Read Online Beyond Broken (The Bay Boys #3) by Emilia Winters - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Emilia Winters
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I breathe at all? Come on, there must be something.”
Just to appease her, he said, “Now that you mention it, I hate the way you rustle through papers. Fix it.”
“Did you just make a joke?” she asked. Her eyes were twinkling with merriment and Caleb didn’t remember the last time he’d talked to a woman with that look of ease on her face. Sure, he’d socialized with his friends’ girlfriends, but he only interacted with them sparingly, and they knew to keep their distance. “Why, Caleb, I’m shocked.”
The sound of his name rolling off her tongue did things to him. More things than what she already did to him. He was glad there was a desk between them because for more than a brief moment he entertained the notion of bending her over it.
Again, that feeling of discomfort came over him.
“Well, you’ll be pleased to know that I won’t be rustling through papers as much. I think I’ve finished organizing and I’ll need that laptop you said you had.”
“You should go home,” he found himself saying. Maybe he wouldn’t feel this way if she was out of his office. Out of his immediate reach. “You can start with the laptop tomorrow.”
She cocked her head to the side. “I’d rather start tonight.”
“Why? I thought you’d love getting out of here as quickly as you could.”
“I’d just like to get a jumpstart while all of this,” she waved a hand behind her at the newly organized and stacked boxes, “is fresh in my mind. Besides, I have fewer lectures tomorrow, so I don’t have a ton of work to finish tonight. Tomorrow night is a different story though and I might be a little late getting here because I have to meet with a professor around four in the afternoon. I forgot to mention that but—”
“You’re rambling, princess,” he snapped, hating how he also filed away that she was a student.
She bit her lip, as though she had to physically stop herself from talking. “Sorry.”
Now, he felt like an asshole. Great. He rose to his feet, hoping that his erection wouldn’t be as visible through his black jeans. “Fine. I’ll set you up,” he said, but his tone sounded impatient.
A few minutes later, he managed to dig out his uncle’s laptop from the office closet. And then he also brought out a spare chair and a foldout table and set up a work space for her near the far end of the office, the furthest away from his own desk. If she noticed, she didn’t comment on it. He was aware that she was watching him work and her gaze felt almost like a touch. He barely refrained from shuddering.
He wasn’t sure if the laptop would even boot up. It hadn’t been used since his uncle had passed away—hell, even before then—so he was surprised when the blue screen flashed on.
“There,” he murmured, wiping away dust from the table with his bare hands and wiping them on his jeans.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. She brushed past him to take a seat. Fists clenching, Caleb did everything possible not to drag her closer. That same fresh, citrus smell permeated his senses, making his mouth water. He wanted to kiss her skin, to bury his face in the crook of her neck, to drown in that scent.
He cleared his throat and stepped away, watching the laptop boot up. An uncomfortable and charged silence stretched between them as she too stared at the screen. When it finally loaded and Caleb saw what the desktop image was, he felt like he’d been kicked in the gut.
It was of him and his uncle on a fishing trip. His uncle had loved to fish; Caleb liked it enough because it made his uncle happy. They were both smiling, holding up their catches of the day, his uncle’s arm wrapped around his shoulders even though Caleb dwarfed him.
The picture was taken shortly after Stella, his aunt, had left. A ball of fury rose up within him whenever he thought of her, a clawing, desperate sensation that
Just to appease her, he said, “Now that you mention it, I hate the way you rustle through papers. Fix it.”
“Did you just make a joke?” she asked. Her eyes were twinkling with merriment and Caleb didn’t remember the last time he’d talked to a woman with that look of ease on her face. Sure, he’d socialized with his friends’ girlfriends, but he only interacted with them sparingly, and they knew to keep their distance. “Why, Caleb, I’m shocked.”
The sound of his name rolling off her tongue did things to him. More things than what she already did to him. He was glad there was a desk between them because for more than a brief moment he entertained the notion of bending her over it.
Again, that feeling of discomfort came over him.
“Well, you’ll be pleased to know that I won’t be rustling through papers as much. I think I’ve finished organizing and I’ll need that laptop you said you had.”
“You should go home,” he found himself saying. Maybe he wouldn’t feel this way if she was out of his office. Out of his immediate reach. “You can start with the laptop tomorrow.”
She cocked her head to the side. “I’d rather start tonight.”
“Why? I thought you’d love getting out of here as quickly as you could.”
“I’d just like to get a jumpstart while all of this,” she waved a hand behind her at the newly organized and stacked boxes, “is fresh in my mind. Besides, I have fewer lectures tomorrow, so I don’t have a ton of work to finish tonight. Tomorrow night is a different story though and I might be a little late getting here because I have to meet with a professor around four in the afternoon. I forgot to mention that but—”
“You’re rambling, princess,” he snapped, hating how he also filed away that she was a student.
She bit her lip, as though she had to physically stop herself from talking. “Sorry.”
Now, he felt like an asshole. Great. He rose to his feet, hoping that his erection wouldn’t be as visible through his black jeans. “Fine. I’ll set you up,” he said, but his tone sounded impatient.
A few minutes later, he managed to dig out his uncle’s laptop from the office closet. And then he also brought out a spare chair and a foldout table and set up a work space for her near the far end of the office, the furthest away from his own desk. If she noticed, she didn’t comment on it. He was aware that she was watching him work and her gaze felt almost like a touch. He barely refrained from shuddering.
He wasn’t sure if the laptop would even boot up. It hadn’t been used since his uncle had passed away—hell, even before then—so he was surprised when the blue screen flashed on.
“There,” he murmured, wiping away dust from the table with his bare hands and wiping them on his jeans.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. She brushed past him to take a seat. Fists clenching, Caleb did everything possible not to drag her closer. That same fresh, citrus smell permeated his senses, making his mouth water. He wanted to kiss her skin, to bury his face in the crook of her neck, to drown in that scent.
He cleared his throat and stepped away, watching the laptop boot up. An uncomfortable and charged silence stretched between them as she too stared at the screen. When it finally loaded and Caleb saw what the desktop image was, he felt like he’d been kicked in the gut.
It was of him and his uncle on a fishing trip. His uncle had loved to fish; Caleb liked it enough because it made his uncle happy. They were both smiling, holding up their catches of the day, his uncle’s arm wrapped around his shoulders even though Caleb dwarfed him.
The picture was taken shortly after Stella, his aunt, had left. A ball of fury rose up within him whenever he thought of her, a clawing, desperate sensation that
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