Chapter 20

20

NIALL

A fter a weekend tangled in the sheets with Tallulah, I sat down in my office with only one thing on my mind—my girl.

These last couple days had been some of the best of my life and I couldn’t stop smiling. It was awful but wonderfully so.

For the first time in my life, I’d spent an entire weekend in just one woman’s company, and instead of getting bored, I was more intrigued by her than ever before. We’d talked, and laughed, and joked around. We’d cleaned up the decorations after the party and ended up fooling around in a pile of fake bats and spiderwebs.

We’d cooked together, showered together, and she’d told me a few more things she wanted to try together at some point. All in all, it really hadn’t felt like a one-and-done thing, and I was here for whatever would happen next.

Jake walked in while I sat there, smiling stupidly at my computer, and immediately, he grinned and shut the door behind him. “What exactly did you get up to this weekend that put you in such a good mood?”

“Nothing,” I said.

I wasn’t ashamed of Tallulah or what we had, but it was new and we hadn’t discussed telling anybody about it, let alone somebody who worked with us. Before I said anything to anyone about it, she and I needed to have a conversation. Until then, there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that I was talking.

“Just tell me what you need, Jakey.”

He grimaced. “Fine, but I’m afraid it’s bad news. I was hoping to get some good news before I broke this to you.”

I arched an eyebrow at him, my patience suddenly wearing thin. “What is it?”

“The contractors working on the old Lefevre house have run into some trouble,” he said. “The house was on our list of properties to be dressed up for Halloween, but renovations are running over. Apparently, Tallulah went out there this morning and now she’s trying to help them and prepare for the Hallow’s Eve Festival at the plantation.”

I sighed, dropping my head into my hands to massage my temples. On the one hand, I wasn’t surprised to hear that she had taken up yet another challenge, but on the other, I didn’t want her to spread herself too thin.

The old Lefevre house was one of the properties I owned and I had been allowing tours there for the last few months since I’d acquired it. Before I could put it back on the market though, it needed rather extensive renovations. Renovations that had been ongoing for a while, but I’d given the contracting team a deadline.

Since the historical society wanted the place in their clutches, I knew they would put a stop to any fun to be had there as soon as I sold it. I figured we’d send it off with a bang this Halloween and turn it into a spooky wonderland for all to enjoy before the society turned it into yet another drab and boring site.

Which was why I’d given the contractors the deadline, but it seemed they hadn’t met it.

I glanced back up at Jake. “What’s she doing there?”

“Working on the haunted-house aspect for Halloween,” he said. “At least, that’s all she should be doing, but it seems she’s also helped them paint some walls and she’s currently helping with the cabinetry in the main bathroom so that she can decorate in there once it’s done.”

I groaned. “Did you tell her to focus on the festival?”

He shrugged, that annoying knowing gleam from before back in his eyes. “She insists that part of the fun of the festival is visiting all the other haunted houses in the area, and she’s not wrong. The festival itself might take place at the Carmichael Plantation, but people visit all the other sites to get themselves in the mood. The plantation is the grand finale. The cherry on top. But without the other properties, it’s just a cherry.”

I mulled it over for a beat. “Alright. Let’s go meet her at the Lefevre place. I want to know where she’s at on the festival, and if we need to, we can step in and help get everything wrapped up.”

He chuckled. “Sure, boss. Let’s go meet her. It’s not like we don’t have our own work to do.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “The festival is our primary focus this time of year. You know that, so get off my ass about this being about Tallulah.”

“Oh, but it is about Tallulah. Do yourself a favor and don’t make it obvious that she’s the damsel in distress that you’re saving like some kind of white knight. I don’t think she’ll like it.”

“She’s doesn’t need saving from a knight. She’s more than capable of saving herself.” I stood up from behind the desk, rounding it and ignoring the questioning look he shot me.

On our way to the Lefevre house though, he glanced at me with questions in his eyes. “What did you mean when you said she doesn’t need saving?”

“Nothing.”

Even so, as soon as we arrived, it was really hard not to just go up and kiss her. I knew Jake would never let me live it down if I did, and moreover, I was really enjoying what she and I had without any outside influence, which meant it was all business today.

Sooner or later, we’d have that talk and I’d be able to kiss her whenever I liked, but for now, I kept my distance, stopping as soon as we walked into the foyer to find her talking to the contractor. She looked good enough to eat in a sunshine yellow sundress and with her hair pulled up into a high bun.

In the middle of making her point to the contractor, she hardly even looked at us as we strode inside. I itched to lay claim to her, to make sure everyone knew that she was mine.

Fighting the urge to do just that, I rolled my hands into fists and simply listened to her as she made her argument. “I’ve already got most of the decorations up and they’re creepy as hell. If you start moving things around now, I might as well start all over.”

“We have a job to?—”

“A job you’re already behind on,” I said, finally stepping in. “The decorations stay where they are. Work on other areas of the house for now.”

The contractor sighed but nodded. Jake winked at me and jerked his thumb at the guy’s back. “I’ll go with him to check out how far they are with the main bathroom. Catch you later.”

Once he was gone, I slid my hands into my pockets and looked at Tallulah from across the room. With her hair out of her face like that, her eyes were so big that it felt like I could drown in them.

“Show me around?” I asked softly.

She smiled at me, nodding as she motioned for me to join her. “Of course. I think it’s the scariest haunted house I’ve done so far. I’d like to know if you agree.”

When I reached her, I brushed the back of her hand with my fingers, looking around to make sure we were alone before I leaned down. “Just so you know, I’m dying to kiss you right now.”

“You might die if you try,” she warned jokingly. “These guys already aren’t taking me seriously. If they see me making out with the boss…”

“I know.” I sighed and pulled my hand back, sliding it into my pocket once more. “Alright. Show me what you’ve done.”

As she walked me from room to room, the hairs on my arms started standing on end and it was broad daylight. At night, the place was going to be downright terrifying. The windows had been blocked out with black plastic sheeting again, but she’d used some of the construction materials for her decorations.

Creating more corners and jagged edges, she’d wedged the fake skeletons into them as if the people had met their demise here and the lights were set to flicker above them. “You’re right. This is the scariest haunted house you’ve done so far. It’s as scary as that Fox Nettle place where all those people were killed.”

“What’s your greatest fear?” she asked after smirking at me.

I shrugged. “I honestly haven’t really thought about it, but I’m not a big fan of spiders.”

As I said it, I realized it’d been a mistake. Tallulah was suddenly smirking again and looking mischievous as she did it, like she was plotting something.

Grabbing her arm, I pulled her into a dark corner of one of the rooms. It was one of the furthest in the house and we couldn’t even hear any of the others from here, so I figured it was safe enough to speak freely.

Facing her, I reached for her hands and tugged her to me. “What are you doing later?”

She squeezed my fingers, tipping her head back and stepping into me. “I have to work.”

“What kind of asshole is your boss to expect you to work after hours if you’ve already transformed a whole house today?”

She giggled, twirling the strands of the hair at my nape between her fingers. “He is an asshole, but I kind of like him, so I don’t mind.”

“Well, I do.” I lowered my mouth to hers but didn’t kiss her, simply stopping with my lips less than half an inch away from hers. “I want to see you.”

“I’ll be working on the festival preparations at my place,” she murmured, lifting her nose to touch it to the tip of my own. “So I’ll be home.”

“I’m coming over,” I said, stealing a quick kiss before I released her. “I’ll see you later, baby.”

“I can’t wait,” she murmured, smacking me on the ass when I walked past her.

I laughed softly. “Why don’t we?—”

“I’m not leaving early,” she said, getting the jump on what I was about to suggest. “You go ahead. I’ll follow you out in a minute.”

I sighed, doubling back and hooking an arm around her waist instead of leaving. Pulling her to me, I crashed into her, kissing her hard until I felt her melting into me. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, lowering her head back to give me better access.

As soon as her tongue touched mine, I moaned, beyond tempted to press her up against the wall and take her right here. With that idea in my head, I started walking us backward, absorbing the impact of the wall with my arm as I fused my front to hers.

She kissed me back eagerly, but as I started dragging my fingertips along her bare thigh, lifting the hem of her dress with my wrist when I reached it, she smacked me away. “We can’t, Niall.”

“Why not?” I asked into her mouth, feeling her shiver against me. “You want to. I know you do.”

“I’m not saying I don’t, but someone will see. Or hear.” She kissed me one last time and shot me a playful wink as she slid out from between the wall and me. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Okay,” I agreed reluctantly, sighing as I watched her sashay toward the door. “You’d better go first, though. I’m going to need a minute.”

She giggled, so light and free as she winked at me before she left that even being left hanging couldn’t annoy me. “I’ll make up for it later.”

“I’m holding you to that,” I promised as she waltzed out of the room, and then I smiled.

Again.

It seemed I still couldn’t stop doing it and it was all because of her. This girl who had entered my life like a crazy hurricane, disrupting all my patterns and crashing her way through all my boundaries. Yet, I couldn’t be annoyed by any of that either.

I was having way too much fun to be irritated about the havoc she’d wreaked in my carefully constructed life. In fact, if things kept going the way they were right now, I might even raze it to the ground with her.