Can’t Touch

by Wylder, Penny

  But in the photo, he looks like any other executive. Handsome, for sure, but in that way that most top-level execs are. All the stuff I’d found about him being extraordinarily compelling and a force to be reckoned with didn’t seem to match up with the photos that I found.

  Of course it wouldn’t, and I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t just experienced it. Not only did the camera not accurately capture his looks—which is completely unfair, and Core Tech needs to find a new in-house photographer immediately—but it doesn’t capture his energy. The feeling that everything in his being is entirely focused on you and that’s all that matters in the moment.

  The feeling was—is—intoxicating.

  “Hey,” a voice says from behind me. “Ready for lunch?”

  It’s Jenna, the other intern that just started. We’ve already decided to stick together. Two female interns at a big tech firm? The second we met we knew that we were going to need allies.

  “Sure.”

  I grab my phone and together we walk to the elevators so we can head down to the cafeteria. Normally an office cafeteria would fill me with dread, but this place is absolutely amazing. Delicious, free food. One of the small things that Core Tech does for its employees that makes it a good place to work.

  “What were you working on?” Jenna asks.

  “Nothing too important,” I say. “I just met Kris Canterbar, so I was brushing up on his bio so I don’t look like a complete idiot next time.”

  She laughs. “I’m sure you didn’t look like an idiot this time.”

  “I’m not so sure about that.”

  “You’re fine,” Jenna says. “But the way that you were looking at that picture, I highly doubt that the man’s bio is what you were worried about.”

  I blush in spite of myself. “It was, but you can’t exactly blame me, can you?”

  Jenna snorts as we exit the elevator. “No, I can’t. But honestly, I wouldn’t get any ideas. Even if we’re kind of free to do whatever as interns, he’s a bad idea. I’ve been here two days and I’ve already heard at least four stories about what a player Canterbar is.”

  There’s no logical reason for disappointment to lodge in my chest like a knife. Kris Canterbar is way out of my league. Miles above it. Just because that interaction had an…almost ferocity, doesn’t mean anything. Especially if he’s a player.

  Because there’s one thing that I know. I’ve worked too hard to get where I am to let anyone derail me. Do I want love? Yes. Am I willing to sacrifice all my hard work along with the sacrifices that I’ve already made? No.

  So if what Jenna is saying is true, then that crosses Kris off the list of even just fantasies. I’m not ready for a player. I’m waiting for Mr. Right. And not even breathless touches and sexy winks are going to change that. Period.

  3

  Chianna

  Pens, notepads, staples, Sharpies, tacks, and a bulletin board. I repeat the list in my head as I look around the tiny supply closet. The shelves are packed with so many different things it will be a miracle if I don’t find the Hope diamond in here.

  Refilling office supplies isn’t exactly my idea of fun, but Uncle Meynard needs the supplies to start prepping the final version of his presentation, and what he says goes.

  Unfortunately.

  I find the box of tacks and pull it off the shelf.

  But at the same time, at least here in the closet I get a little bit of relief. Because I can’t get Kris out of my head. Though that may be mainly because whenever I’ve been near him today, I could feel his eyes on me. My role here isn’t to be Meynard’s personal intern, but he got me the job, and I’m staying at his place. It makes sense for him to give me work. And he has. I’ve been all over the office delivering files and picking more up, and more often than not, I seem to run into Kris. Or walk by his office. Or see him grabbing coffee in the executive kitchen.

  No matter where I encounter the man, his gaze settles on me like fire, and any resolve that I have to completely ignore the way that makes me feel, weakens and begins to crumble.

  “Get yourself together, Chianna.”

  That’s become my mantra for the day. He’s a player, and I have nothing more than a physical attraction. Which is fine. Anyone in their right mind would be attracted to Kris after meeting him. You can’t help that. That’s okay, but I don’t have to act on it. It’s only my third day. Staying around for at least a couple of weeks before I start sleeping around the office is probably a good idea.

  I roll my eyes. As if I would ever sleep around the office. As if I would actually sleep with Kris. My virginity is more important to me than that. I want that first time to be…special. Not given to a player just because my heart starts to race when he looks at me.

  Notepads, pens, staples, there are no bulletin boards in here. The Sharpies are on the top shelf that’s just above my reach. I’ll get them, though. I’m determined.

  The bulletin board. Those are probably in the other supply closet. The one that’s directly across from Kris’s office. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I mutter.

  Declaring that I’m not going to mess with the fucking gorgeous god of tech is a lot more effective when I don’t have to go by his office and feel that stare that I wish was a physical fucking touch.

  “Depends on the joke.” A smoky voice says.

  I yelp and nearly fall backwards. The man himself is standing behind me, watching me reach for the just-out-of-reach markers.

  “Whether or not you are fucking kidding,” he clarifies. “You need some help?”

  “I can probably get it.”

  He steps closer to me. “But what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t help a lady in distress?”

  “I’m not in distress,” I say, but my voice doesn’t make it seem that way. He’s so close that the air is thin in my lungs and my body seems fully determined to rebel against me.

  Watching him reach up above my head and pull down the box of Sharpies is like a sexual act. Perfect suit bunching and stretching to accommodate a body that doesn’t need to be naked to announce that it’s a fucking masterpiece.

  “Here you go.”

  I swallow. “Thank you.”

  “I didn’t think I’d find you in the supply closet.”

  “People need their supplies, don’t they?”

  Kris grins. “I suppose so. But I find that a good amount of the time, people don’t go into supply closest for actual office things.” His gaze drops down my body, lingering at the edge of my buttons and sliding down my legs like a caress before coming all the way back up to my eyes.

  “What do they go in there for?”

  I know exactly what he’s talking about. It’s too obvious not to, but right now I want to hear him say it. Just for a few more seconds of soaking in that velvet honey voice that I want to drown in.

  “I suppose,” he says, “that depends who finds them while they’re in there.”

  My hands are full of the things that I’ve gathered on my list, and he gently sets the pack of Sharpies on top. My god, I wish that my hands were not full right now, but it’s a good thing that they are. If they weren’t, I’m not sure that I would be able to keep a hold on myself.

  What does this man put out into the air that he’s fucking irresistible whenever he’s in my proximity? I want him to knock all the things that I’m carrying out of my hands, push me up against the wall and kiss me. Fuck, I want that.

  No, you don’t.

  I’ll regret it later. I need to be careful and find someone that’s going to be perfect in the long term. Not someone who’s just going to be good for a few quick hits of pleasure—no matter how good that pleasure might be. And it doesn’t matter how innocent I am, I think that being with Kris would be mind-melting, soul-altering, body-shattering type pleasure.

  Which is why I can’t afford to even entertain the thought of him. He’ll ruin me.

  I just have to convince myself that I don’t want him.

  “Well,” I s
ay quietly, “I’m new here. I’m not exactly sure what you mean.” The lie slips out of my mouth so easily that my confidence rises until I see his smirk. I swear it’s like he knows exactly what I’m thinking and exactly how inexperienced I am, and he only wants more of it.

  “Chianna?” Meynard’s voice comes from around the corner and my entire body goes cold with fear.

  Kris smoothly takes a step back from me before my uncle rounds the corner, but that doesn’t stop the fury in his eyes when he sees me with Kris. Now I’m fucking glad that my hands are full. If they’re full of stuff, then I very clearly couldn’t have been doing other things.

  “It’s long since time that you be back with the things I asked you for. They’re not exactly hard to find.”

  “I have them,” I say with a swallow. “Just need one other thing from the other closet.”

  Kris turns to my uncle. “Chianna was doing exactly what you asked her to. But she was struggling to reach the last thing on your list. She was just on her way.”

  “Shouldn’t you be on your way?” my uncle practically snarls.

  “Of course.” Kris doesn’t seem remotely bothered by Meynard. And that same charming grin stays on his face without any difficulty. If I didn’t find the fact that he rubs my uncle the wrong way hilarious, I could definitely see why my uncle dislikes him. If someone tried that hard to unnerve me, I’d be furious.

  Luckily, I think the last thing that Kris Canterbar is trying to do is unnerve me.

  “Get the things I gave you done,” he says. “And then take everything back to the apartment. Put an Uber on the card. I don’t want Canterbar snooping around any of my work, so you’ll have to put things together at home.”

  My stomach sinks. Of course he’d be asking me to do work at home. I fight off the sigh that builds up in my throat. I wanted this job, and I’m grateful that he pulled some strings for me, but I hope that I actually get a chance to learn and not just be free secretarial labor for Meynard. “Okay.”

  “And don’t worry,” my uncle says. “I know Kris is a bastard. He shouldn’t be butting in and making you uncomfortable. I’ve never liked him, but you can’t control who you work with. At least for now.”

  “For now?”

  A grim smile. “Someday I’d like to think that I’ll be in an office that is free of Kris Canterbar. But right now, both you and I need to focus to make that happen. So get everything together and go home.”

  He turns on his heel and leaves, not bothering to check if I’m going to follow his orders. I have the urge to tell him that I don’t really want an office without Kris. He didn’t make me uncomfortable, and I certainly don’t want to use any of my focus to make that happen. But I don’t. All that will do is make the next weeks utterly unbearable while I live with him.

  Instead, I grab a box for all the things that I have so far, make a quick detour to the other closet for the bulletin board, and then head out. I’m relieved that Kris isn’t in his office when I go to the other closet. One interaction like that in a day already has my blood heated. Two times trapped in a closet with him in one day? I may well and simply perish.

  Turns out everything that Meynard wants me to bring home is a lot. I’m grateful for the Uber. But getting it all up into the apartment is no easy task. Especially since the bulletin board and the boxes block the view in front of me.

  I step off the elevator and slam into something. “Woah there.”

  “Shit,” I curse under my breath. “I’m sorry. I can’t see where I’m going with all this stuff.”

  “That’s okay.” Hands grasp the box on top and lift it away from me. “I survived.”

  I do a double take at the voice a second before the box disappears and it’s him. Kris Canterbar. In my apartment building. I feel my jaw drop open before I can actually process. The other box falls from my hands to the floor. Thankfully, not everything spills out. Just a couple of things. “What are you doing here?”

  He smirks. “Me? I live here. What are you doing here?”

  My cheeks flush as I bend to pick everything up. “I’m staying with my uncle during the internship.”

  “Ah, that makes sense. Yes, your uncle and I are fortunate to live in the same building. The same floor, actually. Though I lived here first.”

  I immediately understand why it’s important that he include that detail. My uncle is exactly the kind of man that would move close to an enemy to destroy one. And maybe Kris is too—I don’t know him well enough to discount it—but in this instance, he isn’t the aggressor.

  Fair enough.

  “It’s a very nice building.”

  “It is,” he says. “Lovely, especially after a long day of work. Which I’m assuming you had. So why so many supplies?”

  My uncle would absolutely kill me if I told his rival that all this stuff was for the proposal that they’re both working on. Literal, instant death. “I didn’t get everything done that I needed to at the office, and I never leave a task undone, so I thought that I would finish up at home.”

  “Really?” Kris raises an eyebrow. “Why lug everything home and not just stay late?”

  I shrug, blowing it off. “Security. They don’t want to leave interns alone in the building after hours.” No idea how I pulled that out of my ass, but it works.

  “Fair enough. But Chianna, just know that you’re worth more than this. Just because you’re an intern doesn’t mean that you should let people take advantage of you.”

  I brush past him toward my door, and he follows carrying the other box. “You’re being presumptuous, Mr. Canterbar, assuming that I don’t know my own worth.”

  “The alarming amount of office supplies that you’re carrying tells me otherwise.”

  Anger spikes through my chest as I unlock the door to the apartment and shove it open. I know that Meynard isn’t home yet, so I don’t have to worry. “Unlike some people, I know what it is to put in hard work. Life is about getting things done. And if that means pushing up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty—even at home—then I’m willing to do it.”

  I put the box down inside the door and take the other one from him. He resists only for a second so I have to pull harder. His teasing grin makes me flush and blisters my anger even further.

  “Getting your hands dirty?” The smirk deepens. “I like the sound of that.”

  Then he disappears down the hallway, and I’m left staring into the empty space that he left.

  4

  Kris

  The invisible miles of the treadmill disappear under my feet. It’s not light out yet, and the view from the windows of my building’s gym is still a dark cityscape speckled with lights like artificial stars.

  By all rights, I should still be asleep. But I couldn’t sleep.

  Last night, that encounter with Chianna. God, I can’t get her out of my head. I walked away so abruptly because I knew if I’d stood in that doorway a second longer that I would have touched her. Kissed her. And the last thing that she needed was for her uncle to catch her with me.

  Don’t get me wrong, I still want her. But I’m smart enough not to play on the devil’s doorstep.

  I walked straight into my apartment and stripped on the way to the shower. Didn’t bother with a cold one. Went straight to hot, and my cock was hard and in my hand within seconds. Fantasies that I can never say out loud ran through my head, all featuring the new intern.

  After I met her with her uncle, I admit I checked her out. She’s a recent college grad. Core Tech could be an amazing place to start her career if she doesn’t get waylaid by someone like Meynard. No matter that he’s her uncle.

  God dammit. Three orgasms last night thinking about her, and now I’m on my way to being hard again. I need to get my body under control, if only because it’s spectacularly uncomfortable to run with a hard cock.

  But my mind doesn’t want to let her go. That fiery red hair that I want splashed across my pillow. That pale skin that I want to bite to see how pink I ca
n make it. Those green eyes that were unmistakably filled with lust when we were in that tiny closet yesterday.

  I’d gladly take her up against those shelves. Hell, I’d fuck her so hard every last pack of Sharpies would fall off the top shelf so she’d never have to reach up again. No, she’d have to bend over, and that’s how I’d take her from behind so I could see that perfectly delicious ass.

  Grabbing my water bottle, I take a drink before splashing a little of it on my face. At this rate, I’ll have to take a cold shower before I go to the office. But first, I’m going to push myself harder. Exhaustion might be the key to getting her out of my head. At least I hope.

  She’s an intern. No matter how much I want to take her and make her mine, I shouldn’t be thinking about her at all. It’s not professional. Not that I’ve been the consummate professional when it comes to my dating life, but I shouldn’t do this. At least not until the internship is over and there are fewer eyes watching.

  Yeah. That’s what I’ll do.

  A small gasp reaches my ears and every bit of resolve that I’ve just built evaporates like mist. Chianna is standing in the doorway to the gym, staring at me in awe like she’s just seen God. She’s so pale that every blush—no matter how small—is visible. This flush is much deeper than the one that I saw yesterday. It covers more of her because I can see more of her. Just a thin camisole and some yoga pants. A gym bag is slung over her shoulder and those pants are riding just a little low on her hips. I can see a glimpse of skin and fuck, all I want to do is lick it.

  Animalistic need is the only thing I feel, fed by the way that she’s looking at me. Clear attraction. Her hand tightens and releases on the strap of her bag, and I watch her take in all of me. Slowly.

  I’m not stupid. I know that I’m attractive. But up until now it didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary for me. Now that Chianna is watching? It feels like everything. And I’m glad that I put in the work to keep myself in shape.