ADDICTED

22

LEAH

I didn't realize I'd been wiping the same spot on the conference table until a guttural throat clearing sounded behind me.

I jumped out of my trance, my hands stilling.

"You alright there, Miss Harris?" rumbled a familiar tenor voice.

"Yep!" I chirped. I threw away the paper towel and faced James with a forced smile. "Everything is ready to go. You have a meeting in fifteen with Warren Rudy."

He nodded but his eyes weren't focused on my face.

Work appeared to be the last thing on his mind.

Since I'd seen Julia and registered the situation, I'd been brainstorming ways to get out of James' house. Stressing, really.

It was hard to brainstorm considering I already exhausted most of my options.

James didn't exactly live in a metropolis.

"You aren't moving out," he spoke calmly.

I looked over his body to avoid those riddling eyes. He was dressed somewhat casually for his usual dress code.

The piney musk of his aftershave slipped around me. I felt simultaneously comforted and trapped by it.

"There are only two bedrooms in this house," I reminded him. "And I'm not going to get between your family any more than I already have."

Even I had to wince at saying that aloud.

It wasn't like I was having a lurid sex affair with two brothers and caused a rift between them.

Jarrod was dead because of me.

I might not have pulled the trigger but, to James, I might as well have.

He was never getting his brother back. He had every right to want me out of his house, especially if my presence made his sister uncomfortable.

"We don't need to talk about that," he said as he approached me with that slow swagger. His finger tilted my chin up.

Tears brimmed in my eyes.

His jaw ticked. "The past is the past. You're here now and I would not appreciate you leaving. Get over it. My sister will not be moving in, and you will not be moving out. Understood?"

My head bobbed heavily with a nod.

The authority in his voice made my lower abdomen burn. Somehow, even through the guilt and uncertainty, I could feel desire.

Traitorous body. 

"Good," he said. "Now, let's tell Mr. Rudy that his proposal is flopping and that he best try something else. I think it might sound nicer coming from you."

Pursing my lips, I groaned a little. James arched a challenging brow at me.

"I'm not good at telling people their work is shitty," I told him, "but I'll do it."

His lips curled back in a rare smirk. My toes curled.

God, I didn't understand how a mouth could look so damn tasty.

Maybe I was about to start my period. Hormones could be the only culprit behind this madness.

We settled in for the meeting and I broke the news to Warren, one of the financiers for the foundation. I didn't even know what his idea was, but I led the situation as well as I could.

After the meeting, I talked to James about it. I thought of a solution almost immediately.

"Have you thought about conducting surveys?" I asked. "That's an easy way to see what people think. I know there are plenty of problems with surveys, but it's a start. And it's cheap."