awoke within me and pushed me forward with the need to know what else she wanted, if she wanted more of me.

I swiped my hand over my graying beard, pausing in my gait, and let out an exasperated breath. Even if I could spare a few moments to throw away my disdain for her and cross that line of professionalism, if she’d allow me to, there was yet another line standing between us. One that could never be crossed. The personal line between best friends, and there was one thing I couldn’t stand even more than entitlement and it was betrayal. I could never cross that line, at least, that was what my mind and morals screamed at me.

My hormones and instinct on the other hand, challenged me, making me question whether I was the dignified man I thought myself to be. It made me wonder if I was a man of honor and righteousness, taunting me with the parts of myself that could be untrustworthy, nothing more than a lousy hypocrite. And my hormones and instinct made me wonder about those things because I found my feet moving toward her again, and this time, I was doing nothing to stop them as I stepped around her, standing in front of her, making her see me, though she tried to hide.

She gasped as her eyes began to drift lower. She caught them though, just in time to turn her head away, staring out at the pool as she bit her bottom lip for a second, making it blush as red as her cheeks. Oh, hell. There was that jerk again. This time it slammed into me, pressing against my ribs, and I suppressed a groan from the impact, waiting until I could find my voice to speak.

“Did you want something more?” I asked, and my voice was hoarse. She turned to look at me, eyes wide open as if in shock, but she didn’t fix her face in disgust from the question. I noticed her breathing increased again as her concealed bosoms began to rise and fall in quick releases. She swallowed and she connected her dancing gaze with mine. Our eyes fixed on each other for a lingering moment. Neither her nor I rushed to look away.

I gulped as I waited, as I watched her lips begin to part, trembling as a hoarse breath escaped her lips. “No,” she said.

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