Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“What are you doing here?” I asked completely taken aback. I was fully prepared to meet Crossland on his own turf, but him coming to mine? I didn't even think the man knew how to get to Brooklyn.
“Did you miss the part about the flat white?” he asked, that overly confident smirk playing over his kissable lips.
I closed my eyes and took a breath, willing myself not to think about his lips or his tongue or his mouth in general. He casually leaned his palms on the counter, and my eyes fell to them, remembering exactly what those hands had done to me.
It was impossible to not think about. In fact, climbing a mountain without a harness would be easier.
He'd absolutely and utterly blown my mind, to the point that it was hard to think about anything since. I’d never experienced anything like that, and I thought I'd had good sex before.
But what he'd done to me in a matter of five minutes from the challenge I so naively presented him with? Jesus, I don't know how I was supposed to come back from that. And I wasn't quite sure if I ever would.
I finally reoriented myself behind the register, ringing him up like I would any other customer. “Okay, a flat white. Anything else?” I asked, falling right into my barista role.
“I'll take five minutes.” He smirked.
My lips fell open, shock radiating down my spine at the challenge in his eyes. Flabbergasted, I simply turned around to make his flat white, and by the time I finished, I had somewhat collected myself.
He took the paper cup and slid a twenty across the counter.
I finally checked him out, but he refused the change, electing to put it in the tip jar instead.
“No, really,” he said. “I need five minutes with you.”
“Here?” My heart fluttered in my chest, adrenaline surging through my veins.
He couldn't be serious, could he? He couldn't want...then again, it's not like I knew his kinks. Maybe he was into the public thing, the thrill of getting caught.
While I could get behind that, and while I knew that a lot of his friends were accustomed to getting frisky at the office, that wasn't something I could do here.
It's not like I owned the place. Not even close.
Crossland tilted his head, studying me. “I’m surprised you didn’t give me an instant no,” he said. “But no, kitten, that's not what I meant. Do you have a break? So we can talk?”
My heart sank, my mind repeating the words so we can talk.
The phrase triggered every abandonment trauma I had, a string of past friendships and partners all leading with that exact phrase before cutting me out of their life completely, pairing it with excuses that I was too much to handle or my baggage was too much or my commitment to my sister was unhealthy.
“Sure,” I said doing my best to keep my tone even.
What the hell was wrong with me? This was a business transaction. Crossland and I weren't actually dating.
Had he given me the most intense orgasm of my life? Yes.
Was he by far the best kisser ever? Absolutely.
Did he make me laugh on a daily basis? One hundred percent.
But when it came down to it, he was still just a business partner.
Shit. I hope I wasn't about to get fired.
I made sure to check with my coworker that he was good to handle the front, even though we were in the midafternoon lull before coming around the counter and taking a seat at one of the far tables across the coffee shop.
“This is good,” Crossland said after we took our seats across from each other.
He'd taken a sip of the flat white I'd made him, licking a few stray drops off of his lips.
I couldn't help but track the move, my mind directly linking back to what that tongue had felt like between my legs.
I crossed one leg over the other and took a deep breath. What if he was about to fire me because of the line we'd crossed? I told myself over and over again not to depend on completing this contract and getting the ridiculous amount of money he'd offered me, but all my preparation obviously didn't work if the cracks in my heart were any indication.
Damn it, I'd already dreamed of how much that money could change mine and my sister’s lives. And now I'd gone and ruined it all for the sake of a little game I'd started while tipsy—
“I thought that I'd given you enough living expenses to no longer work here,” Crossland said, totally shocking me out of my train of thought.
“What?”
He took another sip of his coffee before setting it down. “If you needed more money, you should have just told me.”
“I don't. Wait, I’m confused.”
“So am I,” Crossland said, leaning back in the chair and looking so damn good in the silver suit he wore.