“Stop!” Julia cried out at the blatant words. “Are you trying to get charged with sexual harassment?”
“It would be worth it if I got what I wanted.” Amber walked into the room with a longing sigh and dropped a file into Julia’s in-box.
“May I remind you, when I agreed to recommend you for a job here, you agreed to leave your libido at the door?”
“Hey, you extracted that promise under false pretences. Why didn’t you tell me your bosses were so freaking hot?”
Julia stared at her in pointed silence.
“All right, fine.” Amber placed one hand over her heart and declared, “I hereby promise to be a good little boring accountant.”
“That’s better.” Julia rose from her chair, intent on closing the office door before anyone overheard them. They’d been friends since university, but Amber’s direct way of speaking was sometimes more than Julia could handle.
The moment she reached the doorway, she spotted the targets of the inappropriate comments through the conference room’s full-length glass wall. Her gaze ran over the long, lean bodies of the two business owners as they pored over a set of blueprints laid out on the table in front of them. One was an architect, the other a builder. Between them, they had created one of the most innovative new design and build housing companies in Melbourne.
Derek Carrigan, the architect, was the dark one. With his chiselled features and chocolate brown eyes, he could make women swoon with just one of his rakish smiles. Julia had clicked with Derek from day one. He was easy to talk to and quick to laugh. If she didn’t know him to be otherwise committed, she’d probably be half in love with him by now. But only probably.
Beside him stood Scott Mason, the builder. On the surface, Scott was the light to Derek’s shadows. Close-cropped blond hair and startling blue eyes. Cheekbones so sharp they could cut ice. Julia had no doubt his smile would be just as devastating, but as far as she knew his lips just didn’t work that way. At least, not when they were directed at her. The intensity of his gaze had always disturbed her in ways that made her stomach flutter and confused the hell out of her all at the same time. She’d given up trying to figure him out.
It no longer mattered anyway. Her one-year contract finished in a week and she would be moving on. When they’d asked her to stay she’d declined, instead accepting a position with an investment firm on the other side of the city. She had enjoyed working for the two men but, honestly, there was only so much fluttering her stomach could take on a daily basis and being around Derek and Scott always seemed to lead to a preponderance of, well, fluttering. Leaving was the only logical choice, given the circumstances.
“Careful,” Amber said with a smug tone, “you don’t want to be caught ogling the bosses.”
Jerking to attention, Julia pushed the door closed and returned to her desk. She took a deep breath and smoothed one hand over her hair. Her bun was still neat and secure, just the way she liked it.
“Even if seducing your employers wasn’t an inherently bad idea, you wouldn’t have any luck with those two.” Julia adjusted her wire-rimmed glasses and forced her attention back to the report she’d completed this morning. Sending it to the printer, she listened for the hum of the machine as it warmed up. She had a meeting with the aforementioned ‘hunks’ in five minutes and didn’t want to be seen as unprepared because of her glitchy printer.
“Why not? I’m sure my wiles could ensnare one of them.” Amber straightened, pulling her shoulders back until her breasts thrust out proudly. “I’m an attractive woman.”
Julia was pretty sure that was the understatement of the year. Amber was gorgeous, with thick dark hair that cascaded over her shoulders. Yes, that’s right. Cascaded. How many women actually had cascading hair? Not her, that was for sure.
“That’s exactly the problem,” Julia muttered as she emailed the report to both Scott and Derek.
The other woman lifted an indignant eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing. Forget I said anything.” Julia busied herself retrieving her report from the printer and stapling the pages together before she placed the stapler back in its place in the drawer of her desk.
She looked up to see Amber staring at her, arms crossed over her chest. “Don’t leave me hanging here. What do you know that I don’t?”
“Oh, all right,” she said, rolling her eyes. “The problem is you’re a gorgeous woman.” Her friend looked at her blankly and she added, “As opposed to a gorgeous man.”
Amber’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “You mean they’re gay?” she screeched. “Both of them?”
“Keep your voice down,” Julia begged, praying the men in question were oblivious to the fact their sexual preferences were being discussed just across the hall. She began to gather the materials she needed for her meeting. Last month’s report had to be here somewhere. A quick time check showed she had two minutes to find it. “I knew the moment I met them. Honestly, I’m just surprised I’m the only one who’s realised it.”
“I don’t believe it. They are not gay.” Amber sounded positively mortified at the idea neither man would be open to her feminine charms. “What on Earth makes you think that?”
Julia shrugged. She hadn’t really thought about it. Yet, somehow she knew she was right. “I don’t know. They just fit together somehow.”
“They are best friends. Everyone knows that. Maybe their friendship is what you’re picking up on.”
Julia shook her head. “It’s more than that. It’s the way they look at each other sometimes.” It was the softening around Derek’s eyes when Scott walked into a room. Like life was just better when he had the other man close by. And the way Scott would sometimes bite his bottom lip when he looked at Derek. As if he imagined biting something entirely different, but held himself in check.
The whole idea made Julia flustered until her normally unflappable demeanour came apart at the edges every time she ended up alone in a room with the two of them. It was like an ecstatic kind of torture. Which was exactly why she preferred to be completely prepared when she had her monthly meeting with them. It helped her look professional, even when she didn’t feel it.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Amber asked, looking put out.
“It never came up, and besides what was I supposed to say? They never talk about it or refer to themselves as a couple. Obviously they prefer to keep their private lives to themselves and it’s nobody else’s business.” Actually, now she thought about it, she felt bad for being the one to let the cat out of the proverbial bag. “Maybe you’re right,” she said, hoping to put a quick end to the conversation. “I’m probably just imagining the whole thing.”
Amber laughed. “I for one don’t blame you if you are. I just want to be able to slide myself in the middle of all that hot male goodness.”
Those words alone made Julia’s stomach clench. Made other parts, lower down, clench too. Images of the two men together, their mouths melding, their hard masculine bodies straining against each other, played through her head. She heard a tiny whimper, realised it had come from her and cleared her throat, hoping to cover it up. This kind of behaviour was unacceptable in the workplace. As a responsible adult she would not allow such salacious thoughts to interfere in her life. Well, not between the hours of nine and five anyway.
“Finally.” She held up the report she’d been searching for with a triumphant shake. “Just in time.”
A moment later there was a knock on the door and Derek poked his head into the room. “Good afternoon, ladies,” he said with a wide smile. “Julia, are you ready for us?”
She rose from her desk, desperately trying not to hear a double meaning in his words. “Of course.” With a quick wave to Amber, she followed him across the hall to the conference room where Scott waited. Let the fluttering begin.
Chapter 2
“You’ve done an amazing job, Julia. As always.” Derek closed the monthly report and pushed it aside as they wrapped up
their meeting. “I only wish we could have convinced you to stick around longer.” He dished up the well-deserved compliment with a side of his most charming grin, and was rewarded when a flush of pleasure brightened her cheeks.
That was just the reaction he’d been hoping for. He wanted to make sure their prim and proper accountant was happy before he posed the question he’d been wanting to ask all week. “We’ll see you at the party tonight. Right?”
He and Scott had decided to celebrate five years in operation by hosting a small get-together for their employees in a local pub. Nothing fancy, just some drinks and nibbles to thank everyone for their hard work. Derek had his own reasons for hoping Julia, in particular, would be there.
“The party’s tonight?” she asked as she began to gather her belongings. He could all but see her brain working, looking for a polite way to say no. “I’m not sure. I’ve only got one week left and I have a lot of work to finish. I want to make sure everything is up to date when Amber takes over my role. I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it.”
“Oh, come on,” Derek replied with a dismissive hand. “It’s Friday. Blow off work. I have it on good authority your bosses won’t mind.”
She glanced at Scott as she gave a half-hearted laugh, but he was busy using his smart phone to book their final meeting into his calendar. Derek wondered if it would be too obvious if he kicked his partner under the table. A plan was being hatched here. The least the other man could do was pay attention.
“Celebrating the success of the company is important to us and you’ve been a big part of that success this past year. We’d both like you to be there,” he added a little louder. “Wouldn’t we, Scott?”
Scott looked up from his phone with a start. “Yes,” he said in a gruff voice. That steely gaze of his locked with Julia’s for a lingering moment. “Of course we want you.” Derek saw Scott’s jaw clench, watched his throat work as he swallowed hard, right before his gaze returned to the phone in his hand.
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Derek turned his own attention back to Julia. She was still staring at Scott. Her brows were drawn into a deep frown, even as she took a shuddery breath through parted lips. Derek reached across the table with one hand to regain her attention, his fingertips brushing against hers. “Please,” he said with a quiet insistence. “Say you’ll come.”
One corner of her mouth lifted in a shy grin that went straight to his gut, and a few other places. She nodded. “All right. I’ll be there.”
“Excellent. We’ll be looking forward to it.” He rose from his chair and walked her to the door with a broad smile. “Scott and I are in desperate need of a night out before we turn into a boring old couple.”
Her wide-eyed gaze snapped up to his, before flicking to the stiff back Scott still presented. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she finally blurted, “See you tonight.” Then she disappeared out the door.
Derek almost laughed out loud a few seconds later as he watched her office door slam closed. Expected though it was, the utter shock on her face had been priceless.
When Julia had begun working for them a year ago, Derek had taken an instant liking to her. She was smart and funny and ridiculously sexy under all those layers of propriety and decorum. Before long they’d started chatting in the lunchroom about a whole range of subjects. They’d enjoyed each other’s company and become friends of a sort. But not once had he ever made reference to himself and Scott as a couple. It was an unspoken rule of his relationship with Scott. They kept their private life and their business life strictly separate. Derek didn’t like it. To him it had always felt like hiding. Scott preferred it that way, though, and Derek did his best to understand his partner’s needs. One day he hoped they could be more open with the people they spent so much time with. Until Scott was on board with the idea, however, they would continue to present themselves to the world at large as business partners, friends, and nothing more.
He’d never made an exception to the rule—until today. He’d done it because that’s exactly what he hoped Julia would become. An exception.
“A word, Derek?” Scott brushed past him on his way out of the conference room and into his own office down the hall.
Derek followed him in before closing the door. He leaned back against it, arms crossed over his chest, and watched Scott pace in front of his desk. That jaw of his was clenched tighter than an iron maiden. His fists balled at his sides. In fact, every inch of his delectable body was coiled with tension. Just as it always was after they’d spent time alone in a room with Julia. Only this time he used it to fuel his anger.
“What the hell are you doing?” Scott demanded.
“She’s leaving. After next week she won’t work for us anymore. It changes everything.” He knew, left to his own devices, Scott would continue to choke on his own lust until Julia disappeared from their lives forever. Derek had no intention of being that selfless. There were only a few days separating her from the end of her contract and he’d decided to take action.
“What are you talking about, Derek?”
“I’m talking about the way you look at her.” Derek waited for it. The stare. Scott didn’t disappoint.
“And how exactly do I look at her?” he asked, eyes sparking.
“Like you want to put a kink in her bun.”
Scott barked out a laugh. “You’ve got some way with words, man. A kink in her bun. I’ll have to remember that one.”
“Deny it all you want.” Derek pushed away from the door and crossed the few metres separating them. “I know you too well.”
Scott shot forward and wrapped one strong hand around the back of Derek’s neck, pulling him into a deep, mind-numbing kiss. Caught off guard, Derek groaned as the blunt edge of Scott’s teeth bit down into his lower lip, just hard enough to hurt, before his tongue ran over the sore spot. By the time Scott drew away, Derek was breathing hard, wanting more.
“You do know me,” Scott growled, his breath hot on Derek’s face. “You know you’re mine.”
Derek allowed a grin to spread across his mouth, his tongue curling up behind his teeth in wicked delight. “And she could be ours.”
Releasing his hold, Scott leaned back on the edge of his desk with a heavy sigh, long legs stretched out in front of him. “Don’t be ridiculous. She looks like a librarian. How do you think she’s going to react if we do this?”
“Do what? Show an interest? She’s a beautiful woman. I’m sure she’s used to having two men hit on her at the same time.”
“Yeah.” Scott snorted in amusement. “But I doubt they’re normally fucking each other as well.”
Derek shrugged. “A valid point, but that only makes us more appealing. We’re double the fun.” Moving closer, he slid one leg between the other man’s knees and curved a hand around the back of his neck before leaning down to murmur in his ear. “You feel it as much as I do. The need for soft skin and curves. Sinking into her hot, wet body.” He leaned closer, until his thigh nudged Scott’s groin. “I know you want her as much as I do.”
Scott didn’t reply, refused to so much as move a muscle, but Derek wasn’t fooled. He could see the way Scott’s hands gripped the edge of the desk beneath him until his knuckles were white. That wasn’t the only response to betray Scott’s desires. He could deny it if he wanted to, but his aroused cock said he was ready for the challenge winning Julia presented.
Satisfied, Derek pulled back to look into his lover’s eyes. “We’ve always known we were meant to have a third. After all these years, I think we may have finally found her. Just give it a chance.”
It was there in Scott’s eyes. Behind the gruff, brooding exterior. The uncertainty and wariness. “Don’t get your hopes up. She obviously likes you, but me?” He shook his head. “I’m not so sure she’ll want the package deal.”
Derek grinned and dropped a quick kiss on Scott’s lips before moving away. “Stop glaring at her,” he suggested in a bright tone as he headed for the doo
r. “That should help.”
Our Little Secret (Finding Forever, Book 1) is available now on Amazon.
Excerpt from Lost in Amber (Finding Forever, Book 2)
Chapter 1
Amber O’Hara stood on the footpath with only an umbrella to protect her from the rain and wondered if keeping her job was motivation enough to ruin her favourite pair of heels. Four metres of mud lay between her and the front porch of the almost complete house. Inside the house, her boss waited for her to deliver important documentation that required his immediate approval and signature. If she didn’t have the documents in the post by six o’clock, heads would roll. Her head, specifically.
Granted, with her current income she could easily afford to buy half a dozen pairs of shoes if she wished. But finding another pair of six-inch heels this comfortable would be like searching for the Holy Grail. Divine intervention would be required.
“Can I help you?”
The masculine drawl came from somewhere to her left and Amber turned her gaze from the inconveniently placed mud to see a pair of dirty work boots beside her. As she tilted her umbrella back, a pair of muscular legs came into view, followed by a body that knew exactly how to fill out a set of gardening clothes and did so admirably. Then her slow perusal reached his head and her admiration for his fine form choked up and died.
It wasn’t the liberal splattering of mud all over him that turned her off. She could appreciate the dishevelment that came from a hard day of manual labour. Nor was he unpleasant to look at. In fact, she would have considered him quite good-looking in a rough, uncompromising sort of way—if he wasn’t smirking at her.
Amber had no patience for men who smirked at women.
“I’m looking for Scott Mason,” she said. The rain had reduced to little more than a drizzle, so she closed her small umbrella with a snap.
The muddy gardener gestured to the house. “He’s inside somewhere.”
“Yes. That’s what I thought.” She eyed the mud again before asking, “Is there another way in?”
This Time Forever: Second Chance Romance (Finding Forever Book 3) Page 17
