“You’re wrong, Daisy. It’s not your last night, and there’s a lot I need you to hear.”
We were close. Too close. My senses were full of her. Her scent, the velvet softness of her skin, the sound of her voice. It all went straight to my gut.
She felt it too. The attraction hadn’t simply vanished because I’d called it quits. If anything, the last week spent without her made me want her even more.
I fucking missed waking up next to her. Missed seeing her at Liza’s table. Missed walking Waylay to the bus stop. Missed the way I felt when Naomi kissed me like she couldn’t help herself.
The music from the speakers kicked over to a lively country anthem, and the bar cheered.
“I’m busy, Viking. If you drag me out of here, you’re only hurting your own profit margins.”
I clenched my jaw. “Get your tables sorted. You’re on break in fifteen. My office.”
“Yeah, okay,” she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
“If you’re not in my office in fifteen, I will come out here, throw you over my shoulder, and carry your ass back there.” I leaned in closer, almost close enough to kiss her. “And there is no way that skirt of yours is up for that.”
I felt her shiver against me when my lips brushed her ear.
“Fifteen minutes, Naomi,” I said and left her standing there.
Sixteen minutes later, I was alone in my office and royally pissed. I yanked the door open so hard the hinges rattled. When I hit the bar, Naomi’s head came up at the service bar like a doe sensing danger.
I went straight for her.
Those eyes went wide when she read my intention.
“Warned you,” I told her as she took a step back and then another.
“Don’t you dare, Knox!”
But I fucking dared.
I caught her by the arm and bent at the waist. She was up over my shoulder in less than a second. It was like a record scratch. The bar went completely silent except for Darius Rucker on the speakers.
“Max, run those drinks,” I said, nodding at Naomi’s tray.
Naomi squirmed, trying to right herself, but I wasn’t having any of it. I gave her a hard slap on the ass, catching denim, cotton, and bare skin.
The bar erupted into pandemonium.
Naomi squeaked and reached for the hem of her skirt.
She was wearing the underwear I bought her, and I knew that as frosty as she’d been, she fucking missed me.
“Everyone can see my underwear!” she yelped.
I laid my palm over her ass. “Better?”
“I am going to slap you so hard your head spins around,” she threatened as I marched us out of the bar and toward my office.
By the time I hit the code on the door, she’d stopped fighting me and hung upside down with her arms crossed in what I could only assume was a pout.
I hated to take my hands off her. I wished there was a way to get through this without letting her go. But I wasn’t a great conversationalist under normal circumstances, and when I had an aching dick, I was even worse.
I grabbed her by the hips and let her slide down my body until her toes hit the floor. For a moment, we stood there, pressed against each other like we were one. And for just a second, as she looked into my eyes with her palms pressed flat on my chest, everything felt right.
Then she was pushing away from me and stepping back.
“What the hell do you want from me, Knox? You said you didn’t want to be together. We’re not together. I’m not following you around, begging for another chance. I respected your wishes.”
I was worried she’d get the wrong answer if she looked below my belt, so I steered her to the chair behind my desk.
“Sit.”
She glared at me for a full thirty seconds with her arms crossed before giving in. “Fine,” she said, flopping down in my chair. But the distance didn’t make me feel better. I was starting to realize the only thing that did was being close to her.
“You keep saying you want one thing and then acting like you want something completely different,” she said.
“I know.”
That shut her up.
I needed to move, so I paced in front of the desk, needing to keep something between us.
“There’s something you don’t know.”
Her fingers drummed on her arms. “You gonna enlighten me anytime soon, or do I have to kiss all those tips out there good-bye?”
I shoved my hands through my hair, scraped one down over my beard. I felt sweaty and twitchy. “Don’t rush me, okay?”
“I am not going to miss working for you,” she said.