Page 13

Leo

Hannah looks back at me with a sexy as hell smile on her face and a wicked gleam in her eye and fuck me if it doesn’t take every ounce of effort I have not to sweep everything off this table and lay her back on it so I can finally get inside her.

“Is that so?” she says, a playful tone in her voice.

“Maybe,” I say with a wink, even though it was one hundred percent so.

“Maybe,” she murmurs with a laugh, taking another bite of the steak. Her eyes close as she chews, and I swear this woman makes everything look sexy. When she finally swallows, she opens her eyes and looks at me. “So how long have you been working at Somerville’s for?”

The change in subject makes me laugh and I drag my eyes away from her as I go back to my dinner. “Since a couple of months before Apple Jacks opened,” I tell her. “Probably the same time as Dylan.”

“And living here?” she asks, waving her fork around.

“The same. The job and place were offered as a package deal.”

Hannah’s eyes widen a little, her fork pausing halfway to her mouth. “Wow, that’s awesome.”

“Like I said, Ellen, Lauren and Jack are really great people to work for.”

She nods in agreement as she takes another bite of her steak.

“Yeah, they really are,” she says, that playful tone now gone.

I study her, wondering what she’s thinking about and why the mood suddenly feels like it’s shifted.

Just as I’m about to ask, she blurts out, “How do they feel about workplace hook ups?”

“What?”

Hannah meets my gaze, hers serious as she repeats, “Workplace hook ups?” She gestures between us with her fork.

I lower my knife and fork to the table, sitting back in my chair, my elbow resting on the back of it. “That’s what you think this is?” I ask.

She lifts a shoulder in a shrug. “How would you define it?”

I reach for the wine bottle, topping up our glasses before my eyes move to hers again as I lift my glass for a sip. “I don’t know,” I admit. “But not as just a hook up.”

Hannah takes a sip of wine, swallowing slowly, her eyes never leaving mine. “No?”

“No,” I repeat, shaking my head, already knowing I want far more than just a hook up with this woman.

“But you barely know me,” she whispers.

“And you barely know me,” I say, taking a breath before letting it out slowly. “But I really want to change that, Hannah.”

“You do?”

A slow smile curves at my mouth as I stare across at her, still not fully understanding what it is about this woman that pulls me in, but definitely wanting to find out. I’ve never felt this kind of attraction to someone before, and I most definitely want to explore it. Badly.

But I also know that there are implications for us getting together, even more so for Hannah because she’s new and I am her boss. So as hard as this is going to be, given the intense chemistry we share, I’m going to do what I have to do here.

“I do,” I tell her, reaching across the table for her hand. Wrapping my fingers around her wrist, I brush my thumb along the inside of it, over her pulse. “Does that scare you?”

“I don’t know,” she whispers. “Maybe a little.”

I lift her hand, pressing a soft kiss to the middle of her palm. “Me too,” I admit.

“Have you…” she trails off, licking her lips before she continues. “Have you ever done this before?”

“What?” I ask, confused.

Hannah lets out a soft laugh. “Dated someone you’ve worked with?”

Chuckling, I shake my head. “No, have you?”

“God no,” she says. “My last boss was a total asshole, remember?”

I smirk. “Oh yeah. What about your current boss? He an asshole too?”

She weaves her fingers with mine, tugging my hand closer as she runs her thumb across my knuckles. “Ah, no,” she says, chuckling. “Quite the opposite actually.”

“Oh yeah?” I tease.

She leans closer, her long hair brushing against my arm and sending a shiver all through me. “Yeah,” she whispers. “So opposite in fact, that I’m finding it incredibly hard not to jump his bones every time I see him.”

I burst out laughing. “Wow, good to know,” I say. “And for the record, the feeling’s completely mutual.”

Hannah smiles at me, our eyes locked as we stare at each other across the table.

Electricity hums between us, the air practically crackling with it as we both wait for the other to make the next move.

I know that if I do, she’ll give in. Give in to what I know we both want.

But given everything, I know I have to do this, if only to prove to her that all of this is worth a shot.

“So how about this,” I start, “We slow things down a little and…” My words trail off as Hannah pulls her hand from mine.

I tighten my fingers in hers, not letting her go as I continue.

“I want this, Hannah. I think you do too, but I also get there’s a lot more at stake for you given the work thing. ”

“Yeah,” she whispers.

“Yeah?” I prompt with a smile. “Yeah to what exactly, wanting this or having more at stake?”

She smiles, a slow sexy smile that actually makes my heart flip in my chest. “Both.”

I nod, grinning back at her. “So,” I say, lifting our still joined hands to my lips.

“As much as I would love to take you to my bed right now and make you moan like you did when you ate the meal I cooked for you, how about we put a pause on that for now and focus on the getting to know each other part. See where things go and make sure you’re…

” I pause, searching for the right word, “comfortable with everything,” I eventually add, gesturing with our still joined hands between us.

Her smile widens, her eyes sparkling as she bites on her bottom lip. “Leo Marsh, are you actually telling me that underneath this sexy, muscled, tattooed bad boy exterior is a total softie?”

A loud laugh falls from my mouth as I lift her hand to my mouth and gently bite her knuckles. “Oh, I promise there’s plenty of bad boy in here too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” I repeat. “And just to be crystal clear, this bad boy still wants to fuck you. Badly.”

She bites her bottom lip again and a low groan rumbles in my chest. “Good to know.”

The rest of the night passes with the two of us actually taking the time to get to know each other.

She has me laughing my ass off with tales of her and Dylan as teenagers and all the shit they used to get up to and I fill her in on all the places she has to visit in France when she goes to visit her friend.

It’s easy and fun and even though I can’t explain my attraction to this woman, I know I want more of it.

I like having her in my house, sharing a meal with me as we chat about anything and everything.

I’ve never managed to make a relationship work, the long hours I spend in the kitchen often killing things before they have a chance to get too serious.

But with Hannah, it all just feels so easy.

And yeah, maybe part of it is because she’s also a chef and she gets the long hours and the unpredictable schedule, but I know it’s not just that.

The chemistry between us is just unreal, like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, and it definitely only adds to the whole gorgeous package that is Hannah Murphy.

“I guess I should probably get going,” she eventually says, putting her now empty wine glass on the coffee table in front of the couch we moved to after dinner.

I rest my arm along the back of the couch, my fingers sliding under her hair so they’re resting lightly on the back of her neck. “This was nice,” I whisper, running the tips of my fingers gently over the bumps of her spine. “We should do it again.”

Hannah smiles, shifting a little so she’s facing me. She’s kicked off her shoes and has one leg tucked beneath the other. “We should. Next time, I’ll cook for you.”

Chuckling, I tighten my grip on her neck as I pull her toward me. “Sounds good,” I murmur, my mouth finding hers in a soft, slow kiss.

Hannah moans, moving closer to me, her leg now slung over mine as she deepens the kiss. I feel her hand slide up my thigh and I’m already half hard as I pull her into my lap so she’s straddling me. My hands grip her hips, pulling her closer as I continue to kiss her.

I feel her tongue trace my bottom lip before slipping into my mouth, tangling with mine. A growl rumbles in my chest and I slip my hands under her shirt so they are resting against the warm skin of her back.

“Fuck,” I moan.

She smiles against my mouth. “Changed your mind already?”

I gently bite her bottom lip. “So fucking tempting.”

Hannah giggles and fuck me if it isn’t adorable. “Just for the record, this was your idea, you know,” she reminds me, her hands resting on my chest.

I pull back so my head is resting on the couch as I stare up at her, wondering where the hell this woman has come from. “I know, and my blue balls will be thanking me for it later, trust me.”

She laughs, her hands sliding up my chest. “You could always do what I do.”

“Oh yeah?” I ask, tilting my head to the side. “And what’s that.”

She leans in so her lips are only an inch away from mine. “Get myself off while thinking about you.”

“Fuck, Hannah,” I bite out, sitting up as I press a hard kiss to her mouth. “You do that?”

“God, yes,” she breathes out. “A lot.”

I actually growl at the mental image that conjures up and I swear I am so fucking turned on right now, I’m about two seconds away from saying fuck it to my stupid plan to slow this down and just fuck her right here on my couch.

As if reading my mind, she kisses me again, deep and hard and hungry, her hands roaming over my body, exploring. I pull her close, so her hips are flush against mine and she can feel exactly what this is doing to me.

“Leo,” she murmurs, her hands grabbing at the hem of my t-shirt as she tries to pull it off.

I’m about to let her, when the moment is suddenly broken by my phone ringing, the loud noise cutting through the soft music that’s playing, and startling us both.

“What the fuck?” I mutter, turning to glance at it on the side table.

It’s after ten and I have no idea who the hell would be calling me at this hour.

Before I have a chance to answer it though, the ringing stops and is quickly followed by the sound of an incoming text.

“Do you need to get that?” Hannah asks, still in my lap.

“I don’t know,” I say, my mind still reeling with what she just told me, how she gets herself off while thinking about me. “Maybe, yeah.”

Hannah smiles, reaching over to grab my phone as it chimes again, letting me know about the text or voicemail or whatever it is. When she hands it to me, I wake it up to see a missed call and a text message.

“Oh my god,” I breathe out, laughing a little as I turn the phone to Hannah.

I watch as her eyes scan the screen, her brow narrowing as she reads the text message from her brother.

Dylan: Hey dude, sorry for calling so late, but I forgot to mention that Hannah has moved into that cottage they renovated near your place. Can you maybe check in on her, not now, in the morning? Make sure she’s ok? Don’t tell her I asked though. Thanks, I owe you one.

“Is he fucking serious?” she snaps, reaching for my phone.

I burst out laughing, holding it above my head and out of reach. “He’s just being a protective brother, that’s all.”

“He’s being a shit head,” she says, trying for my phone again. The way she leans forward has her tits brushing against my face and my eyes close as I picture burying my face in them. “I’m twenty-nine years old, I don’t need a babysitter.”

I drop my phone on the couch, before grabbing her wrists in my hands, pulling them behind her back so she can’t move or get my phone.

The move only accentuates her chest and I drop my gaze to briefly admire it, before looking back up at her.

“So does that mean you don’t want me dropping by? ” I tease.

Hannah huffs, shuffling in my lap as she rubs against my hard-on. “What do you think?” she says, smirking.

Chuckling, I pull her in for a kiss. “That’s what I thought,” I whisper, my mouth against hers. “Come on, I’ll walk you home. I think your brother has well and truly ruined this moment.”

I shift her off my lap, before standing. I don’t bother to hide what the latest make out session has done to me, as I adjust my jeans, trying to ease the pressure on my now completely hard dick. Hannah watches the movement, licking her lips as she says, “You don’t need to walk me home.”

I grab her hand, tugging her against me.

“Yeah, I do,” I whisper. “Come on, before I change my mind and take you to my bed after all.” I give her ass a quick smack before letting her go to grab my shoes.

When I turn back, Hannah has slipped hers on and is standing beside the couch, a small smile on her face. “What?” I ask.

Shaking her head, she walks toward me. “You are one seriously sexy man, Leo Marsh,” she whispers, before making her way to the front door.

Fuck me, this woman is going to be the death of me, I know it.