“I’m well aware of Alexa’s employment status, and I fully support her chosen career.” He sounded remarkably calm. Had he been taking lessons from Brax? Or Grey? “Marielle, why are you up here? You’re not working in this part of the house.”
“I misplaced a book of fabric swatches.” Did she? Or was she coming to knock a hole in another pipe? “Look at her, standing there like a harlot in that towel, all?—”
“I’d just finished showering when Juno yelped,” I said, my tone icy cold as I channelled Jez. “What do you expect me to do? Put on a fucking cocktail dress?”
“I doubt you own one. But maybe you should get back into the shower and wash your mouth out with soap?”
“Leave,” Nolan told her. “Right now.”
“I’m just looking out for you. This will end in tears, you mark my words, and they’ll probably be yours.”
“I don’t care how good your credentials are—you’re not coming into my home and insulting Alexa.”
“Don’t forget we have a contract,” Marielle said smugly.
“Does it include a disparagement clause?”
“I… Uh…”
“I’ll have my attorney take a look. When I find your fabric swatches, I’ll mail them.” He motioned along the hallway. “Out. I’ll lock the door behind you.”
Marielle gave me a mutinous glare, stuck her nose in the air, and marched off along the hallway. Finally. For weeks, I’d hoped Nolan would grow a backbone and fire her, but it had taken a while for him to see the light. One of Nolan’s strengths was his loyalty, but that could also be a weakness.
I fetched Juno a dog treat from my purse, then shooed her back into the hallway. She had her own bed in the kitchen, and I didn’t want her sleeping in mine, not with all her slobber and fur and doggy breath. Ugh.
The front door slammed, and through the open window, I heard the crunch of gravel as the trash took itself on a one-way trip down the driveway.
Good riddance.
CHAPTER 29
NOLAN
Nolan swallowed a Xanax, then chased it with wine. A poor combination, but fitting for the shitshow of a day he’d had. He hated confrontation. Dreaded it. For weeks, he’d known deep down that he should have shown Marielle the door, but it had seemed easier to just run out the clock, to let her finish the contract and disappear back to Mason’s Hill, no confrontation required.
Alexa had done half the job for him, but he still felt queasy. First the fiasco in the forest, then dealing with Donna, and finally firing Marielle had sent his stress levels skyrocketing. And that wasn’t his only problem. Watching Alexa light Marielle on fire while wearing nothing but a damp towel had triggered an involuntary response, one that was highly inappropriate given the circumstances. He glanced down and willed his dick to deflate.
It didn’t.
“Nolan?” Alexa called, and he heard soft footsteps on the stairs.
Fuck.
“Give me a minute.”
She didn’t give him a minute.
“Just checking she didn’t cut out your heart before she left. Or, you know, any other parts of your anatomy.” Her gaze dropped, and her eyes widened. “Is that normal?”
“Turns out I get turned on by you cussing out Juno’s enemies.”
“Huh. So I should do it more often?”
“Not unless you want to suffer the consequences.”
“Hypothetically, what kind of consequences are we talking?”
She was two feet away now, looking up with those blue eyes that were his kryptonite, and she smelled faintly of vanilla. Before he could stop himself, he bent to flick away a drop of water that had fallen from her hair and begun rolling down the swell of her breast.
