Page 10 of Ride the Lightning

Jonah glared at his intern as he stood up. “Yes, again. I’m starting to think you’re doing it on purpose,” he said, striding toward the door.

“On purpose? For what reason?”

“To drive me crazy,” he replied, picking up the pace.

“How’s it working so far?”

Jonah yanked open the bathroom door down the hall and was relieved to see it was empty. “I found the perfect intern for you. You’ll wonder how you ever survived without him,” Jonah said, mimicking his aunt’s voice.

“Oh, that’s a great impersonation. Now, do me,” Avery said.

Jonah jerked to a halt, pivoted, and strode toward Avery, who mistook the intensity on Jonah’s face as anger. He backed up until his body pressed against the door, and there was nowhere for him to go. Avery notched his chin up higher, challenging Jonah.

“You want me todo you? Is that what you just said?” Jonah didn’t press his body to Avery’s, but he stood close enough to feel his intern’s heat. Avery’s soap or fabric softener smelled like rain.

Avery’s pupils dilated, and he darted his tongue out to moisten his lips. Jonah couldn’t tear his eyes away from the movement. What he wanted most in the world was within his reach. Avery emitted this little whimpering gasp that grabbed Jonah by the balls, and the moth glided closer. “It is what I said,” Avery whispered. He started to lift his hand toward Jonah’s face when a burst of laughter from the hallway startled him.

Jonah pushed off the door and walked over to the sink.

What have you done to me, Aunt Ellie?

Jonah rubbed a wet paper towel over the enormous coffee stain on the front of his dress shirt.

“You’re not doing it right,” Avery said as he approached.

Jonah jerked his head up and met Avery’s gaze. “Absolutely no one has ever told me that before,” he said huskily.

Avery swallowed hard as he took the wet paper towel from his hands. “You have to dab it,” he said, demonstrating. “Otherwise you’ll make it worse.”

Jonah wrapped his hand around Avery’s wrist, hating the fabric separating their skin. “I think I got it now.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind showing you again.”

“Yeah.” He reluctantly released Avery’s wrist one finger at a time. Reclaiming the paper towel, he added, “It’s a good thing I started keeping extra clothes in my closet once you started working for me. At least you didn’t scald my crotch again.” Jonah ignored Avery’s stifled giggle. “You seem extra animated today. What’s up?”

“I have a blind date,” Avery replied miserably.

That explained the shirt and haircut. “Tonight?” Jonah felt like someone had punched him in the gut, rendering him breathless.

“No,” Avery replied. “At lunch.”

“Who goes on a blind date during their lunch hour from work?”

“A person who knows nothing will come from it and wants a valid reason why he has to leave,” Avery replied.

Jonah just blinked at him for a few seconds. “That’s actually kind of genius.”

“If it goes really, really bad, I can leave even earlier by using my asshole boss as an excuse?”

“Me?” Jonah asked.Was he an asshole to Avery?

“Yep. I can say you don’t do anything for yourself, and I have to pick up your lunch, dry cleaning, or your boyfriend’s birthday present.”

“Boyfriend? Dry cleaning? How long have you been thinking up excuses to leave this date?”

“Since my best friend set it up,” Avery replied. Jonah had heard Avery talk about Karlee enough to know she wouldn’t fix him up with a loser. Avery stared him directly in the eyes and said, “He’s not who I want.”

The moth flew closer still. Jonah’s body heated with the possibilities.Who do you want?They’d been dancing around each other for months. Four little words and he could learn the truth once and for all. That wasn’t the question that came out when he opened his mouth. “How could you possibly know that when you haven’t even met him yet?”