Page 5 of For the Promise (The Raider Brothers #2)

“Gotta love when a nerd surprises you.” ~ Blossom

A few weeks later

Blossom

I check the time on my computer – one minute past noon – and push away from my desk. Time for some much-needed lunch.

The past weeks have been extremely busy.

Setting up a new brewery and starting to brew in record time, since the hurricane destroyed the original facilities, has been exhausting.

But also exhilarating. I doubt anyone besides Paisley could have managed it.

Of course, she had an extraordinary assistant – aka me – to help her.

I pause as I pass my boss’s office. I usually warn her when I go to lunch but since her and Eli have been getting hot and heavy in her office, I’m reluctant to knock on her door. I’m not a voyeur! They think no one knows what they’re doing. Spoiler alert – everyone knows.

I whip out my phone and message Paisley instead. I nearly jump when she replies immediately.

Have a long lunch. You deserve it.

I deserve it? Or she wants some privacy to play with Eli? I start typing my question but you know what? I don’t want to know. Paisley deserves to have some fun. Especially with a sexy billionaire who follows her around like a puppy dog.

And I have the perfect way to pass the time. I nearly skip as I make my way to Jaxon’s office. I’ve been dying for a tour of the distillery and who better to give me a tour than the sexy master distiller?

I pass the operations manager’s office. The door is open, and I check inside, but Kai is nowhere to be found. From what I’ve learned over the past weeks, this is normal. He’s the youngest Raider brother and isn’t exactly fond of responsibility.

Must be nice to have an older brother who founded a company to give you a job. I rub a hand over my chest as the familiar pang of loneliness hits. I had the best family ever but no longer. They’re gone.

My eyes itch but I inhale a deep breath and push all my feelings away. I’m not having a breakdown at work. Breakdowns are for when you’re home alone and have a dozen or two of cookies to help you eat your feelings.

The door next to Kai’s opens, and Jaxon walks out.

“Just the man I’m looking for.”

Jaxon glances around as if searching for whoever I’m referring to. When he realizes we’re alone, he taps his chest. “Do you mean me?”

He’s adorable when he’s confused. “Yes, you.”

Those ocean blue eyes, all of the Raider brothers share, cloud with confusion. “Why are you looking for me? Is something wrong? Has the brewing caused a problem for the distillery? I told Eli this wasn’t a good idea.”

I hold up a palm. “Slow down, Mr. Doomsday. There’s no problem.”

His nose wrinkles. “Why are you searching for me if there’s no problem?”

I widen my eyes and give him my best innocent look. Judging by how his eyes narrow, I’m not convincing him. “I’ve tried getting a tour of the distillery many times, but I was told you don’t give tours.”

“Correct.”

I bite my bottom lip. “Maybe you could give me a tour now? Since we’re colleagues and all.”

He frowns. “I don’t have time to give you a tour.”

“It’s lunchtime. Don’t you need a break?”

“I don’t have time for a break.”

“You need to have a break, even if you’re busy. It’s important to give your body and brain a pause. It helps boost creativity, increases productivity, reduces stress, prevents burnout, and improves concentration when you return to work.”

He studies his watch for several moments. “I have ten minutes before I need to return to my office.”

I bounce on my toes. “Thank you! You won’t regret this.”

“I’m already regretting this,” he mutters.

I elbow him. “I’ll bring you cookies from Pirates Pastries as a thank you. No one can resist Parker’s cookies. ”

“I want a shipwreck cookie.”

“That’s the spirit.”

He motions me forward. “How much do you know about distilling whiskey?”

“I know the basics. Select the proper grains. Grind the grains to grist. Mix with hot water in the mash tun to extract sugars, creating wort. Move the wort to fermentation tanks. Add yeast to turn the sugar to alcohol. At the end of fermentation, you have created wash.”

Jaxon holds up his hand to stop me.

“I wasn’t finished.”

“Why do you want a tour when you know more about distilling whiskey than my brother Kai?”

I roll my eyes. “Kai is the operations manager. He knows how whiskey is created.”

“Kai is a goofball who thinks time is a construct created by the ‘man’ to put him down.”

I rear back. “Kai doesn’t believe in time management? Does he not understand how important time management is? How do you finish your work on time? Get your product ready to deliver on time? Meet your obligations?”

“Calm down. You’re going to make yourself hyperventilate.”

I glare at Jaxon. “Don’t you dare tell me to calm down. I’ll hyperventilate if I want to.”

He lifts a brow. “You’ll hyperventilate if you want to?”

“Fine. I won’t hyperventilate. But you should never tell a woman to calm down. ”

“Even if she’s spiraling out of control?”

“Especially then.”

He shakes his head. “I’ll never understand women.”

“And I’ll never understand men.”

His brow wrinkles. “Men aren’t difficult to understand.”

I snort. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“I don’t kid.”

I can believe it. Jaxon Raider is a serious man. A serious nerd. And a serious hottie. The confusion on his face is adorable.

The door flies open behind him and Kai rushes inside. He waves as he runs past us.

“No running in the distillery!” Jaxon hollers after him.

“No time. In a hurry!” Kai shouts without slowing.

“Where are you going? We have a safety inspection next week. You’re supposed to ensure we’re ready.”

“We’ll be ready!”

I scowl as Kai grabs his bag from his office and runs out of the distillery.

“Must be nice to have job security,” I mutter.

“Job security? Are you worried about losing your job? As far as I can tell, Paisley is happy with your performance.”

“I’m not worried about losing my job.”

“What did you mean then?”

I open my mouth to berate Jaxon. It’s obvious what I meant. But his eyes are clouded in confusion. He isn’t being deliberately obtuse. He honestly doesn’t understand what I meant.

I blow out a breath. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“But you did. ”

“Can we pretend I didn’t?”

He fiddles with his glasses. “I don’t enjoy pretending.”

I giggle. Of course, he doesn’t.

“I’m serious. What did you mean?”

I give in and explain, “Eli founded this company to provide you and the rest of your brothers with jobs. Kai doesn’t have to worry about getting fired since Eli would never fire him.”

My chest squeezes. How would it feel to have a big brother to care for you? Who worried about you? Who took care of you? I wish I knew.

Jaxon steps closer. “And this makes you sad.”

I clear my throat. “I’m not sad.”

“The sparkle in your eyes disappeared, and your voice went flat.”

My eyebrows fly up. “You don’t understand subtlety, but you can recognize sadness?”

“Why are you sad?”

I glance away. “Can we not discuss this?”

He pinches my chin and forces me to meet his gaze. “I don’t enjoy seeing you sad.”

He doesn’t enjoy seeing me sad? My bottom lip trembles. No one’s cared about my feelings in such a long time. I forgot how it feels.

His gaze dips to my lips and his eyes heat. “Don’t cry, Blossom.”

“I…” My words trail off when his lips meet mine. I gasp in surprise and his tongue swoops into my mouth. I moan as th e taste of whiskey and mint hits me. It’s not a combination I would ever put together, but it works for him.

Jaxon growls before wrapping his arms around me and shoving me against the wall. I can feel every inch of his hard body pressing against me. He feels strong and steady. As if nothing could rattle him.

I wind my arms around his waist and now I’m surrounded by all things Jaxon. His tongue explores my mouth and his hard length presses against my stomach. I massage his ass cheeks and he groans before grinding his cock against me. My panties dampen in response.

Holy mermaids. I’ve missed this. I’ve missed being intimate with a man.

I’ve avoided being intimate with a man because men are not to be trusted. But I don’t need to trust this man. I can have fun and keep my heart encased behind a steel wall he can’t destroy or climb over.

His hands graze my sides and my nipples pebble in return. Oh yeah. I definitely want to have fun with this man. Lots of naked, sweaty fun until we exhaust each other and go our separate ways.

“Ahem. AHEM!”

The sound of someone clearing their throat manages to break through my sex cloud. Jaxon rips his mouth from mine.

I glance over his shoulder. Paisley raises her eyebrow at us and he steps away from me.

“I need to…” He rushes off without completing his sentence.

Go ahead and run, Jaxon. I do enjoy a good chase.