Page 13 of Tempt (Peachwood Falls #1)

M egan

“You’re going to need to move your hands a little farther away from mine,” I say, gulping.

His fingers flex before he draws them back onto his lap.

Holy.

Frigging.

Shit.

“Because I’m not sure how I could go thirty days with you in my house and not fuck you.”

I’m acutely aware that he’s waiting for a reaction—besides my suggestion that he put some space between us. I’m also cognizant of the fact that he can’t gather too much of a response out of that sentence.

That’s too bad. He’ll have to wait.

My face heats as I stare at the spot his hand just vacated. Every nerve ending in my body tingles; every erogenous zone flickers to life, swelling so much that I nearly burst into a puddle of need.

I shift in my seat to relieve the pressure between my legs. Naturally, it doesn’t help. It just makes me more conscious of the fire in my belly.

“Well,” I say, clearing my throat. “That was unexpected.”

I pick up my phone and ignore the pull to look at him. I scroll through my contacts list until I find the name I’m looking for. Then I press the screen.

“Are you really making a phone call right now?” he asks, borderline pissed. “For fuck’s sake, Megan.”

I suppress a grin as the voice on the other end of the phone says hello.

“Hi, Maggie. It’s Megan,” I say sweetly.

Chase moves at my side. I still don’t look at him.

“Megan, hi, sweetheart. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”

“Well, I didn’t expect to call so soon either. But I left with things up in the air, and I hate doing that to you.”

“I understand. Trust me. I’m so sorry for the way my son acted. I don’t know what’s going on with him.”

I do . I bite my bottom lip to keep from smiling.

“What are you doing?” Chase grumbles.

“Oh, don’t worry about Chase, Maggie,” I say, turning slowly to him.

His eyes are wide as he watches me. Each breath is measured. It’s as if he’s deliberately working to keep it under control.

“I think your son was just dealing with a lot of pressure that he didn’t know how to release,” I say, looking at him and smirking.

He rolls his tongue around his mouth. His chest rises and falls like he’s having difficulty keeping himself in his seat.

Good .

“As a matter of fact,” I say, my eyes glued to his, “I called to tell you that I will take the job after all. I’m pretty sure Chase and I can figure things out.”

I have no idea what Maggie says. Vaguely, I register that she seems happy with the revelation. But as far as the specifics go, I don’t have a clue.

Chase scoots to the edge of his seat, his knees spread apart. My heart beats so hard that it overtakes every other sensation.

He folds his hands on the edge of the table and grins. It’s not a smile or a smirk—it’s the most sinful, delicious look I’ve ever seen on a man.

Fuck. Me.

Literally.

I blow out a steadying breath.

“That’s great, Maggie,” I say, hoping that’s the right answer to fill the gap in the conversation. “I’ll talk to Chase next and see what he wants to do and how he wants to do it.”

He chuckles.

“That’s wonderful,” Maggie says. “I’ll come by tomorrow and check in before we leave town. All right?”

“That’s great. See you then. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Megan.”

I hang up before the end of my name is entirely spoken.

There . I place my phone next to the napkin on the table. Decision made .

I take a massive breath hoping to clear the endorphins from my brain.

“I take it you reconsidered,” he says with a teasing lilt.

“Well, you were honest with me. I’m a woman of my word.”

He chuckles. “Yeah. You gave in because I was honest.”

“Do you think I did it for another reason?”

He shakes his head and ends his laugh with a sigh. “We need to talk about some things.”

I like doggy style . “What are you thinking?”

It’s as if he can read my mind. He lifts his brows and places his hands safely in his lap—the place farthest from me.

“The reason I didn’t want you to work for me was that I want to fuck you,” he says.

“Yes. I heard. That was quite the admission, but I’m not mad about it.”

“I’m glad.”

We watch one another, finding our way through a dance that neither of us is familiar with. He seems to want to be careful with his steps. I want to be smart about mine.

Does he believe I feel the same way he feels? Is he waiting for me to admit that I feel the same attraction?

Finally, after a long couple of moments, Chase breaks the silence.

“As long as you’re in my house, I can’t touch you, Megan.”

The words are strained as if saying them is as hard for him as hearing them is for me.

But I get it.

Tabitha returns to check on me. She says something about my grilled cheese, and I smile and nod in return. My head continues to process Chase talking about fucking me. Or not fucking me .

My breath wavers.

As soon as she leaves, Chase switches gears. He’s all business.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have admitted that to you,” he says, “but you asked for the truth.”

“I did, and I’m glad you told me. It’s an ego boost if nothing else.”

He tries not to smile.

“But in light of your admission, do you think this is a good idea?” I ask. “Your attraction is reciprocated.”

He lifts his chin.

“When you consider that along with how we seem to communicate …” I shrug. “It might be a recipe for disaster.”

He shrugs. “It might be. I can’t swear it won’t.”

I fall back into my chair. What do I do?

“We’re adults,” he says, his voice holding steady. “We can control ourselves. Right?”

“Yeah.”

He looks around the room before dropping his gaze onto me again.

“Kennedy is going through a phase right now that’s making me want to drink.

I’m trying to give her boundaries and a routine, and expectations.

I’m trying to save her from herself. The last thing I want to do— that I will do —is confuse the kid more than she already is. ”

“What’s going on with her?”

“Hell if I know,” he says, running a hand over his head.

“She’s fine one minute, then skipping school the next.

I found cigarettes in her room. She’s snuck out more than once and has a group of friends that need some discipline—shit that I don’t understand.

She tried to forge my signature and get a fucking tattoo.

” He groans as if he’s at his wit’s end.

“Why would she act like this? What am I not doing? What am I not giving her to make her act like a vigilante?”

I giggle even though it’s not funny. What is funny, or endearing, is how sweet he is when it comes to Kennedy … and his complete lack of understanding of a teenage girl.

“It might not have anything to do with you,” I say. “I don’t know why she’s acting like that because I don’t know her. But this is normal teenage behavior.”

He blinks. Twice.

“Well, rest assured that none of that has stamped her ticket to juvie,” I say.

He sighs. “Do you see the problem? It doesn’t matter how badly I want you. I’m not willing to risk either of us getting distracted and losing Kennedy in the process. So my focus is on her. That’s why I need help—to keep Kennedy on the straight and narrow.”

The worry etched on his face pulls at my heart. Suddenly, some of his reaction to me makes sense.

I bet Chase was irritated with me last night. Helping a random woman at the end of a long day while trying to get home to his worrisome daughter must’ve been a hassle. And finding me in his house the next day? He had to have been as surprised as I was.

Although I understand where he’s coming from and his reasons for not wanting to act on his attraction, that doesn’t mean we can ignore it. Ignoring it would only make it worse. We’ll have to find a way to ignore it while acknowledging it.

“She’s my priority,” he says. “If I’m open to messing around with you, that leaves room for mistakes.”

“I understand your point. For the record, I respect that. It seems like you are a good dad, and I wouldn’t want to do anything besides help you with Kennedy.”

He sinks back into his chair. Relief washes across his handsome features. “Mom swears you’re the right person to help with Ken and, honestly …” A grin twitches against his lips. “I might not disagree.”

“You might not, huh?”

“Well, I mean, in your favor, you seem like you’ll be hard for Kennedy to steamroll.”

I laugh. “That, I assure you.”

“So we have a plan then?”

I study the small cut on his bottom lip and the calluses on his hands as he folds them on the tabletop. I want to do this. But I don’t want to have it turn into a soberfest.

“Okay,” I say, smiling. “We have a plan. No action on the attraction. Besides, not knowing what your cock feels like in my mouth will make it easier to focus on your daughter.”

He adjusts himself. “Seriously, Megan?”

“Kennedy isn’t here, and I don’t officially work for you yet.”

“Fine. Then for the record,” he says cockily, leaning toward me and lowering his voice, “not knowing what your pussy tastes like will make it easier when you’re asleep a few doors down the hallway from me every night.”

I tug at the hemline of my shirt to get some air around me. Did it just get hot in here?

“That’s what we’re doing, then?” I ask, fanning my face. “I’m staying in your house, and we’re going to move around each other like we’re two people who didn’t just confess we want to perform oral sex on the other?”

“Yes.”

I lift a brow. “You think that’s possible? This is your life, your kid. You better be sure.”

“It’ll work as well as pouring a sports drink in your radiator.”

“Hey, that did work.”

“Speaking of, did you make an appointment for your car? Or call the rental company?”

I laugh in disbelief. “No. When I walked in here an hour ago, I thought I’d be leaving town in the morning, so I wasn’t worried too much.”

“Suit yourself,” he mumbles, shifting in his seat. “I’ll make an appointment for you.”

“No. I need to turn it in tomorrow. Your mom said I could use her car while they’re gone.”

He stretches his arms over his head. The corner of his shirt slips up, displaying the expertly crafted muscles lining his sides.