Page 2 of Bourbon Wishes (Wine Country Alphas #3)

His eyes lock with mine, something absolutely wicked roiling in the depths. That look hits me like a hammer blow, stealing my breath. All I can do is stare at him, praying to God I don't whimper.

Do I? I have no fucking clue.

I want him to stomp around the desk and yank me into his arms. I want to mess up his perfect suit. I want him to bend me to his will and break me, dammit all.

He doesn't. He doesn't even move.

Not until I'm stumbling toward the door on heels that suddenly feel a little bit too big, anyway. I'm nearly through it before he finally speaks.

"When you see me shirtless, it damn sure won't be for social media."

God, I want that. So damn badly it's making me wild. I've never felt this…this…clawing, desperate need before. I've never ached like this. I've never wanted like this. But I want him. Enough to beg for it.

"Get to work," he snaps, the command clipped, almost harsh.

I stumble again before I manage to catch myself.

What am I doing? What am I thinking?

Bastian Grayson is my boss, second only to Satan himself. And there's not a chance in hell that he's offering to strip down for me. That's my own delusions speaking.

He doesn't even like me.

I slip out of his luxury corner office with my heart pounding…and run right into his cousin, Trystan.

"Shit, sorry," I mutter, grabbing onto the door handle before I manage to take us both to the floor.

"It's all good. I'm used to people fleeing from my cousin in terror. It's the sole reason he'll die alone."

I bite my lip, fighting a smile. Trystan is always cracking jokes and teasing his brothers and cousins.

But he and Bastian are close. I think he's picked up on my complicated feelings for his equally complicated cousin.

He goes out of his way to point out that Bastian is single, like he's hinting for me to do something about it.

But yeah, that's probably not going to happen.

I'm half convinced his cousin actually hates me.

Bastian doesn't want to bend me to his will because he wants to fuck me.

Oh no. He wants to bend me to his will only because I stubbornly refuse to bend.

It has nothing to do with him liking me or wanting me.

He's just a despot who needs to control every single thing in his little kingdom, including me.

I'm going to pretend that doesn't hurt my feelings.

"Tryst, stop fucking around and get in here!" he growls behind me, right on cue.

Trystan grins before his gaze drifts toward his cousin and then back to me. "I was going to ask how he is today, but I guess that's my answer," he mutters, humor glinting in his blue eyes. "Your fault?"

"Probably." I shrug. "Isn't it usually? Y'all hired me, and the stick up his butt got permanently lodged somewhere near his throat."

"Best decision we ever made," Trystan says through laughter before sliding past me into Bastian's office. "You know, she's going to run out of your office one day and just not stop, you dick."

The door closes behind him before I can hear Bastian's response. Not that I really need it. I'm fairly sure his life would be aces if I packed my desk and vanished without a trace.

Sucks for him because I'm no quitter.

Would he even care if I left?

Ha. Who am I kidding? The only reason I got this job is because he got overruled. His cousins wanted me here. He definitely didn't.

I stop at my office long enough to grab my camera before I head out to find Trystan's brother, Jax.

They have an entire office building, but do they use it?

Absolutely not. Gabe acts like he's allergic to the office.

And Jax is usually in the fields somewhere, working with his hands.

When he's not out there, he's in the office he claimed at the winery, annoying the hell out of Haven and her sisters.

I find him in the winery's lobby, bickering with Haven while glaring at the printer like he wants to set it on fire.

"I swear to God, if this motherfucker doesn't give me my goddamn order form," he grumbles, stabbing buttons like he's trying to break them.

"Maybe if you stop pressing buttons and let it think, it'd work," Haven says. "I swear, you always work harder instead of smarter."

"I'm not fucking working at all!" Jax protests, turning to scowl at her. "Your evil printer won't let me work."

"It's not my evil printer. Bastian is the one who bought it." Haven rolls her eyes before tucking strands of her mahogany hair behind her ears. "He just had to have the fancy model instead of one a normal person could use."

"Tell him to buy a new one."

"Since when has he ever listened to me?"

"I wasn't talking to you." Jax looks right at me, standing in the arched doorway with a smile on my face and my camera in hand. "I'm talking to her."

Haven blinks like she just realized I'm standing there. "Oh. Hey." She tilts her head to the side, then glances at Jax, a calculating gleam in her eyes. "Maybe you're onto something."

"I know I am," he mutters.

"How much do you love us?" Haven bats her lashes at me.

"Enough to agree that your printer is evil. Not enough to take one for the team and have that argument with your cousin. I'm new here. You're family." I shrug. "He can only fire one of us, and that would be me."

"He better not fucking fire you," Jax growls.

"What he said." Haven points at her cousin. "He isn't allowed to fire you. We like you. Majority rules."

I beam at her. I swear, Bastian's crabby attitude aside, I love it here. His whole family is amazing. Coming to work every day feels a little like coming home. I feel like I fit right in here. There's no way I'm letting Bastian run me out of here.

"Do you like me enough to let me record you arguing about the printer?" I ask hopefully.

They share a look before glancing at me again.

It's spooky how well every single one of Bastian's cousins has perfected the same "explain now" look.

They furrow their brows and kind of squint the same way.

They're all completely different people, but in moments like this, there's no denying that they're related. They look too alike.

"It's for social media. Bastian wants fresh and provocative. You guys are it." I grin at the two of them. "And I can definitely use the printer saga for something. It's relatable. Everyone who has ever worked in an office setting has a personal vendetta against at least one workplace printer."

"Does this saga end with a new printer arriving at the end of it? If so, I'm in," Jax says.

I narrow my eyes at him. "Are you trying to blackmail me into asking Bastian to buy a new printer?"

"Maybe. Is it working?"

"Maybe," I grumble. Will he bite? Absolutely not. But if asking gets me the content I need? Well, a social media team has gotta do what a social media team has gotta do. And since my team consists of me, well, I guess I'm asking for a new printer.

"Come on," Haven pleads, poking her bottom lip out at me. "He always tells us no. But he never tells you no."

"Uh, he tells me no all the time. Telling me no is basically his happy place."

"No, he doesn't," she insists. "Name one thing you've asked for since you started that you haven't gotten."

"I haven't even been here for three full months!"

"Yeah, and he's been a total dick since you waltzed through the doors. And you know why he's been a total dick?" Jax asks, giving up on the printer to smirk at me. "Because he's sexually frustrated."

"Take it from Jax. He knows all about sexual frustration," Haven says with a sly grin.

Jax shoots her a dirty glare before turning back to me. "The point is, if you ask, he won't say no."

I stare at both of them like they've lost it.

I'm pretty sure they have if they think their cousin's sexual frustration has anything to do with me.

"Maybe you two should stop day-drinking," I suggest, my heels clicking on the cobblestone floor as I move closer to Haven's desk. "The wine is making you delusional."

"We don't day-drink."

"Drugs?"

"I tried to smoke pot once. Do not recommend," Haven says. "Bastian's dad found out." A laugh burbles from her lips. "I was grounded forever."

"You should have been grounded longer," Jax mutters.

"As if you never tried it!"

"Uh, no, I didn't." He shoots her a hard look. "I'm not a fucking rebel like some people."

"I'm not a rebel. I was a curious teenager." Haven rolls her eyes at him. "Clearly, it didn't work out. I got busted by the one cop in this family, and then I wasn't allowed to go to a party without a chaperon again until I was nineteen."

"Serves your ass right."

"I was sixteen, Jax!"

"Yeah. Too fucking young to be trying pot!

" he practically yells at her and then pinches the bridge of his nose like she's stressing him the hell out.

"You know what? I'm not even arguing with you about this anymore.

I'll just tell Uncle Carter that you're talking about pot again and let him handle it. "

"I swear to God, I'll tell Jade about that time I caught you looking at her social media. Naked," Haven growls, her hands on her curvy hips.

"I wasn't even doing anything!" Jax grumbles, but the tips of his ears turn red…which I'm guessing means he was thinking about doing something.

"Who is Jade?"

"Uncle Carter's niece." Haven smirks when she says it. "Jax is in love with her."

I blink wide eyes. "Isn't she your cousin?"

"She's not my fucking cousin," he growls. "She's Bastian's cousin. And stop talking about her."

I don't miss the way he doesn't deny being in love with her. Interesting.

"He thinks she's off limits because Trystan is in love with her sister. And Trystan won't do anything about that because Wyatt is his best friend." Haven rolls her eyes. "Honestly, men are idiots."

"Hard agree."

Jax scowls at both of us. "Do you want your social media content or not?"

"Obviously, I do."

"Then stop shit talking men and let's get this over with." He makes a circular motion in the air with one finger. "The faster we do it, the faster you can tell Bastian we need a new goddamn printer."

"Fine…but he isn't getting a new printer just because I ask."

Jax snorts, but Haven just smiles at me.

They've both lost it.

T wo hours later, I've gotten video of Jax and Haven trying to figure out the printer, which ends with Jax having the funniest meltdown in history before storming out. I've never seen a grown man cry over a printer before, but he was close.

He was actually mumbling, "I don't understand why you won't just work," to himself over and over and tugging at his hair. Haven was in tears on the floor, laughing at his misery.

The printer might be the product of actual evil. I bet Bastian ordered it from a 666 hotline.

After his meltdown, I took a few minutes to get some still shots of the guys working on a tractor in one of the fields.

With the vines blooming, the vineyard looks magical.

While everything uploads to my computer, I pull out my phone to text Bastian, ready to get this over with.

Me: Got a minute?

Bastian: What?

I scowl at my phone, instantly annoyed. Even over text, he's abrupt. I swear, the man wouldn't know manners if they smacked him over the head, which is odd because his parents and siblings are the nicest people ever!

Me: I was thinking…

Bastian: Yes?

"You can't actually strangle him," I remind myself. "Or kiss that scowl from his stupid, gorgeous face."

At this point, which I do first is a toss-up. I'm down bad.

Haven and Jax would die if they knew.

Me: The main printer is broken again, and I need a functioning printer if I'm going to get any of these new marketing materials printed on-site. What's the possibility of upgrading? It'll solve several problems at once.

Three little dots appear and then disappear before reappearing again.

Bastian: What's wrong with the printer? And why are you dealing with marketing materials?

Me: You mean other than the fact that one of your cousins may actually burn down the entire winery just out of pure hatred for it?

Me: Everything. It jams. It falls off the wireless. It won't print. And now, the menu is in Portuguese.

Bastian: WTF?

I send back a shrugging emoji instead of ratting out Jax as the reason why the printer now speaks Portuguese. He was mumbling about finding a sledgehammer when he left the winery. Bastian might actually tip him over the edge if he starts in.

I'd like our printer saga to be a relatable social media series, not a news headline about an arson and a homicide, thank you very much.

Me: And who the hell else is going to deal with marketing materials, Bastian?

It's not really my job, but no one other than him knows anything about marketing, and he's too damn busy to handle it.

Just like he's too busy to plan a launch event for the new line, update the website, or any of the thousand other marketing-adjacent things I've been tackling lately.

His plate is running over, but with planting season underway, so is everyone else's.

I'm the only one left to tackle half this stuff.

And I need a functioning printer to do it.

There's no way Bastian is buying a new one, though. I don't care what Jax and Haven think. The only thing the man feels for me is a deep-seated irritation.

Bastian: Fine. I'll order a new one.

I gape at my phone for a long moment, willing the words to change. But they don't. He's seriously getting a new printer just because I asked?

There's no way Jax and Haven were right. They can't be.

I mean, maybe Bastian finds me attractive. Maybe I annoy him by not obeying every whim. But that doesn't mean he actually likes me. There are rules between me and Bastian, and they might as well be impenetrable walls as far as he's concerned.

He's the boss. I'm an employee. In his eyes, that makes me completely untouchable.

Except…maybe I'm not. And maybe I'm not the only one desperate to do a little touching.

"Crap," I groan, laying my head on my desk. Being wildly attracted to him is supposed to be safe because he's supposed to be out of my reach. The lines aren't supposed to blur.

They're blurring.

Bastian: You need anything else?

"So many things," I mutter. "Like you naked." But I do not tell him that. Hell no, I don't.

Day-drinking is looking better and better.

Me: Nope. All good.

Three little dots appear, disappear, then reappear again. I watch my phone like a hawk, but when they disappear a second time, they don't appear again.

I groan, powering my screen off before I find a reason to spend the rest of the day staring at it.

Working for Bastian Grayson is wreaking serious havoc on my sanity, and I am not mentally or emotionally prepared to deal with either today.