Reign A Romance Anthology - Nina Levine Page 0,382

rests his forehead against mine. “I’m going to jump into the shower and then I’ll go have a quick dinner and beer with the boys. I want to come home to you in my bed, naked. And if you’re not naked, I’ll be forced to punish you.”

His commanding but gentle tone sends a shiver running down my body. I’ve never had a man talk to me in that way, and I feel myself getting wet at the thought of being naked like he asked and waiting for him to come home. I have never felt such an attraction to a man before. It’s almost as if I need to have him more than my next breath.

As a reminder of his threat, he playfully smacks my bottom before walking away. I pick up my glass and sit back down, my body still tingling. As a distraction, I pick up my phone.

I shouldn’t have.

Thomas: I have had enough, Sofia. You WILL come back, or I will leak that sex tape we made.

And just like that, all my good feelings are gone.

8

Jett Reed

“Whoa, what did that wrench ever do to you, boss?”

I throw the offending tool down. “What the fuck do you want, Ryder?” I stand up to my full height, only slightly taller than him, my eyes go to his but not before I see the other guys duck for cover.

“The guys voted for me to come talk to you. They're all too scared to go anywhere near you. What’s going on?”

“Nothing. And we’re too busy for you girls to be wasting time gossiping,” I grumble, not caring that I’m being rude. I know I’ve been clanging and banging the tools all morning; nothing's going right for me.

I storm off to my office, needing to get away from him and all the other glaring eyes on me. I slam the door shut and pull down the blinds. After I walk to my desk, I take my hat off, slapping it down. I sigh, sitting back in my chair and closing my eyes.

Shit, it smells like her in here too.

It’s as if she’s a witch who has cast some sort of love spell on me and my dick. I have never been as spellbound with a woman as I am with her. Maybe because I knew I could never really have a woman like Sofia.

I came home last night from dinner with the guys to an empty house. She’d gone. Taken all her things and vanished. I mean, I know she wasn't going to slum it with me forever, but I thought she would at least say goodbye.

I still have no idea who she is, having refrained from Googling her.

I turn my computer on, deciding to get some admin done that I've neglected the last couple of days. I really need to hire someone to do this for me; it’s fucking boring. Exactly the distraction I need for a few hours.

There’s a knock on the door, so I look up to see Ryder poking his head into the room. “Is it safe to come in?”

I grin and nod to the chair across from me. I sit back, resting my interlaced hands on my stomach, and wait for him to sit.

“You wanna talk about what's up your ass? You've been a hell of a lot snappier to the guys today.”

“Nope.”

This time he grins at me. “Does it have anything to do with a pretty blonde not being here today?”

I glare at him, not wanting to talk about this. I’m still struggling with thoughts of wanting to pursue a relationship with a woman like Sofia.

“All right, boss, I can see you don’t want to talk about it. The others have left for the day, and I wanted to see if you need anything before I go too,” he says, standing up.

I pick up my phone and look at the time, ten after six.

Well, shit. “Sorry, I didn't notice the time. I’m all good. If you lock the roller door, I can lock up here when I finish up.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He nods and walks out.

I lean forward on my desk and rub my hands over my face. “Fuck.”

I need to get out of here. I lock up, run upstairs to change, and grab my gym bag. Punching out my frustrations at the gym may help my obsession with her.

It’s been a week of grueling late nights, working and spending hours at the gym before drowning myself with beer either at home or at Roxie’s.