Chapter 1

Chapter One

Shepperd

A quick glance at my phone while rushing into the building told me I was late again. No matter how much time I gave myself, it seemed like I couldn’t get to my summer job on time. And my boss knew it.

The asshole had been riding my case since the week I started, and now I was his favorite target. All his pent-up hostility and frustration from his failures in life were taken out on me.

Dramatic? Maybe.

But I’d become the queen of overreacting lately. My fuse was so short, I was set off by every little thing. If the man even looked at me sideways today, I’d be fired from this place too.

Unfortunately, my bad attitude hadn’t been serving me well in the workplace. I was on my third job in as many months. Of course none of the terminations were my fault. Somehow, I managed to gain employment in three separate places with the exact same mansplaining type of boss who expected me to do all the things he didn’t want to do while he took the credit.

Maybe I wasn’t cut out for the whole work thing. I didn’t get along with most of my coworkers either. If I was let go from this one, I already decided I wouldn’t look for another. I’d wasted my entire summer on this merry-go-round of attempted people-pleasing, and it just wasn’t for me.

Was this what the world was turning into, though? Maybe. If these three dipshits were my only interaction with men, I’d have lost all hope in the gender all together. It also didn’t help that three of my four sisters had found amazing men to partner with and those constant in-my-face examples of high-quality men were setting the bar impossibly high for me.

“You’re late,” my boss said by way of a greeting.

I had just set my bag on my desk when he pounced. “I’m aware,” was all I could offer. How many more apologies could I give?

After logging in to my computer, I got busy. The company processed medical billing for a bunch of plastic surgeons in the area. In this town, there was no shortage of specialists. The amount of money spent on physically altering bodies was astronomical. Maybe I needed to reconsider my major.

I had one more semester until I graduated. My twin was already done with her four-year degree and was just awarded a scholarship for our university’s graduate program. I had no interest in continuing beyond what our parents expected, though. Honestly, I was lucky to have made it this far.

I hated school. I hated the original thirteen years of grade school and high school and the college experience too. None of what everyone else had such fond memories of appealed to me. Sororities, parties, learning…all seemed like a waste of time to me. I learned best by doing. This summer was proof enough that was all you really needed to be capable of landing a job. As long as you could sell yourself during an interview, the rest could be learned on the job.

My cell phone vibrated on the desk where it sat screen-side down. Daryl, my boss, didn’t mind if we had our phones on during work hours as long as we got the work done. I snuck a peak at the incoming text and felt the first genuine smile of the day try to break through.

Hey, lady.

After a quick look around the office to ensure Daryl was busy and not monitoring my activities, I shot him a reply.

Hey, yourself.

Can I see you tonight?

Work until 6. After that?

A few minutes passed, and I worried he might not respond. I just met the guy after shamelessly flirting with him for most of the summer. We worked out at the same gym, and it was months of eye-fucking across the room before he finally asked me out.

We’d gone out twice so far, and I was really into him. Still waiting for the other shoe to drop, though, because it always did. It didn’t make sense that the guy was single. He was the most beautiful man I’d ever laid eyes on and was funny and charming as hell, too.

Something would ruin it all. It always did.

Sounds great. Call me on your way home, and we’ll figure out the details.

I turned my phone back over and got busy. As long as I got the enormous stack of papers on the opposite corner of the desk dealt with, I’d be finished on time. If I sat there mooning over a guy for too long, I’d have to stay late until I was through it all. Perfect! That motivation would keep me focused.

Two hours later, my eyes were crossing from looking at so many numbers, and I wanted to crawl under my desk and take a nap. I stood and stretched my arms high above my head and told my coworker I needed a break.

“I’m going to get some caffeine down the hall. Want anything?”

She backed away from her keyboard and stood too. “Mind some company? I could use a break too.”

“Free country,” I replied with a shrug and then winced. I was so used to being snarky around my family, the answer just fell out of my mouth when I opened it. “Sorry,” I mumbled when she looked at me with a confused, unimpressed stare.

“Really,” I said, stopping her with a hand to her forearm. “I’m sorry. That was super shitty, and you don’t deserve the attitude. I had the worst night’s sleep and am just a little punchy today.”

The part about not sleeping well was one hundred percent true. I never did. Plagued with night terrors most of my life, I adapted to function on as little as two or three hours of sleep each night.

I used to talk to my parents about the bad dreams when I was little but stopped sharing what I suffered through by the time I was ten. They knew something was terribly wrong with my psychological and emotional health, though, but were at a loss with how to deal with me. Because I was twenty-two, they couldn’t force me to seek professional help even though we all knew that was what I needed.

Joy gave me a sweet but brief smile. “I get it. Don’t worry about it. Let’s get some coffee.”

The girl was just a year or two older than me and had been working here close to a year. She had naturally curly hair that fell in perfect spiral ringlets down her back. She was taller than my five-foot-six-inch height and was the poster girl for office-casual in linen trousers and a white T-shirt.

When the air conditioner kicked on, like Daryl made sure it always did, she’d throw on the denim jacket that rested over the back of her chair and looked like she’d stepped out of an ad for the Gap.

“So,” she said while we stirred our cups, “are you seeing anyone?” She looked a little sheepish after asking and quickly followed up with, “There’s a reason I’m asking. My boyfriend’s best friend is fresh out of a long-term thing.” She took a sip from her mug, keeping her eyes pinned to me over the rim. “He’s been moping around, driving us crazy,” she said with a solid eye roll, “So I was wondering if you would want to double some time?”

I lifted my cup to my lips, even though it was way too hot to drink, just to buy some time to come up with an excuse. I was definitely not the girl for her goodwill mission. Whatever was going on with Law was way too new to consider him my boyfriend, but I definitely didn’t want to deal with a rebound guy.

The grin that spread across my lips couldn’t be helped. Every time I thought of that man, I felt like someone turned up the heat suddenly, and I got flushed and breathless.

Joy tilted her head and matched my smile. “Honestly, he’s a really nice guy. I didn’t do a good job of selling him just then, did I?” She lifted her shoulders in a quick shrug and added, “But it’s true, he’s driving us a little crazy. His ex really did a number on him. And he’s a good guy. Totally didn’t deserve what she did to him.”

“Cheated?” I asked. Keeping her on the topic of her friend was better than my having to explain my own relationship status.

“You guessed it. Why are some people so heartless?”

I was hardly an expert on relationships. Of any kind. But I did have some experience with being heartless. Although, that didn’t seem like the right information to inject into the conversation.

“It’s probably better it happened now than, say, after they got married. Right?” I offered. “Or brought kids into the world.”

She nodded and said, “So true. The whole thing has been so scandalous in their friend group because she got together with another close friend. So not only did he lose his high school sweetheart but a close friend too.”

“Ouch.” I winced. “That definitely makes it worse.” I finished my coffee in record time, rinsed my mug, and grabbed some paper towels to dry it. “Guess we should get back,” I bemoaned.

“Yeah, I suppose.” Joy sighed. “That stuff isn’t going to enter itself,” she quipped.

I liked this girl, and lately that takeaway was getting rarer and rarer.

The rest of my shift went quickly. About twenty minutes before quitting time, I messaged Law to see what the plan was for the night.

Leaving in about twenty minutes.

Hungry?

If he only knew.

So far, one of the best things about this guy was that he didn’t give me shit about my eating habits. He was totally into working out and looking his best. Not one single comment about being too thin or an under-the breath remark about my needing to eat more.

Sure. I could eat. Want to meet somewhere?

I was thinking I’d cook for us.

I don’t want to put you out. Are you sure?

I enjoy cooking. Especially for a beautiful lady.

Sounds great. Can I bring anything?

Just your sexy self. I’ll send you my address and see you soon. XO

Hmmm, that XO at the end kind of threw me for a second. This guy was not the cutesy, lovey-dovey type of guy. At least I didn’t think he was. Not to mention, we were only on our third official date. Interesting that he went with that sign-off.

But I decided not to overthink or overanalyze it like I normally did with things. Despite what everyone in my family thought, I was trying to improve myself every day.

The drive to Law’s place wasn’t very long. It helped immensely that the greater portion of evening commuters had already made it home, so that decreased my drive time as well. Looking at my phone—twice—to ensure the front door I stood before was the right one, I lifted my hand to ring the bell just as the large walnut panel swung open.

“There she is!” the sexy man said with that mischievous grin I was getting used to seeing on his handsome face.

With my hand at my throat, I gasped, “Holy shit! You surprised me.”

“I have cameras,” he said and opened his arms wide to greet me.

I stepped into his embrace and let my eyes flutter closed as his intoxicating scent enveloped me. Even while working out, this man smelled so freaking good I wanted to climb him like a tree.

He planted a quick kiss to the side of my head while we hugged and he quietly said, “I’m so happy to see you.” His voice was deep and scratchy beside my ear, and goosebumps erupted on my arms and thighs from the vibration.

When he released me from his arms, I looked up and smiled. Surely, my eyes were glassy, betraying the arousal he just flooded me with and still, the smile was an actual, genuine one. It felt good to hear someone was happy to see me, and I soaked in the feeling.

“Thank you for the invite.”

“Well, I hope you brought your appetite,” he said while tugging me through his spotless home to the kitchen. “Can I get you something to drink while I get everything to the table?”

“What are you having?” I looked around the various counters to spot his beverage of choice, not wanting to ask for alcohol if he was drinking something else.

“I have a beer I’ve been nursing while I cook, but there’s a great bottle of wine to go with dinner breathing on the table.”

“Mmm, that sounds great. I can help myself, though. Or do you need a hand with anything? Let me just wash up real fast,” I offered as I made my way to the sink to wash my hands. “Your home is lovely. Is it just you here?” I called back over my shoulder.

The place was beyond lovely. I was totally trying to play it cool. Ironically, he didn’t live that far from my parent’s home in Brentwood. I wasn’t completely sure what he did for a living, but obviously it was something lucrative because the rent in this area was outrageous.

His decor was right up my alley too. Simple and clean, and everything neat and tidy. I couldn’t stand cluttered spaces. Messy homes made my brain short-circuit. You wouldn’t know that by the room I shared with my twin. Well…used to share with my twin. Now that she’d moved in with her boyfriend, Andrew, I had the room to myself.

But I hated that house. I hated everything there except my twin sister, as a matter of fact. This place of Law’s, though? Serious goals. Maybe if this budding romance we were getting into didn’t work out, I could just move in and be his housekeeper. The thought made me chuckle to myself, and unfortunately, I must have laughed loud enough that he’d heard me.

“What’s so funny over there?” he asked over his shoulder while tossing an enormous salad.

“Oh my God, Law.” I bugged my eyes wide at the size of the salad bowl. “Are there more people joining us? There’s so much food here!” A quick wave of panic swept over my entire body. I mean, I said I would eat, but there was so much food on the island. What the hell was he thinking?

“Nope, just us,” he said with a hint of embarrassment. “You see, I come from a very big family. They’re the only ones I ever cook for, and I’m used to needing enough for a small army. I didn’t do a very good job of scaling down for just two, did I?”

I climbed up onto a stool across from where he was working. “How many siblings do you have?”

“There are ten of us. Plus Mom and Dad, of course.” He grinned at my wide-eyed reaction.

“Your poor mother,” I said smiling into my glass. After tasting the wine, I moaned into the glass and went back for another taste. “Wow, this is fantastic.”

“Woman,” he said in the most serious tone and completely stopped what he was doing to stare at me. Luckily he didn’t hold the quiet pause long enough to truly make me panic and said, “Do not make sounds like that when I’m standing this close to you. We won’t make it to the meal.” He quirked one brow higher than the other, and I giggled.

Freaking giggled. Like a silly little schoolgirl. Instantly I felt heat crawl up my chest and neck and then fill my cheeks with a flush I knew he would notice.

Law continued to stare at me, and the blushing just got worse.

“Sorry,” I said and studied the movement in the countertop stone. It was either marble or limestone, I wasn’t sure which, but had interesting veins of gray and beige throughout. The earthy colors were picked up in the cabinet finish and other decorative accents around the room.

He moved with a grace I don’t think I’d witnessed in a man. Law was in front of me before I could make sense of his relocation, and he bent at the waist to be eye-level with me.

His eyes were soulful and intense, and his gaze flitted around my face and neck before he finally spoke.

In a dark, raspy tone that settled right between my thighs, he said, “You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen. This heat moving over your skin is mesmerizing.” He gave me a slow, perfect kiss that left me breathless when he stood tall again. “Now stop trying to distract me, or I’m going to burn something,” he said with a wink and was gone and back to his tasks on the other side of the island.

When I was sure sound would come from my throat that wasn’t just a helpless whimper, I said, “Thank you. I think I’m just going to call you Danger moving forward.”

He laughed a deep, hearty laugh that made my grin spread wider. “Danger, huh? I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but never that one. Big points for originality, lady.”

I executed a quick, seated curtsey at his compliment and took a moment to soak in the vibe of being near this guy. It had been so long since I’d felt playful and lighthearted that I almost had trouble identifying what I was feeling. Being around Law created a buoyancy in my heart and mind, and it felt really good. Addicting.

Yeah, the nickname Danger suited him perfectly. Spending time with him was dangerous. Dangerously alluring and dangerously enjoyable. If I were wise, which I could plainly admit I typically wasn’t, I’d end things with the man before they got started.

I couldn’t be hurt if I didn’t put myself at risk, right?