I step inside the dimly lit building and the entrance T’s off into a hallway. I check right, then left and Eli rounds a corner in dangerous mode. “Did you stop and smell some roses while you were out there bullshitting?”
“I’m a hang-around to them.”
“And you’re going to remain one if you fuck this up. Emily’s in the office and she’s to remain there even if she hears her parents. I need to talk to them without her. Do you read me?”
Loud and clear. “Which door is the office?”
“Second one on the left. I don’t need to mention that if Emily’s unhappy, I’m unhappy.”
Perfect. “I don’t have a weapon.”
“If you don’t leave the office then that won’t be a problem. If you want to be a part of this club, then I suggest spending the next few minutes keeping my daughter safe and happy.” Eli turns his back to me and disappears around the bend.
Just a few more hours and I’ll get my life back on track. Take care of Emily. Keep her in the office. Tell her a few jokes. I round the corner and stop dead. Every single time I see Emily she knocks the breath out of my body and that tank top of Violet’s she’s wearing sure as hell doesn’t help. Spaghetti-strapped that cuts into a V-shape.
Whether Emily is aware of it or not, the trim of her white lace bra peeks out and so does a hint of her cleavage. I scrub a hand over my face to prevent myself from ogling, but the image is already burned in my mind.
God, she’s beautiful. Tanned skin. Gorgeous legs. Everything about her perfectly shaped and the memory of how warm and soft her skin felt under my touch last night still haunts me.
She’s Eli’s daughter, Olivia and Cyrus’s granddaughter and her continued presence is ruining my future, but damn if my body doesn’t react to her being near. Emily stares up at me with those dark brown eyes and while they are as naive as a doe’s there’s absolutely no innocence in the smile that spreads across her lips.
“Your life,” Emily whispers in this slow, seductive slide, “is about to suck.”
She’s a little late with that threat because it already does, but a sinking sensation suggests that she’s going to make things even worse.
Emily
“GET BACK IN the office.” Oz towers over me as if his mere massive height and thick shoulders would freak me out into complying, but after hearing what Eli said, Oz sort of resembles a kitten with his hair spiked along his arched back.
“And if I don’t, what are you going to do?” I probably shouldn’t smirk while saying that, but I can’t help it. This is too good to pass up. According to Eli, the big bad Oz has to listen to poor defenseless me.
Oz leans down and his powerful gaze hypnotizes me. “Are you begging me to put my hands on you to move you? Because I will. We already established last night that the two of us are three seconds away from tearing each other’s clothes off.”
My entire body runs hot. “We did not establish anything.”
He smiles. It’s not happy. It’s not mean. It’s a promise of a million things I’ve never experienced and it’s the sexiest sight I’ve seen in my life. “We established a lot last night and we’re going to establish a few more things now. If you don’t get back in that office, I will not only put my hands on your body, I will also lift you off the floor, toss you over my shoulder and carry you against me until we’re in a room...alone...with a closed door behind us.”
My mouth goes dry and yet I’m able to say the words, “You don’t tell me what to do.”
Oz reaches out and does exactly what he warned he would. His hands land on my hips and I suck in a sharp breath. Strong hands. Warm fingers. And they gently press past my jeans and into my flesh. A tug on my belt loops and in a swift motion, Oz drags me into him so that my body is flush with his. Heat curls along my skin and I have to fight from shutting my eyes with the sweet thrill.
The scent of burning embers overwhelms my senses. His thumb sneaks above the hem of my tank and I shiver with the swipe against my bare skin.
“Next step is to pick you up, Emily. Your body sliding against mine and when that happens I’m seriously going to want to kiss you. Is that what you want?”
Yes.
I blink.
No.
Definitely no.
With a half-numb brain, I shift back and Oz releases his grip. He inclines his head to the office and I half walk, half stumble into it. When I’m in, I slump into a chair.
“Glad we found a solution to the problem.” Oz cocks his hip against the closed door and folds his arms over his chest.
I knead my eyes to wipe away the stupor. “We didn’t find a solution to anything. I want to hear what Eli has to say to my parents.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Yes, it is, or I’ll tell Eli that you made me sad. I overheard what he said to you. You’re not officially a part of this Boy Scout troop and if you want in then you have to make me happy.”