“Dammit!” Shade placed the coffee pot back on the burner. The machine was older than he was.
“What’s wrong?” Viper asked from over the phone. They had been discussing orders when Shade had tried to pour himself a cup of coffee.
“Order a new coffee machine. I’m throwing this one out,” Shade told him.
“I’ll take care of it, and the Maloney account,” Viper laughed, hanging up.
Shade went to his office door.
“Lily, the coffee pot isn’t working. Could you go to the house and get me a cup?”
“Get it yourself!” she snapped, slapping the tape dispenser down onto the worktable.
While the room went silent at her sharp remark, Shade stared back at her.
“I’ll get it for you, boss,” Georgia offered with a smile which gave him the willies. He would be too afraid to drink anything she gave him.
“No, thanks, Georgia. I’ll take care of it. Lily, come here.” His jaw tightened when he saw her about to refuse. Luckily for her, she changed her mind at his expression.
She came into his office, closing the door behind her while Shade resumed his seat behind the desk, swiveling his chair to face her in the doorway.
“Want to tell me what burr has crawled up your ass?”
His blunt question didn’t have her backtracking. “No, I don’t.” She even had the audacity to place her hands on her hips as she snapped back at him, silently challenging him. She was brave with the factory at her back.
He grinned, loving a challenge. “Lock the door.”
“Fine.” Lily went to the door, about to make her escape.
“From the inside, Lily. And, if you think to disobey me, have no doubt I will punish you in the other room in front of every man and woman busy working. We really don’t want to disturb their work even further, do we?”
“I don’t suppose so.” Lily reluctantly locked the door.
“When I asked you to lock the door, you knew which side I wanted you on, didn’t you?”
“Yes.” Lily slowly turned back to face him.
“I see. You were being cute. I like cute; you being a smartass is not cute. For future reference, it pisses me off.”
“I’m sorry, Sir.”
Shade’s eyebrows rose at her fake meekness.
“Good try, but I appreciate the effort.” He grabbed the ruler he kept on his desk. “Come here.”
Her feet carried her around the desk, standing next to his chair.
“Lean over my desk,” he ordered.
Lily did as told, her posture one of angry defiance.
“Now, if you answer my question, you’ll get a pass. If not, well, your bottom will tell you that answer, won’t it?”
Lily nodded.
“Why were you snippy with me?”
“Because I didn’t want to get your coffee?”
Lily’s attitude had the Dom inside of him bristling, but he had a feeling what the problem was because he was suffering from the same one.
He raised the back of her skirt and Lily threw him a heated glare, making the blood rush to Shade’s cock.
He stood up, looking at what he had uncovered. Shade froze, staring at her perfect ass.
Every man, whether he admitted it or not, had a part of a woman’s body that lit a fuse to their dick. He was a definite ass man, and damn, hers was the best he had seen.
He stared at it hotly, imaging just how he was going to fuck her from behind so he could feel that ass against his stomach, but then Lily shot straight up, her skirt falling back in place before she hurried to the corner of the room.
Shade burst out laughing. “Smart move.” He sat back down at the desk, leaning back casually, linking his hands together over his flat stomach. “You’re quite a surprise with your sexy little panties. Those red ones of yours always drove me crazy imagining them on you. Now that I’ve seen you in that pair of purple lace, I have a new favorite color.”
She flushed angrily as she stared at him across the small distance of his office.
“So, are you going to tell me what’s wrong, or are you going to stand there the rest of the day?” he probed.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Lily burst out. “Everything is bugging me: you, Georgia, Jewell, the church. Name it.”
Shade leaned back farther in his chair, his smile widening. His woman didn’t deal with frustration well. He was able to give himself some relief, while she was too innocent to give it to herself. He wasn’t about to enlighten her, though. He had never been accused of being stupid.
“How about we take one issue at a time. How am I bugging you?”
Her mouth opened and closed. “You’re getting on my nerves, bossing me around. You never do what I expect you to.”
“Like what?” he asked curiously.
“Like not cashing in my IOUs, not touching me, and when you come in a room, you just set my nerves off,” she finished.