by Jill Sanders
Chapter Eleven
Luke stood across from Cassey and tried not to look at her for the millionth time. Her hair was tied back with a white handkerchief. She wore a white T-shirt and an old pair of faded jeans, which looked damn sexy on her. There was a little bit of dust on her chin and he could see a bead of sweat on her brow. She was wearing large pink rubber gloves and when she bent down to clean the bottom shelf of the stove, he couldn’t remove his eyes from how the jeans accented her tight bottom.
“You have it bad, bro.” Marcus slapped his shoulder.
“What?” He jumped a little as he forced his eyes away from Cassey’s exotic rear end.
Marcus nodded towards his sister. “You know, I’ve never seen her so distracted before.”
“Distracted?” Luke looked over to where Cassey was shoulder-deep in the large oven, her arms and gloves covered in dark stains from the dirt she was meticulously cleaning.
Marcus laughed and punched his shoulder again. “Since I’ve known her longer, you’ll just have to trust me on this one.”
Luke shook his head and tried to get back to work as Marcus continued to talk to him, telling him funny stories about when he was young.
They were standing in the large walk-in freezer, removing out-of-date produce. There was a large trash can that was almost full, but the shelves were still lined with produce that they could keep. As long as the inspector allowed Cassey to open back up, she would only lose minimal stock.
Less than ten minutes later, Marcus received a call on his cell and stepped out to answer it.
“Gotta take this,” he mouthed as he walked out.
Luke turned back to the task at hand, which was organizing the frozen meat section. He wasn’t much of a cook himself, but he knew that the food stocked in the small freezer was high quality. Looking down at a bucket of fish, he wondered what she would do with all of it if she was forced to close down for a while.
“That bad, huh?” Cassey asked, walking over to him, a frown on her lips as she looked into the bucket.
“Hmm?” He looked up from the large icy bucket of fish. “Oh, no, they’re fine.”
“Good.” She smiled a little and leaned against the wall of the freezer. “Well, I’ve done all I can do with the stoves.” She wiped her arm across her face, leaving a streak on her cheek.
He chuckled and stepped closer to her. Using a towel, he wiped the spot away. “You know, there isn’t one speck of dust left in this place. I know the inspector will approve you.” He smiled down at her and flicked his finger down her nose, then lightly gripped her face and dipped for a soft kiss. “Mmm, you taste like honey.”
She chuckled. “Wendy brought in some of her honey cookies. I lose all control when it comes to them.”
“Mmm.” He dipped his head and took another sample as he backed her up a step until her back was pressed against the wall. He felt her shiver and gasp as her back hit the cold wall. Chuckling a little, he reversed their positions until he felt the cold between his shoulder blades.
She smiled up at him and pushed against his shoulders a little more. “Cold?”
He shook his head and chuckled. “With you pressed against me, it’s a wonder everything isn’t melting.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and reached up on her toes and started kissing him again. When she pulled away, he was beginning to wonder how the small room wasn’t filled with steam.
“Cassey, let’s call lunch and send everyone home,” he said as he nibbled on the skin just below her ear.
She chuckled and shook her head. “Can’t.” She pulled back. “We have the dining room to clean after lunch.”
“Fine, but at least we can give everyone a very long lunch break,” he said, pulling her closer.
“Mmm, that sounds—”
“Hey, did you know that your brother is a complete idiot?” Marcus said, walking in and shaking his head.
Cassey sighed and took a step back from Luke. “I’ve known that for years, but you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.” She smiled and punched Marcus’ arm lightly.
He chuckled. “Funny. I was talking about Cole. He’s heading to Australia. There’s an approaching cyclone off the North Queensland coast, and he’s heading to Byron Bay to surf in the massive waves they are getting.” He shook his head and frowned a little.
“Cole knows what he’s doing.” Cassey smiled and patted her brother’s shoulder. “Besides, he’s really good at it.”
“I’ve seen some of the footage from the storm down there.” He shook his head again.
Just then, Wendy walked in. “Hey, boss, we’re going to break for lunch. Do you want us to pick anything up for you?”
“No.” She looked over at Luke and tried to hide the smile. “We’re set.”
“Where are you going?” Marcus asked, starting to walk with her. “I might head out with you.”
“We’re heading to—”
Luke didn’t hear the rest, since Cassey was shoving him out the door and down the hallway.
“You must be starved.” He chuckled when she shoved him through a doorway.
“Famished.” She shut the door behind her. Since the lights were off and the door closed, he had no clue where they were. When her hands came to his chest, pushing him back against the wall, he realized he no longer cared.
