Page 30 of Never Gonna Lie (Forbidden #2)

Chapter Thirty

JAMES

R aven’s been living under my roof for two weeks, and I’m slowly losing my goddamn mind. Not only have I never had anyone living in my space before, but it’s Raven . The Eve to my Adam. The forbidden fruit I’m not allowed to touch or taste but desperately crave.

She leaves her stuff lying everywhere—fluffy colored blankets in my once sterile-looking living room, books that have appeared on the small bookcase in one corner, her clothes in the laundry pile that my housekeeper, Mrs. Gardener, leaves on my bed, and her goddamn hair’s everywhere .

It should irritate the shit out of me, but it just gives me a feeling of warmth every time I see it.

I’m turning into a fucking sap in my old age .

You’d think I had feelings for the woman with the way I’m acting. As if that would happen , I internally scoff.

Stepping into the kitchen, I ignore the thoughts swirling in my head and see Raven sitting at the counter, reading a book. “You know we have a perfectly good sofa that would be more comfortable, right?” I chuckle.

She doesn’t bother looking up at me as she replies, “Got to a good part. Got distracted. Been here since.”

I laugh at her short answers. “Must be a good book?”

Raven lets out a huff, closing the book with a thud and turning to glare at me. “Why must you interrupt my reading time?”

“Note to self: don’t talk to Raven when she has her nose in a book.”

“Damn straight, pretty boy. I gotta get my kicks somehow.” She grins.

I ignore her comment, blaming my dirty ass old man brain for conjuring up different meanings when she says, “Get her kicks.”

Waiting for the coffee to brew, I watch as she slides off the stool and comes to stand close to me.

She’s so close I can smell her Neroli scent, and I breathe in deeply.

Something about that smell gets my dick hard every time, and I wonder if it’s the smell alone or the fact that it’s associated with her.

Raven reaches up to the cupboard right beside my head, her body pressing against me as she tries to get a mug out.

I could be a gentleman here and get the cup for her, but I don’t.

Instead, I’m the selfish bastard who basks in her being so close.

So close, in fact, that if I were to turn my head a fraction, my lips would be on hers.

She tilts slightly, almost as if she’s losing her balance, and my hand automatically comes out to hold her steady. My palm comes into contact with the skin on her back, her T-shirt riding up as she stretches.

I lose all coherent thoughts as my eyes snap to hers. Her eyes pull me in, and I feel like I’m in a trance. How she does this to me every time, I don’t know, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it.

My thumb has a mind of its own as I gently rub it back and forth against her soft skin. My dick hardens, and the little gasp from her lips tells me she felt it. I want to feel embarrassed, I want to step back and apologize for being the world’s biggest perv, but I can’t. Not anymore.

Raven’s eyes darken as she gazes up at me. She slowly runs her tongue across her bottom lip, and I watch it, enthralled.

A loud noise from outside snaps me back to reality, and I clear my throat, letting her go. Taking a couple of steps back, I give us both some breathing room. Raven shakes her head slightly and grabs the mug she wanted.

“Want one?” she offers, tilting her head toward the machine.

I rub the back of my neck. “Erm, no, that’s okay. I’ll just grab a bottle of water.” I head to the fridge, grab some water, and make a quick exit.

Getting to the safety of my office, I look down at my sweats. “Fuck,” I groan out loud. The urge to relieve myself is overwhelming as the scent of her still clings to me.

Just this once ?

Nope. I always tell myself it’ll only happen just this once . It doesn’t, it happens again and again and again. I just use it as wishful thinking to ease the guilt.

Same as when I’d bump into her in a doorway—one of us leaving and one of us entering—only for my hand to land on her arm, her shoulder.

A secret touch not meant to happen but happens anyway.

I swear this woman’s purposely driving me insane with her short shorts and tight T-shirts. My blood pressure’s never been so high.

Raven’s been quiet, keeping mostly to herself when she’s not trying to tease me, and the worst part about it is that I don’t think she realizes the effect it’s having on me. She’s trying to act normal, and I’m salivating like a damn dog with a bone.

What is she doing to me ?

I groan and change my thought process to the man I hired to watch over Raven while my computer loads up.

Leo watches her during the day, and the minute she steps through my door, he’s off duty, and I take over.

When I interviewed him, I liked his no-nonsense attitude and his extensive background knowledge as a former Navy SEAL officer.

The fact that he’s happily married with kids didn’t sway my decision at all .

I sift through my emails, determining which ones to address, delete, or forward to Rebecca when I come across an email with the subject line:

I’D OPEN THIS IF I WERE YOU.

Usually, I'd delete something like this, but my curiosity gets the better of me, prompting me to take a look.

‘CHECK THE COMPANY BANK ACCOUNTS. HE’S HIDING SOMETHING.’

Who’s hiding something?

Confused, I start pulling up all of the bank accounts that we have. For a multi-billion dollar company… it’s a lot. We have accounts for everything—payroll, company assets, you name it—so it takes me the better part of a day to sift through each one with a fine-tooth comb.

I finally find an offshore account that hasn’t been used for a while.

It’s the original account we opened when we started.

Money was left in there as a backup. I guess we must have forgotten about it…

until today. A withdrawal of $10 million was taken out of the account three weeks ago—the same day someone tried killing Raven.

Pulling out my phone, I dial the one person I know who can help.

“What’s up, fuckface?” he answers .

“I need you to look into Drew; some shady shit is going on,” I growl, running a hand down my face.

Sensing the tone in my voice, Theo goes into lawyer mode. “Talk to me.”

I go over everything that’s happened in the last month, including the email, blowing out a heavy sigh when I’m done.

“Forward me the email. I’ll have my team of guys check it out,” Theo says. “I’ll have one of my guys check into this withdrawal, too. Anything else I should be aware of?”

“No, that’s it. I swear to fucking Christ, Theo, if he’s fucked this up, I’m going to kill him myself.”

“As your lawyer, I’d advise against it. Leave it with me,” he says as he disconnects the call.

Remembering I’m supposed to be meeting Caleb for a beer, I shot him a quick text saying I got stuck and won't be able to make it.

Blowing out a breath, I pinch the bridge of my nose.

What the fuck have you gotten yourself into, Drew?