Piece of Me (Behind These Eyes Book 2)

by A. J. Daniels

  “You can say that again,” I whisper.

  I feel like a grade-A bitch for not even acknowledging Jason when he entered the kitchen. I knew he was there the minute he turned the corner. I could feel his eyes on me but I chose to ignore it. To ignore him.

  I just wasn’t ready to deal with the aftermath of last night and waking up to find him butt naked in my bed this morning.

  “Can we just change the subject, please?” I beg.

  “How’s the new job going?” Dani asks over her shoulder while she helps Bella stir the chili.

  I shrug. “So far, so good. I haven’t met my boss yet.”

  “Aren’t you the assistant to the CEO?” Alice asks.

  I nod. “I am, but he’s been away on a business trip this entire week. I’ll probably get to meet him next week when he gets back.”

  “Aunty Kat, will you come to my game?” Bella asks, climbing down from her step stool.

  Danielle laughs. “They finally have their first game this weekend and Bell just made defense. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Parker as happy as he was when she told him she wanted to play soccer this summer and hockey in the winter.”

  “Will you come, Aunty Kat? Please? Aunt Alice already said she would come,” Bella pleads next to me.

  “Sure thing, Princess. I’ll be there,” I smile down at her.

  Her excitement is radiating off her in waves. I don’t think I’ve seen Bella this happy or excited about something since Danielle and Parker’s wedding several months ago.

  “Yay! I’m going to go tell Dad that you’re coming,” Bella yells, turning on her heels and racing down the hallway.

  “Some days that kid makes me feel old,” Danielle shakes her head. “I wish I had half her energy.”

  “Just wait until she turns sixteen or starts dating,” Alice teases.

  Danielle groans. “Parker’s already said she’s not allowed to date until she’s thirty. I swear he’s building his gun collection just for the day she brings home a boy.”

  “I feel sorry for the poor bastard. He’ll have not one but three over-protective males to get through before he can take that girl on a date,” Alice adds and the three of us laugh at the thought of Parker, Jason, and Mike standing in a protective line between Bella and her date. Think Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys II but bigger and scarier.

  “So, what kind of company are you working for, Kat? I feel like I’ve been out of the loop with Bell’s adoption and then the wedding,” Danielle says over her shoulder while taking down plates to set the table.

  “It’s an advertising company but they also own a whole bunch of media outlets like a local TV station, newspapers, and magazines.”

  “According to every article ever written about the CEO, David Walker, he felt that local artists and business weren’t getting the recognition they deserved and he didn’t want to see them being eaten up by big corporations, so he built Walker Advertising from the ground up starting when he was twenty-two and fresh out of university,” Alice adds.

  “He has his hand in a variety of other companies as well. The advertising firm is just one under the Walker umbrella.”

  “Well, I’m happy for you, Kat.”

  “Thanks, D. This job will definitely get me that much closer to my dream job. This was the foot in the door that I needed.”

  After we’ve set the table, Dani pokes her head around the corner to the hallway and calls, “dinner’s ready!”

  ***

  As always, I’m running early and nobody is at the rec centre yet for Bella’s soccer game. So, while I wait for the rest of the group to get here, I crank up the A/C in my car and lean my seat back a little, getting lost in the voices of Lee Brice and Chris Young. I may have been raised in the city all my life but I’m not your typical city girl. I love country music, spending hours at the range, going 4x4-ing, and I’m not completely opposed to going hunting one day. I’m not afraid to get dirty and I practically live in jeans and tank tops. Alice is constantly chastising me about my wardrobe but I can’t help that I think wearing dresses and skirts is dreadfully uncomfortable. It used to drive my mother nuts too. But everything about me used to drive my mother nuts, even my existence.

  A loud rap on my passenger window causes my heart to jump up my throat. When I look over, Jay’s wearing a shit-eating grin. My first thought was to just leave him out there but then my eyes fall and landed on two venti sized coffee cups. That is the only reason I find myself pressing the button to unlock the passenger door for him.

  “You’ve got to stop sneaking up on me like that,” I huff while he settles himself into the seat of my Honda Civic.

  Jay doesn’t say anything just laughs and hands me one of the cups before reaching over and turning down the A/C. I shoot him my best impression of a death glare as he turns it all the way down. I love the summer and the heat but it’s currently forty degrees Celsius outside and heading towards the end of August.

  The smooth taste of espresso, steamed milk, and extra caramel syrup makes me sigh in contentment.

  “You’re forgiven,” I tell him before taking another sip of the heavenly drink.

  He chuckles, “I should be for what that drink costs.”

  “Hey, no talking smack about the drink of the gods.”

  He holds up both hands, one palm out facing me, the other holding onto his own coffee cup. “Won’t happen again,” he teases.

  “How’d you know I would be here already anyway?”

  He smirks. “You’ve always been early to everything ever since I met you. I think it’s physically impossible for you to be late, Kat.”

  He’s got a point. My anxiety is a contradictory bitch. On one hand, it takes me forever to talk myself into leaving my apartment but then it also never allows me to be late. The thought of being late makes me sick to my stomach. In university, if I knew that I was going to be late getting to a class, I just wouldn’t go. There’s nothing worse than walking in late to a lecture with a hundred other students and have everyone turn to look at you as the door creaks closed behind you. Why are the doors to lecture halls always so damn loud?

  “How long have you been here?” he asks, lowering his cup.

  I shrug. “Got here a couple minutes before you knocked,” I lie.

  Jay eyes me for what feels like forever, before a knowing smile appears on his sexy as fuck face. Seriously, why does this man have to be so damn good looking? It should be a sin to look that hot. I hate that he’s able to read me so easily too. He seems to always know when I’m trying to bullshit my way out of something and he calls me on it. Every. Damn. Time.

  “How long have you really been here, Katherine?”

  Fuck me. the full name, really?

  He had to go there. Nobody calls me Katherine, except for my mother dearest. And that’s exactly why I hate it. But coming from his mouth, I think it’s the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever heard.

  A sigh escapes passed my lips when I lower my head and answer his question. “Twenty minutes.”

  “Now, was that so hard?” he laughs.

  “Fuck you,” I spit out, attempting to dramatically cross my arms until I remember the coffee cup I’m holding and refusing to give up possession of it. I’m not even sure why I said that. I think I’m just trying to be difficult and give him a hard time. Or I’m trying to cover up the way his eyes on me and that knowing smile are affecting me. It’s probably the latter one.

  “Baby, you know I’d be up for round two. You just gotta say the word,” he teases.

  “You’re insatiable,” I roll my eyes.

  “Only when it comes to you,” he concludes as we see Parker and Danielle’s Subaru SUV pull up.

  Bella is adorable in her tiny soccer uniform. She’s still a little unsure on the field but she’s a lot more confident since the time we were at the rec centre last year. Parker must have been getting her on the field a lot more this season.

  Just as Bella runs by us with a wave, my phone pings with
a text. I move my coffee to my other hand and dig around in my purse until my fingers wrap around the cold metal. One of these days I swear I will get a case for it, but I keep forgetting every time I’m around the mall.

  Jay: You up for a trip to the range after this?

  Me: Heck yes!

  I’m so excited to hit the range with Jay I can’t sit still anymore; my knees bounce with the thought of trying out the new gun he bought me for my birthday. It is a matte pink FMK 9C1 G2 9mm and I haven’t had a chance to take it out yet in the two months I’ve owned it. Pink isn’t normally the color I would gravitate towards but, in the case of this gun, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

  It may have something to do with the person who bought it for me.

  ***

  “Okay, don’t laugh,” I look over at Jay. “It’s been a while since I’ve done this.”

  His idea of a range was to drive past the city limits to the woods in the middle of nowhere and set up some beer can targets.

  “How long’s a while?”

  “Um, never. I’ve never done this,” I reply, slipping my hands in the front pockets of my jeans.

  Hey, I never said what kind of range I spent hours at.

  He laughs like he doesn’t believe me. “You’ve never done this?”

  “I always wanted to and I do plan on getting my restricted license but I just never had the time…until now.”

  “Jesus, Kat. I gave you that gun thinking you already had your license. You could’ve told me you didn’t have it yet. You know it’s illegal for you to have that gun without your license?” He rakes a hand through his blond hair.

  “I know, and I was going to tell you. But who better to teach me than an ex-special ops member and current RCMP officer?” I ask in the sweetest voice I can and hope that he doesn’t make us leave.

  He studies me for what feels like forever before he drops his hand from around the back of his neck. “Fuck. Okay, look. If anyone asks, we went to grab a couple of beers instead.” He points at me. “And the gun stays at my house until you get that license.”

  I’m bouncing on the balls of my feet. I’m thrilled and relieved that he didn’t make us leave and take my gun away. “Deal.”

  “Grab your gun then come over here.”

  I do what he says and take the FMK from its case before walking over to where he’s standing about forty-five feet from the cans. He moves behind me placing his hands on my hips, his touch searing the skin above the waistband of my shorts.

  “Stand with your legs about shoulder-width apart. Keep your knees flexed but not bent,” he instructs and I do as I’m told. His hands move up my sides and lift my arms to where they’re supposed to be. “Arms fully extended.” After he makes sure that my hands are in the right position on the handgun, they go back to gripping my hips pressing himself into me when he whispers into my ear, “bend forward slightly at your hips.”

  I hear him take a sharp intake of air when I do as I’m told, his cock jumping slightly behind his zipper. Shivers rake up my body with his closeness and feeling his warm breath on my skin.

  “When you’re ready, take the safety off. Take a deep breath and when you exhale, pull the trigger.”

  I do as he says and watch as the first can falls over right after I pull the trigger.

  “I did it!” I squeal as he slips the pistol from my hands and puts the safety back on.

  “That was a good shot, Kat. Want to go again?” He holds the gun out to me with a raised eyebrow.

  “Oh, hell yes,” I grab the pistol from his hand and turn back towards the targets, getting into position and taking the safety off.

  We spend the better part of the next hour shooting different targets he had brought with us. By the time we’re done, my hands, shoulders and wrists are killing me, and despite the cooler temperature outside now that the sun is starting to set, I’m overheating. Every time I missed a shot or got frustrated, Jay would press himself up behind me again and correct my stance. I don’t know what frustrated me more, when I missed a shot, or feeling him so close and hating myself for putting us strictly in the friends category.

  He laughs when he catches me rubbing my shoulder with a pained look on my face. “A hot shower and an ice pack will work wonders on that.”

  “Probably,” I agree. “But I was thinking more along the lines of a cold beer.”

  He chuckles. “Okay, get your stuff and let’s go.”

  It doesn’t take us long to gather up our belongings and locate as many of the spent shells as we could find among the fallen leaves. In no time, we’re climbing into the cab of his truck.

  “Thanks for letting me tag along with you,” I allow my head to lazily roll against the headrest and smile over at him.

  “Anytime,” he smiles over at me before throwing the truck into drive and intertwining his fingers with mine on the armrest between our two seats.

  This should be the time when I remove my hand and straighten up in my seat while reminding myself why this isn’t a good idea. But it’s been a long day and I’m exhausted. And truth be told, his touch offers a comfort that I could get used to. It makes me feel safe and wanted. It’s knowing that no matter what happens I’ll always have a place to come back to.

  It feels like home.

  That’s the last thing that goes through my mind before my lids drift close, the beer forgotten.

  3. Dangerous

  Katherine

  “Come in,” his voice booms from behind the closed door.

  My breath hitches when I push open the heavy office door. Cerulean eyes look tentatively up at me from under long dark lashes. His dark hair is neatly cropped and styled back.

  “Mr. Walker.”

  I walk further into the large room approaching the front of his desk with my hand outstretched. “I’m Kat Young. Your new assistant.”

  He doesn’t stand up to greet me, preferring to stay seated in the leather chair behind his desk. His nostrils flare when I slip my hand into his to shake and something close to a static shock shoots up my hand. His eyes fly to where our hands are connected before finding my face again.

  Letting go of my hand he motions for me to take a seat at one of the chairs on the other side of his desk. Leaning back in his chair, he rests his elbows on the armrests and steeples his fingers in front of him, his eyes narrowing on me.

  “So, Katherine, I assume the rest of my staff has been welcoming to you. I do apologize for my absence during your first week, but that trip could not have been postponed.”

  “It’s Kat,” I correct, absently playing with the bracelet around my right wrist.

  “Kat,” he repeats, a flicker in his blue eyes.

  My name on his lips does something to my body that I can’t really explain. His voice sends waves of shivers up my body. There’s almost something sinister in it.

  I should be paying attention to what he’s saying but I’m not hearing a single word. Everything else fades away as the rest of my senses are honed in on his body. The way he carries himself, even just sitting behind his black marble desk.

  The way he fills out every inch of his custom-made Italian suit. The slight stubble lining his jaw, not enough to be considered a beard but just enough to make him slightly more good looking. His lips are curled up into a smirk and it’s then that I realize he’s no longer speaking.

  Good job, Kat. Way to make an impression with this first meeting.

  “I’m sorry. What was that last part?”

  “I’d like you to sit in on the meeting with the new client next week. Gail usually does it and takes the meeting minutes but she’s requested that day off so you must take over for her. Will that be a problem, Kat?”

  “No, Sir.”

  “Great. You can start gathering all the information from her after you get my coffee. A double espresso. And I need you to research the client’s new hotel chain and give me everything you find.”

  I can feel his eyes track me as I make my way out of his office. I
t makes me want to cover my behind with my hands and scamper out of his office, willing him to stop looking at my ass. It’s not like I’m even wearing a form fitting skirt.

  ***

  During my research, I find that one of the client’s new hotels houses dolphins. My heart sinks with the realization that the company I work for is supporting a business that thinks it’s okay to glorify mammals in captivity. It goes against everything I stand for.

  But there’s a possibility that Mr. Walker might have no idea where these dolphins come from. Now I have a dilemma. Do I tell him? Do I up and quit? Or do I keep my head down and my mouth shut?

  Only two of those don’t go against the type of person I am, and I quite like my job. It’s decided; I’ll take him the information I’ve found and then ask if he knew where they acquire their dolphins.

  My palms are sweaty as I push open his office door after I’ve knocked.

  “I have that research you asked for,” I hold up the file in front of me as I approach his desk.

  “Thank you. You can just set it down.” He doesn’t look up from the papers he’s signing.

  I do as he says and place the file on his desk off to the side. I run my hands down my pencil skirt nervously and almost chicken out before straightening my spine and taking a deep breath.

  “Sir? There’s something in the research of their hotel chain that bothered me.”

  He glances up from his paperwork, his blue eyes unnerving me, his pen stopping mid-sign. “What is it?”

  Suddenly, with his eyes and full attention locked on me, my throat goes dry and all thought leaves me and I can’t remember what I was planning on saying. Not because I’m attracted to him, even though he’s a good-looking guy, but there’s something not quite right with the way he looks at me. The way his gaze rakes over my body makes me uncomfortable.

  Damnit, there was a reason I brought it up…

  “Kat,” he prompts.

  Oh right! Dolphins.

  “Do you know where they get the dolphins for the aquariums at their hotels?”