Arrogant Devil(75)

Hell, maybe I should just train for an Ironman triathlon at this point. If Meredith continues living here, I could probably win the damn thing.

When I make it back to the farmhouse thirty minutes later, I’m sweaty and breathing hard, but no less worked up than I was before my run. Shit. My coping mechanisms are starting to lose effectiveness. I’ll have to get creative, maybe consider a cold bath or— My thoughts freeze when I pull open the door and find Meredith in my living room, pacing. I figured she’d have gone to sleep by now. The movie probably ended a few minutes after I left.

She whips her attention to me and wrings out her hands.

“You’re still here,” I say, deciding that’s the safest thing that could possibly come out of my mouth at this moment.

She steps toward me, drops her hands, turns, fidgets with her ponytail, and then turns back to me.

“Okay, I’ve been thinking…”

Her eyes are wide with worry. Her teeth nibble on her bottom lip. I’ve never seen her look so nervous, not even back when she used to be scared of Alfred.

“About what?” I ask this while standing very still, hand propped up on the doorframe.

“You find me attractive, right? Like as a woman?”

I blink. Blink, blink, blink.

Is this a trick? A trap?

I’m her employer, her confidant.

“Umm…sure?”

She frowns, and a deep crease settles between her eyebrows. “Women usually hope for a little more enthusiasm.”

“Were you?” The fewer words, the better, I think to myself. I’ll use one more. “Hoping?”

“Well yeah, because I find you…”—she waves her hand up and down my body and then clears her throat—“very good-looking.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And we’re both available.”

“I’m aware.”

“And I think we should kiss.”

Gulp.

“And break lamps.”

Her euphemism makes me smile, but then reality catches up with me.

“Believe me, I want to break thousands of lamps with you, but you just got out of a bad relationship.”

“Right. So did you.”

“I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

“Noble, but unnecessary.”

“Also, you work for me.”

“True, but irrelevant.”

“It could make our relationship really complicated.”

“Indeed, but it’s worth the risk.”

“And…well…”

I’m at the end of the line. I’ve run right out of excuses. She was supposed to agree with one of those and call this whole conversation off. She was supposed to nod and say, Oh, you know what? I hadn’t thought of that. Well see ya! Then we’d shake hands and she’d get the hell out of my house.

Instead she’s staring up at me with those big, hopeful blue eyes and she might as well be saying, Let’s find the biggest, most breakable lamp in Texas.

“Fuck.” I turn and wrench the front door open and step outside.

Don’t. Do. This.

I have to be better than this. I have to set the boundaries and hold to them. She doesn’t know what she’s asking for—she’s under the influence of heartbreak. I drag my hands down my face and clasp them behind my neck. I count to ten. I do some deep breathing. I try to listen to the angel sitting on my shoulder. He should be there somewhere…ah, there he is, getting strangled by the devil from my other shoulder. Welp, there’s my answer, folks. I yank the door back open and slam it closed behind me.

Our eyes lock and the fuse burns away, counting down the last few milliseconds before she and I collide. I have one thought before I reach for her: if there have to be consequences, make them all worth it.

Meredith runs straight for me and I meet her halfway. Her body crashes into mine as I lift her up and wrap her legs around my waist. I turn and haul her against the front door then hoist her a little higher. We’re a fucking mess, like sex-crazed teenagers, moving too fast, disjointed and wild. I kiss her cheek and the side of her mouth. She threads her hands through my hair and tugs. My lips finally find hers and I am a dying man who’s found his salvation. Her hot mouth, her full lips, her kiss—the second our mouths connect, I know there’s no going back now that I have her.

I show her how well we fit. Her breath is my breath. Her taste is my taste. I tilt my head and take the kiss even deeper, skimming my tongue over hers. Our hips roll together. She’s so eager and receptive, wrapping her legs tighter so that even if I pulled us off the door, she wouldn’t fall.

It’s not hard to decide what to do with her when I’ve done nothing but play out scenarios in my head for a week. I lose track of time as we kiss. Days pass as I learn every inch of her impatient mouth. For so long, I keep her right there, careful not to press my luck. I want to rip her clothes off and fill her up, but my wants don’t matter.

She’s the first one to initiate more. Her hand skims down my neck and chest. She tugs my shirt up and then her hand is covering my bare abs. My stomach squeezes as she skims lower.

Her hands find my shorts.

She tugs on the drawstring.

I growl into her mouth.

It’s not my proudest moment.

Her pajama shorts ride up and her smooth thighs are completely exposed. Her fingers are still skimming back and forth along my shorts. She’s turned on, just as alive with the tension exploding between us as I am.