Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 129323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 647(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 647(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Why?
Because she’s been a lifesaver in the short time I’ve known her.
Because she deserves it.
Because she makes me think of—I shake my head. Nope. That’s ridiculous.
I go about my nightly rituals, cleaning the kitchen, but this time, I don’t linger as long in the room. I do a quick clean before heading into the living room to prepare to watch the film.
Within moments, Cassidy stands in front of me, brow furrowed. “You’re done in the kitchen already?”
“Yep.”
“Are you okay?”
“I am.” I smile.
Her eyes narrow, clearly confused by how fast I cleaned the room. So am I.
She walks to the back of the couch, hovering back there, for what, I’m not sure.
Then her hands rest on my shoulders. “Are you sure you’re okay? Do you want a massage?”
“I’m fine. And that’s not your job.”
“It’ll help.”
She has a point, but as my assistant, isn’t massaging crossing the line?
She waits for my signal of what to do, and on a resigned sigh, I lift my right hand, and with that, the massage commences.
I groan at the way her knuckles knead my aching muscles. For not being a licensed massage therapist, this woman does it expertly. Her touch removes all of my worries and the need to organize or sort. I’m able to relax and melt into the couch.
I start the footage, and admittedly can’t even focus. My concentration is solely on the way her nimble fingers move across my shoulders and down my back. My cock hardens, and I shift slightly to hide my reaction to her touch.
I don’t want to make her uncomfortable, and I don’t want her to think that this is not appreciated.
I shake off the thought. Allowing myself to unwind.
When she’s done kneading my tight muscles, Cassidy taps my shoulders.
If I need something, she attends to it so I can focus. Tonight, it doesn’t feel right to order her around.
“You’re off duty starting now,” I say as she looks at me.
Her eyes narrow, but she doesn’t speak. I pat the spot next to me on the couch.
“Let’s watch a movie instead.”
At this, her eyes widen, and her mouth gapes. Her reaction is warranted. I’m stunned. This might be the first time in my entire life that I’ve forgone some of my rituals.
It’s probably even more confusing to her since I’ve gotten past games already on the screen. But as I take in her adorable features, I know I want to spend time with her, doing something that’s not work-related.
“Are you sure? I mean…”
For a second, I expect my need to win out, but as I stare at her, I find that I don’t at all regret my decision.
I lick my bottom lip, thinking about how cute she is at this moment. Unsure. Confused.
Beautiful.
“Positive.”
She takes a seat next to me, and the smell of her floral perfume washes over me. It’s a scent that I’ve come to know as all Cassidy. It’s more than pleasant. It’s intoxicating. With her this close, it’s all I can do to keep my hands to myself.
“What do you want to watch?” I’m waiting for her to say some dreaded romantic comedy. I don’t want to, but I will watch one. For her.
“Something with action.”
I stand corrected.
Once again, Cassidy has me off-kilter. She says and does the absolute opposite of whatever I think she’s going to do. I’m constantly on my toes with her, and I like it more than I should.
“Something with action… well, all right,” I say, smiling like an idiot.
I put in one of my all-time favorite movies. There’s been a constant debate about whether this movie is a Christmas movie, and for some reason, I can’t wait to get Cassidy’s take at the end.
“Die Hard? I love this movie,” she squeals.
Fuck. Me.
“You’ve seen this?”
“Who hasn’t? This is a classic.” I turn toward her, eyeing her as though she’s a strange animal.
“What?” she asks, incredulity clear. “I like movies, Aiden, and this one is special.”
She looks away, but before she does, I catch a glimmer of something resembling trepidation.
“Anyway, let’s watch the movie,” she says, suddenly acting strange.
“What’s that?” I ask into the side of her head.
She peers over at me, and that niggling feeling comes over me again.
“Why did you get weird?”
Her eyes close for a moment. “I didn’t get weird.”
My eyebrow lifts. “You got weird. Why?”
She blows out a harsh breath. “I was just settling in for the movie.”
Lie.
When you’ve grown up around the best liars the world has to offer, you quickly learn how to spot one a mile away. I should press. I should find out what the hell’s going on with her, but I just wanna watch the movie.
By the way she’s alluded to her past, I’d harbor a guess that she’s had a terrible upbringing. Maybe there’s a story there with the movie? Something triggering. I don’t want to bring up bad memories, so I decide to drop it, opting to just enjoy myself.