He wasn’t. He’d simply reacted to a beautiful woman in his arms. Was it sexual harassment to kiss your assistant if she seemed to be enjoying it? The way her body had pressed eagerly against his…
He sighed harshly. He didn’t have things under control if last night’s ball was any indication. Not inside Club Tahoe.
And not with Emily.
Adam was right. Levi was attracted to his assistant. And Levi worried it was more than that.
He often ventured onto the dock at night, after work. Only lately, instead of worries about the club, it was Emily who filled his thoughts. He’d remember the number of tanning butlers (a.k.a. cabana boys) she thought the resort needed to make the guests happy—which seemed excessive—and he’d smile.Orhe might think about the slope of her calf when she bent to pick up a sheet of paper she’d dropped from the perpetual stack of files in her arms earlier in the day. Those were the kinds of thoughts that really pissed him off, slipping in when he wasn’t careful.
Levi hadn’t given a woman more than a passing consideration in almost a year. That he thought about Emily all day long… Yeah, that wasn’t gonna work. He couldn’t date Emily. She was Lisa’s sister, for God’s sake. And his assistant. And he needed her at the club more than he needed her in his bed. Hewantedher in his bed, but he wasn’t impulsive like his younger brothers. He planned things out. And he couldn’t afford a one-night stand ruining their working relationship.
Despite the logical reasons to stay away from her, he also couldn’t lie to himself and say he wasn’t drawn to Emily. He was more drawn to her than he’d been to any woman in a long time. Maybe in forever, because he wasn’t the same man he’d been the last time he was in a relationship. Which might explain why he’d kissed her as soon as he got her close.
Jesus, he really was a Cade. He thought he was above the stupid shit his brothers did. Turned out he was wrong.
Lisa had stopped by to drop off Emily’s bag just in time. Her presence had splashed a bucket of ice water on the flame Emily’s nearness had set off. But he hadn’t handled the situation very well. He’d stood there like an idiot, not saying anything. It had been years since he’d seen Lisa. She was still drop-dead gorgeous, but he didn’t feel the pull to her he once did, and that had stumped him.
That and the fact that he’d just been kissing her little sister. Which was damn awkward.
He never thought he’d get over Lisa, but he had. He wanted to see her happy, but he didn’t want to be with her anymore. Hadn’t wanted to for a long time, he realized.
He also never thought he’d get over his dream of fighting fires, but he was slowly accepting that too.
He wasn’t the same man he used to be, living on the edge of life and death, protecting others. It was all he’d known. Yet he felt the same sense of responsibility that had given him purpose in life—taking care of the employees and guests at Club Tahoe, and his brothers. And the only way he knew how to do that was through planning and strength of will.
He’d not planned for Emily. And she was severely testing his will.
He’d stupidly thought he could let things happen for once and not plan everything out. If Lisa hadn’t walked in, Emily would be sprawled out on his bed right now, not down the hall in her office paper clipping God knows what together. He would have slept with his ex’s little sister, an employee, and someone who trusted him to make the right decisions.
There were enough fish in the sea. He didn’t need to dip back into the Wright pool.
Levi barged into his office and placed his hands on hips. A lax attitude about the future was something he couldn’t afford. He had too many responsibilities.
Grace bumped up against his leg. He glanced down and petted her head. She had on one of those doggy cones today so she wouldn’t chew the stitches she’d received from the vet for a benign tumor. He’d brought her in to keep an eye on her.
Levi walked to his desk and pulled up his calendar on the computer. He kept his computer in a password-protected sleep mode every night because it was a pain in the ass to shut the thing down every day and wait for it to start up in the morning. And yes, even this shit was the sort of nonsense he was getting used to. Working on computers all day, with computer administrators making him change his password every two weeks until Levi thought his head would explode trying to remember them all. He needed some sort of system. He’d have to ask Emily about that…
Approaching Emily about something strictly work-related could break the ice that had formed between them after he’d botched things last night. Get them back on the right track. He took full responsibility for his mouth landing on hers…and lingering. It had been impossible to resist when she’d stood so close to him, looking as beautiful and tempting as she did in that skintight dress. As long as he kept his distance, he could keep his mouth off hers.
Which meant no more asking Emily to fix his ties. He’d learn how to do them himself, because he damn well couldn’t be expected to keep his hands off her, with her smoky eyes drawing him in and her soft floral scent filling his nose. That was a one-two punch no man could resist.
Time to man up and go see her. She hadn’t emailed or called him this morning like she normally did at least half a dozen times, which meant he was still in the doghouse. He’d have to make it clear he wouldn’t try anything like last night again. No more touching. He could work with a beautiful woman and not make a pass at her. He had to. Because he needed Emily.
Grace glanced up with a doggywhat’re you waiting forlook.
“Come on, Grace.” Levi headed for the door, and Grace followed him out and down the hallway.
He hesitated outside Emily’s office. He could hear her talking on the phone, and a weird pull throbbed in his chest. Levi shook it off and knocked once before twisting the knob and striding inside. “Morning.”
Emily said something to the person on the line and quickly ended the call. “Good morning.”
She pursed her shell-pink-tinted lips as though she were sucking herself back into librarian mode and not the sexy vixen she’d let loose last night. But it was impossible to hide what Levi had seen. She wasn’t a pair of sexy legs or his ex’s little sister. Emily was beautiful and smart and she’d saved his ass more than once since she started. He respected her. Which was why he had to get them back on good terms.Platonicgood terms.
Even so, he checked her out, try as he might to control his gaze. She was wearing one of her boxy blouses that hid her figure.
Good. He preferred the boxy fit. Less distracting. But the mass of blond hair that was also distracting when allowed to run loose down her back had been pulled into a knot at the nape of her neck. Which only managed to remind him of his lips on that neck…
Man up.
