Rooming With The CEO

LUTHER

Lilly tasted like candy. The kind you only get on Halloween, not available in stores all year round. She was a rare treat.

Oh, God, I was headed straight to Hell for this. My best friend’s little sister tasted like sin wrapped in chocolate. Her dirty-blonde hair tangled in my fingers, her breasts pressed against my chest, and her soft whimpers played on a loop in my mind.

She trailed one hand down my chest while the other tangled roughly in my hair. I loved the contrast of soft and hard.

I tugged at her hair, opening her mouth wider for me. Her knees buckled, and I wrapped my arm around her waist, holding her close.

Her tongue set a pace that was almost unbearable. I fought the urge to reach inside her robe and touch her naked skin. This was so, so wrong, but I couldn’t resist the addictive taste of her mouth.

The back door closed, snapping me out of my trance. Lilly pulled away from me, wiping her mouth with her fingertips, her gaze locked with mine.

“You two ditched me!” Aaron yelled.

Lilly and I exchanged a glance. Then I retreated to the bathroom that connected our rooms and shut the door.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins. I braced my hands against the bathroom counter and finally gathered the courage to look at myself in the mirror.

I was a creep—giving in to my worst impulses—taking advantage of my best friend’s little sister, when even now there was probably an email in my inbox detailing exactly how I was planning to add her to my payroll.

If Chad ever found out about this, he would literally kill me, and I couldn’t even blame him. But despite all that…I wanted to kiss Lilly again. And again.

“—where did you go?” Aaron asked Lilly. “We won, and you didn’t stick around to celebrate.”

“Sorry. I think I had too much sun. My shoulders are killing me,” she replied, her voice lighter than usual. I could only imagine the expression on her face.

“I have some cooling gel,” Aaron offered. “I’ll run and get it. It’ll help with the burn.”

My fingers clenched around the edge of the counter. I didn’t want his hands on her shoulders, but what could I do without giving myself away?

I stood up, ran my hands down my face, and retreated to my room. Aaron’s loud voice echoed down the hallway as he returned with the aloe and chatted with Lilly. I needed him to leave, and fast.

I grabbed my vibrating cell phone from the bed and answered, “What?”

“Ouch,” Henry said. “Someone’s in a bad mood, especially since on top of picking up all the slack with your clients while you fucked off today and yesterday, I’ve gotten our lawyers to expedite that contract you asked for.”

I sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry. My brother’s just annoying me today. You sent the contract already?”

Henry laughed half-heartedly. “Family. I get it. Um, can you talk me through how to save as a PDF real quick?”

With a sigh, I gave Henry the usual tech-support talk till the email pinged through on my laptop. “Okay, I got it. I’ll get back to you soon, and I’ll check in with some more clients this afternoon too. Thanks, Henry.”

“You got it. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Peachy,” I lied.

I spent the next hour reviewing the contract, redlining stuff that would need to be changed for Lilly’s protection. Then, as promised, I spent the rest of the afternoon calling clients from the back porch, avoiding Lilly and Aaron.

My body felt amazing. Like I was floating on cloud nine. But my mind was a mess.

The sun was setting when I heard Aaron moving around in the kitchen. After a few minutes, he opened the door. “Do you mind if I make some baked chicken tonight?”

“I don’t care,” I said shortly, jabbing at my keyboard with a little more force than strictly necessary.

He lingered at the door. “We need some chicken broth. I’m going to run to the store to get some. Do you need anything while I’m out?”

“Grab some wine.”

“Got it.” Aaron’s truck door slammed shut, and I listened as his tires crunched against the gravel. Knowing the store was only ten minutes away, I closed my laptop and walked into the villa.

Lilly was sitting on the loveseat with a sketchbook on her lap, staring out the window across the room. She straightened when I walked into the living room. “Hey,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

I walked over and sat on the ottoman in front of her. “We need to talk.”

She nodded. “Yeah, we do.”

I wanted to talk about my growing feelings for her, see if she felt the same way, but I was afraid it would come out wrong. “I’ve got the contract for our fake relationship. If you’re still up for that?”

“If I’m…” She cocked her head. “Yeah, sure. I guess. Get me a copy and I’ll look it over. But how does you kissing me fit into that?”

I grimaced. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

Lilly’s gaze met mine, and the sadness on her face hit me hard.

“I don’t regret it,” I said, resting my elbows on my knees. “But you’re Chad’s little sister—”

“I’m not a kid,” she interrupted.

I chuckled. “You’re right. You’re not. But you’re still a lot younger than me. I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to blur the lines between a fake relationship and a real one—no matter how much we might both want it.”

A blush spread across her small button nose. “Okay.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Okay?”

She shrugged. “What do you want me to say? Okay, I get it.”

Lilly stood up, grabbed her sketchbook, and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. She seemed irritated.

She downed her water, not moving when I stepped up behind her. “Don’t be mad,” I whispered in her ear. “I’m already struggling to do the right thing here.”

She turned her head slightly without looking at me. “I said okay. Am I supposed to be excited that you kissed me and then said it was a mistake?”

“No, you should be proud that I didn’t want to stop. If my brother hadn’t walked in, I’m sure I would’ve had you against the wall—indulging all those high school fantasies you had about me.”

Goosebumps formed on her neck. She slid away from me and headed for her bedroom, looking over her shoulder at me from the doorway. “My fantasies were…much more vivid than that,” she said.

She closed the door, and I heard the lock click into place.

If I hadn’t wanted her before, I did now. My mind filled with what ifs. What if I did kiss her again? What if I tackled her to the bed and licked every inch of her? What if I tore up that contract and asked her to be my girlfriend for real?

Could I truly keep my distance from her? Would it be so bad to have just one more taste?