Page 27 of Touch My Shelves

As far as sexual experiences go, there haven’t been that many. It could be I’m feeling sexual frustration since my toy collection burned. In all honesty, nothing I shared with other guys comes close to the way Brax lights me up just coming into a room. And that dream. Holy cow, it was hot.

“Maybe I need to go out on one of the many dates I’ve been turning down.”

Seeing an opening, she pounces. “May I remind you that Adan is available, and have you seen him in his suits?”

I peer up from the now pumpkin orange backdrop at my friend. My married friend. “I have and, yes, he is hot, but why are you noticing your brother-in-law?”

Kimberly snickers and flicks a bit of paint my way. “Hey, I am a happy and satisfied married woman, but there’s nothing wrong with appreciating a well put-together man.”

I waggle my brows. “Hmmm, and would Bode agree with you?”

Kimberly nervously cuts her eyes to Bode, who is busy in the construction area. “My husband knows I love him, but we don’t need to mention that to him.”

I grin and giggle. “Come on, we need to finish this before they bring us another to paint.”

Late that afternoon, we leave the work day in the SUV Brax insisted I drive that morning. It was almost like he doesn’t trust JuneBug. Returning home, we are tired, paint splattered, and happy with a successful day. Somehow, I also have a date Saturday night with Bode’s brother Adan, who showed up to help. I’m still confused with how that happened.

I do find him attractive, but there’s none of the tingles or quivers I have when Brax is around. Maybe because I haven’t been around Adan much. Getting to know him will be good for me, and I can get my head on straight and stop fantasizing about my boss.

Freeya has been nothing but pumped up and talking nonstop about her day and her new friends. I don’t think she’s taken a full breath since we left.

“Carly and Sherin both go to school here. Can I do that too?” she asks.

Freeya’s question brings me out of my fog. “I don’t know, sweetie. That’s something your dad would need to decide. I do know that I would miss you if I didn’t get to spend all day with you.”

She’s quiet for a few minutes. “I’d miss you and dad too, but it would be fun to see what real school is like. Carly said you can bring your lunch or you can buy it there. She and Sherin said they always buy lunch on nugget day. Do I like nuggets?”

I glance her way to see if she’s serious. She is.

“I guess she means like chicken nuggets. That would be the same as when your chef makes chicken strips and you dip them in honey mustard sauce.” That’s the most kid-normal meal I’ve seen the chef prepare since I’ve been living with them. Freeya’s palate is more advanced than nuggets prepared by the cafeteria staff, but I’m sure she’d find them fascinating.

I park the borrowed car back in the underground garage. Freeya runs ahead with what I’m positive is the sole purpose of asking her father about attending island school. It would be good for her, but I can’t really see him allowing it.

I gather our things and make my way inside where a shower is calling my name. I hear Freeya and Brax in his office, so I head upstairs to my bedroom where I strip and jump in the shower. I’m going to need to condition twice to get all the paint out of my hair.

As I’m drying off, I realize I didn’t bring any clothes with me. I wrap a towel around my damp body and step into the bedroom. The closet is my intended destination, but I gasp when Brax opens my bedroom door and walks in.

At first I think it’s another mirage like earlier, but this time he speaks.

“I’m sorry…” he begins to say, but then his words stop as his gaze takes in my towel-clad body. My hair is wet and lying in strands around my shoulders and I wish I weren’t as insecure about my body as I suddenly am. I shouldn’t care about the size of my breasts or the flatness of my stomach. I’m me and that’s darn perfect. My back straightens and my chin tips. “What are you doing in my room?”

Brax closes his eyes and swallows. Fascinated, I watch as he fights for composure. Is he embarrassed or turned on by my lack of clothes? Please let it be the second option.

Clearing his throat, he averts his gaze. “I’m sorry, Poppy. I did knock, but you didn’t answer. I needed to talk to you about…”

He was doing fine until he noticed my eyes are focused on his lips. I should be embarrassed about that… but I’m not. He’s the one that came into my room unannounced.

“About…” I prompt but now he’s fixated onmylips. I run my tongue over them and I swear the blue of his eyes flares.

As if hypnotized, I take a step closer and he does too. Together, we say, “We shouldn’t.”

“We can’t.”

Even though we agree what’s happening shouldn’t, it makes no difference when I touch his face and he threads his hands through my wet hair and pulls me up, smashing my lips against his in a kiss so intense and agonizingly wicked, it threatens to suck out all my brain cells.

My head is reeling and I don’t care that kissing my boss is wrong. All I care about is how close my body is to his and how perfectly we fit together.

My preoccupation with his lips has to be the reason I blocked out the sound coming from the hallway.

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