Aubrey's adorable blush was interrupted by her phone going off. Mentally I cursed whoever was cock blocking me during our intimate tasting.
Like a flipped switch, Aubrey's whole demeanor changed the moment she glanced at her phone screen. Her plump lips pressed together tightly in a frown, her eyebrows furrowed with tension, and her hands began to shake. Whatever was on her phone made her look like a ghost passed through her.
"Aubrey, what's wrong?" I asked, reaching for her other hand on the bar.
"It's nothing."
She turned the phone face down and stretched to put it several feet away, out of reach on the bar and gave me a strained smile.
"Let's keep tasting."
I relented but shifted my eyes to Aubrey's phone as she explained the next beer. It may have been out of her reach but it certainly wasn't out of mine.
Whatever she saw appeared to have shaken her up even more than that asshole we got arrested. Her pride and enthusiasm for her work were zapped out of her. She spoke robotically as we continued our tasting and her emerald eyes no longer held that spirited passion.
The abrupt shift in her demeanor tugged at my heart. Her spirit and passion were not only an asset to the company, but they drew me to her like a moth to a flame. If that flame went out, it would be bad for me financially and kill the invisible spark that ignited between us.
I bided my time, knowing as we continued to drink more, our inhibitions would loosen and our reflexes would slow down. I'd get to the bottom of whatever was killing her spirit, dragging her down to some sad place where she had no business being.
We got through all twelve beers in the lineup in the next hour. The tastes were small, but some of the beers were strong. I felt the warm, pleasant tingles of tipsiness throughout my limbs and I knew Aubrey did too, even more so than I. The girl may have had a high tolerance but she was still smaller than me.
The moment she turned to put our tasting glasses in the dishwasher, I pounced.
I reached for her phone and unlocked the home screen within one second.
"Hey, what are you doing!" she shrieked and grabbed for the phone from across the bar, but I waved it out of her reach easily.
By the time she ran around the bar to my side and snatched the phone from my hands, I already opened the message and saw what had been sent to her from an unsaved number.
It was an amateur photo of a thin, blonde woman giving a guy a blowjob. Her mouth was all the way down his shaft and his hand was on her head, holding her hair back while also pushing her head down on his dick. The perspective of the photo was from above, clearly shot by the guy receiving the blowjob.
The text with the photo read, "Too bad u like being a gross fat bitch more than sucking cock like a real woman :)".
Aubrey looked ready to cry. I sat momentarily stunned.
That message was the last thing I expected to see. A simmering anger rumbled beneath my skin. I immediately wanted to murder whoever was cowardly enough to call Aubrey those things.
"Who's that from?" I asked as calmly as I could muster.
"My ex-boyfriend," she answered quietly. "I never read them anymore. I just delete them."
My eyes widened. "What do you mean them? There's more of that garbage?"
She nodded. "Ever since we broke up about six months ago. Sometimes it's only one a week. Lately it's almost every day."
"What the fuck..."
I couldn't wrap my head around how utterly psychotic that was. My simmering anger turned up to a full-on boil. Sending insulting, pornographic messages every day?
He was a special kind of scumbag. Even I didn’t feel that jilted by my exes. I wished he had the balls to show up in person so I could punch his fucking teeth out.
"Why don't you go to the police?" I asked. "That shit is definitely harassment."
She lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug and I hated seeing her look so defeated.
"He texts from a different number every time. I don't know how he does it. I block all of them but it's always a new number. And I always delete them 'cause I can't stand having that on my phone."
Her voice began to waver as her lips trembled. She looked off into a distant corner of the room, staring at nothing. My heart ached and I could only imagine how she felt.
One way or another, the bastard would pay. I'd make sure of that.
I put my hands on her shoulders, gently rubbing over her soft skin with my thumbs. She didn't respond to my touch. She was somewhere else.
"Let me talk to Christian," I urged gently. "This has to be illegal. He'll send this shithead into a jail cell with his pathetic tail between his legs."
"No!" she cried, looking directly at me for the first time. "I don't want to repeat everything he's said to me. I'll have to rehash this and have it thrown in my face all over again."
She had a point. If he was any bit as slimy as he seemed, he'd fight tooth and nail and she'd have to testify in court. Traumatic wouldn't even begin to describe it.
That didn't matter. If it came to it, I'd hunt down the coward myself and make him wish he didn't have bones in his face.
I touched the tip of my tongue to the scar on my lip. It had been a few years since I tasted a good fight. Any man who treated a gorgeous, strong, talented woman this way deserved a good old-fashioned beat down.
"Don't worry, babe," I told her. "We'll figure something out."
She looked at me and for a moment I saw the spark in her eyes return.
The next thing I knew, she grabbed one of the half-full taster glasses with lightning speed and flung the liquid in my face.
CHAPTER 10
AUBREY
I didn’t know it was possible to feel everything I was feeling.
Ugly and hurt, ashamed and embarrassed, but most of all, pissed off and turned on.
It seemed like a weird combination but Logan had been turning me on all night during our tasting. When he had the fucking audacity to look at my phone without my permission, I was so mad I wanted to slap him.
And then kiss him.
I’m not a violent person though, so I did the next best thing and threw a few drops of beer in his face. But I still wasn’t convinced that he found me attractive even if he did indirectly call me beautiful earlier, so I didn’t kiss him.
He didn’t seem to care about the beer in his face, even though a few drops landed on his blue t-shirt that probably cost more than my weekly salary. I opened my mouth to apologize but promptly shut it.
“I probably deserve that,” he said sheepishly, wiping his face with a fresh bar towel.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t make a habit of reading private messages if I were you,” I replied more bitingly than I intended. But I was secretly grateful that he did.
Because it was beyond fucking sexy how protective he was of me after I spilled everything about Andy’s messages. Of course, I was embarrassed beyond belief but it also felt good that someone else knew. For six long months, I took his abusive messages silently and alone, trying to convince myself that it didn’t bother me and would stop eventually. But it felt good to have someone else in my corner.
Without warning, Logan untucked the hem of his shirt from his jeans and began peeling it off.
It seemed to happen in slow motion, which delighted my feasting eyes but my brain screamed what is happening right now.
He did that thing where he crossed his forearms in front of him before grabbing at the bottom and slowly lifting up. The shirt hem slid up higher his torso, revealing the narrow V-shape of his hips and taut, tanned skin. Clearly, he spent plenty of time without his shirt on.
The fabric climbed higher, showing rigid ab muscles and two well-defined pecs with a sprinkle of dark chest hair. The space between them on his chest looked like a cozy spot to rest my head.
Finally, he pulled one arm from the sleeve, uncrossed his arms and removed the shirt completely. Sitting relaxed and cocky on that barstool with his arms at his sides, his body looked even more lithe, powerful, an
d ready to pounce than in my fantasies.
My heart thundered arduously in my chest as I just stared at him, while my pussy hollowed out and basically opened itself up immediately. It had been nearly a year since I'd been with a man, and longer than that since it was actually good.
"Uh. Okay, Magic Mike," was all I could say.
"You got beer on my shirt. You owe me a new one," he teased.
"Yeah, right," I scoffed. "That thing probably cost my entire paycheck."
He nodded and looked around thoughtfully before picking up another half-full taster glass and swinging his arm back with threatening momentum.
"Fair is fair, right?" he said with a shit-eating grin.
"No!” I cried, covering myself. “Don't you dare!"
Too late.
Logan flung the liquid straight at my face. I had just enough time to shut my eyelids tightly before the cold, sticky liquid splashed onto my eyebrows and forehead.
"Fuck!" I gasped, already feeling it seep between my eyelashes.
"Haha, alright! Come here."
With my eyes squeezed shut, I felt Logan gently pull my hands forward. Then a warm, wet cloth gently wiped at my eyes.
As I blindly tried to feel my surroundings, my hand brushed against the large powerful thigh muscles in Logan’s leg. I pulled my hand back to my chest as if I'd been burned.
"Relax, I almost got all of it." Logan chuckled and I felt the warm puffs of his breath on my lips. "I got you good."
"Yeah, I wouldn't exactly call that fair. I didn't almost blind you."
Two of his fingers gently cupped under my chin as he switched to a dry towel to wipe my face.
"You're really beautiful, Aubrey. Even with your face coated in beer."
All the teasing and humor left his voice. He sounded nothing but tender and caring and it pulled at my heart.
Why would he say that? Even if he meant it, he was my boss. I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t flattered by it, though. Those words were so rarely directed at me.
Still, I didn't know how to react to such a sudden shift in his mood and the conversation.
"You can open your eyes now."
I blinked carefully and realized his ruggedly handsome face with that dark red beard and piercing blue eyes encompassed all of my vision. His face was only inches away from mine and his fingers remained cupped under my chin.
"Ah," he said softly, glancing at my thirsty, parted mouth and running his thumb over my lower lip. "I missed a spot."
CHAPTER 11
AUBREY
Logan’s kiss connected to my mouth in even slower motion than taking his shirt off, but that was probably because of how much I was dying to taste it.
His hand held my chin firmly yet gently. When his lips barely brushed against mine, his tongue darted out to lick the sweetness that coated my lips.
“Mmm,” he murmured. “It’s even more delicious straight from your mouth.”
I jerked away, suddenly feeling painfully self-conscious and vulnerable. This could not happen.
“Look, you don’t have to do this just because you feel bad for me,” I said. “My ex is a shithead but I can deal with him.”
His incredulous look was the only thing I saw for a fraction of a second before his hand cradled the back of my head and pulled me in for a proper deep, passionate kiss.
I reacted just as I knew I would. As I dreamed and fantasized I would.
My body melted into a puddle as our lips and mouths gently investigated each other. The only solid points on my body were my nipples, pebbled and aching for touch, and my clit pulsing with a need for release.
Somehow my hands found his bare, warm shoulders, hard and flexed from the coiled muscles underneath. I steadied myself against him as if to find solid ground, or else I might float away on the blissful taste of his kiss.
As his tongue swept across mine, his palms caressed down over my neck and shoulders to rest in the curve of my lower back. He pulled me into him insistently as if he couldn't get enough of me.
He was so fucking manly I thought my ovaries would explode. Everything from the rough texture on his beard to his passionate kisses and the firmness of his hands on me. He took what he wanted and apparently that was me. Chubby, unsexy me.
"I don't feel sorry for you, Aubrey," he breathed into my ear when his mouth detached from mine. "I admire you. I respect you. And I fucking want you."
If my panties weren't pooled with wetness already, they flooded after hearing that.
No one had ever spoken to me like that and it was beyond flattering. My spine came alive with renewed energy. It was so unbelievably hot to be wanted to that degree.
So unbelievable that it felt too good to be true.
"Why me?" I asked, my voice small and insecure. "I mean, you could have anyone you want. Why not Bella or someone else that’s... you know, in your league."
He cupped my chin in his hand again and made me face him. I could almost cry at how devastatingly handsome he was. He wasn't perfect, but that made him even hotter and more interesting. His scars and reddish beard that didn't match his hair all played their parts in constructing this beautiful man who looked deeply into my eyes and saw the real me.
"You are what I want." He stated it like a fact of nature and emphasized his point further by cupping my ass with his other hand. "These curves have been killing me since I first saw you. And that saucy little attitude when we first met made me want to spank this juicy ass of yours."
My body felt aflame with liquid heat. Whether it was from being insanely turned on or embarrassed, I wasn't sure.
I'd always been self-conscious of my big hips and ass. Andy always hated when I accidentally knocked something off a table with my ass. I found it to be the main source of my clumsiness.
"None of what your asshole ex said was true," Logan said sharply as if reading my mind. "Not a fucking word. You're gorgeous, Aubrey. Dare I say perfect."
"Stop," I said, turning my face away bashfully but I couldn't hide the smile creeping across my face. Was I actually starting to believe him? Did hot girls really hear compliments like these on a daily basis? For once I felt like a goddess. Feminine, desirable, and sexy.
Logan gently pulled me closer by the hand again. Keeping his eyes locked onto mine, he tenderly kissed the center of my palm. Electricity shot through my arm straight to my heart, which beat against my ribs like a caged animal.
Slowly, he trailed my fingertips down the center of his chest, over the firm ridges of his abdomen, and rested my hand directly over the top of his jeans.
I gasped.
His bulge was massive and hard as concrete. Even through his jeans, I felt it twitch and press against the fabric.
"I want you so bad, babe," he said in a low voice.
My mouth watered. I wanted him too. So badly.
Using light pressure, I slid my hand along the outline of his shaft. His eyelids closed halfway and he let out a gentle moan. I captured his open mouth with mine, feeling newly emboldened and not giving a fuck about the consequences.
So I was making out with my sexy, shirtless boss, so what? I wasn’t the first woman in history to do so. If he made me feel beyond what any man ever had, what was the harm? We were mature adults, we could handle the consequences.
His hands encircled my waist and pulled me firmly against him. I allowed my hands to explore, roaming across the wide, muscular expanse of his back and shoulders. My skin felt alive with electricity as we explored, tasted, and felt each other.
He felt so solid compared to my soft flesh, but I was too busy feeling amazing and filled with lust to care about my jiggliness. I felt like an ocean wave crashing against a rock, like I could throw myself at him again and again and he would remain standing.
His hands crept under my shirt and massaged over my skin before pulling it over my head and throwing it into some dark corner of the tasting room.
A wave of goosebumps covered my skin but he just wrapped more of himself around me and
smoothed his hands over my flesh. For once I felt small, fragile and protected.
"Fuck me, you're amazing," he whispered into the crook of my neck as he navigated the clasp of my bra and conquered it with ease.
His kisses moved to my shoulders and collarbone as he pulled down my bra straps and released my breasts from their prison.
I tensed up momentarily but softened as his kiss returned to my mouth and the warm skin of his chest pressed to mine. My breasts have always gotten unwanted attention from men and I hated how they were the sexual focus of my body. But Logan caressed and massaged them gently, giving them just as much attention as every other part of me he touched.
My nipples ached with painful need for release but he circled his thumbs just around my areolas, teasing me.
"I'm taking my time with you, babe," he murmured against my lips and I could hear the smirk in his voice. “I can’t rush through something as good as this.”
He dragged his mouth down my neck, kissing every inch as I shivered from the prickly hairs on his face. I looked down as my hands massaged over his scalp and I noticed a few silver hairs among the dark brown locks.
He kissed me lower still, tantalizingly slowly over the tops of my breasts. Then finally taking one of my swollen peaks in his mouth and pinching it between his teeth.
"Ah!" I cried out at how sensitive it felt. They hadn't been touched in ages but it still felt so good, just towing the line between pain and pleasure.
He released my nipple with his teeth and soothingly caressed his tongue over it, swirling and gently sucking before moving on to the other one.
His free hand gripped my leg, delivering circled strokes with his thumb along my inner thigh as he grew closer and closer to my begging, soaking pussy.
A moan so primal and involuntary escaped my mouth when his hand pressed to my clit. Instinctively, my hips pushed back against his hand to increase the pressure. Between his mouth on my nipple, one hand wrapped around me tightly with the other on my clit, plus the simple fact that it was him doing all of this to me, I almost came right then.
Big Bad Boss: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance Page 6
