Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
Bishop
I t was late as hell, well after three in the morning, but I was still so keyed up, this wild energy running through my veins.
And it was all because of Korrie.
God, she makes me feel… alive.
I wiped off the counter for the fifth time, dragging my feet on fully closing, because the only other person left at the bar was Korrie. Pyper and Regan had left, and we’d closed over an hour ago, but Korrie stayed back to go over some procedures, saying that while she was here, she wanted to get it done.
I admired the hell out of her commitment and work ethic, that was for sure.
I loved it even more that I was able to be here with her, while things were calm, the lights low, and I’d put on some music as background noise.
She hummed softly, and her voice eased me even more, more than anything I’d ever heard in my life. For the hundredth time tonight alone, I glanced at her. She had a stack of work procedure papers in front of her, the fingers of one hand lightly tapping on the bar in time with the song playing overhead. Her other hand gently toyed with the end of a thick curl, and I was mesmerized by the sight.
She calmed me, everything about her so pleasing to me that it was almost this drugging feeling.
Korrie exhaled, and I snapped back to the present, looking away quickly and clearing my throat. I was hard, but was I such an asshole that I wasn’t even ashamed over that? I tried to discreetly adjust my shaft.
“I think I’m going to head out. My brain is pretty much toast.”
I looked at her, trying to act like I hadn’t been watching her this whole time like a damn creep. She closed her eyes and brought her fingers to her temples, rubbing the digits in slow circles as she closed her eyes. The soft sound she made wasn’t sexual in the least, but damn, that’s where my mind went.
Right into the fucking gutter.
God, she was incredible, gorgeous, and with a down-to-earth personality. She also had a witty sense of humor, and I caught bits of it here and there throughout the night. I craved more. Hell, I yearned to just hear her voice.
I’d stopped fighting this attraction a day after our first introduction. That interview had literally changed my life. I’d given myself twenty-four hours to figure out why I was so drawn to her, to see if it was just an instant-attraction kind of thing. But then I realized she was something special, someone who entered a person’s life and meant to turn it upside down in the best of ways. I knew this feeling I had wasn’t fleeting.
I knew she was it for me.
My feelings were this strong because I’d found my soul mate.
She looked over at me then, and I swear I felt the fucking ground tilt under my feet. Korrie gave me a tired smile, and I knew she had to be exhausted. We’d been jam-packed as soon as the doors opened, and it never let up until I forced all the drunks out at two.
“Yep, I’m going to call it a night,” she said in that soft voice of hers that instantly made me dizzy.
I curled my hand around the edge of the counter to brace myself because the ground tilted once more. “Yeah, you look beat.” I kicked myself for even saying that. Like anybody wanted to hear they looked tired. But even though she looked exhausted, she was still so damn sexy it made my heart skip a beat. “Let me just insert my foot into my mouth once more tonight.”
She gave me a genuine laugh, and I couldn’t help but grin. Korrie tipped her head to the side a little bit, this soft expression covering her face. “You’ve got a really nice smile, and the dimple complements it.”
Well damn. I wasn’t the type of man to get all bashful, but she brought that out in me. In fact, she was the only person who could make me blush, which I was feeling like I was doing hardcore at the moment.
“Oh wow, did I embarrass you?” she teased.
I grinned, but my face still felt hot as fuck. “People don’t really throw compliments at me,” I said truthfully. “Thank you though.” I’m on fucking cloud nine, knowing you like anything about me.
I felt like a jackass because I was so unfamiliar with compliments that I couldn’t even take one like a normal human being. Or maybe this had nothing to do with the compliment and everything to do with the person delivering it.
Yeah, I knew for a fact that it was the latter, because knowing Korrie liked the way I looked turned my world upside down. And that sure as hell wasn’t an overstatement.
“Thanks again for everything,” she said and stood, pushing in the bar stool and gathering up the papers she’d been looking over. “I’ll just put these on your desk in your office and then head out.”
My body was strung tight as she walked by, and I told myself not to lean in—like I was currently doing—and inhale the sweet, citrusy scent that clung to her. I also told myself not to check her out, which I was failing at. Of course my damn eyes dropped right to her luscious, round ass. I groaned, but thank God it was low enough that she didn’t hear as she kept walking back to my office. She was only in there for a moment before she headed out and to the back room.
Sweet Jesus. I’ve never seen an ass like that. She can bring a man to his knees with that ripe, peach-shaped perfection. No, not any man. Me . Only me.
I watched her the entire way as she headed back to the staff room. I swore I was frozen in place, standing there with my jaw slack, because she fucked me up in the best ways on the inside.
When she emerged from the back room, I was still standing there, staring at where she’d gone. Thankfully she was focused on her phone and didn’t notice me looking dumbstruck. She tucked her cell into the purse, buttoned up her coat, slipped on some gloves, and lifted her head to glance at me. Her smile was instant when our eyes locked.
“Bye, Bishop. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said as she went to move past me.
“Did you call a car pickup?” I asked, remembering her on her phone as she’d come out of the staff room.
“Huh?”
I gestured to her purse, where she’d put her cell phone in just moments before. “Saw you texting. Thought maybe you got a car.”
“Oh.” She shook her head. “No, I was letting my dad know I was heading home, although I’m sure he’s been out cold since nine.” She laughed softly. “I’m only a few blocks down. I was just going to walk to my building.”
My entire body went rock-solid, my muscles tightening, everything in me roaring out that, no, I wouldn’t have that.
I shook my head before I could stop myself. I didn’t want to come off as an overbearing asshole, but no fucking way would I allow her to be at risk like that. “I can’t have you walking home at this time of night, Korrie.” I was still shaking my head, felt a scowl no doubt darkening my face. “It sure as hell isn’t safe out there, especially at this hour.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that, Bishop.”
I could tell she was used to taking care of herself. She had an independent streak in her, one that really called to me, turned me on, but that didn’t mean I liked this particular aspect of her wanting to handle things on her own.
“You don’t have to worry. I can handle myself.” She didn’t say it snarky, more matter-of-fact.
“I have no doubt you can handle herself, but what type of employer would I be if I didn’t make sure my employees got home safely, especially on the first night of work?” The hard truth was this had nothing to do with me being her boss or about her first night at work. Although I wouldn’t let any of my staff walk home in the city in the middle of the night, I especially wouldn’t let Korrie.
She already meant a hell of a lot to me, and that should have made me feel some unease, but all I felt was this pull toward her, an addiction, intoxicating where I never wanted to be sober.
I could tell she was gearing up to argue her point, but I just shook my head again and grabbed my keys, my jacket, and gestured toward the back door. The bar was closed already, so the only thing holding us up was her wanting to be stubborn. Which still turned me on.
Her brows pulled down. “Bishop, it’s really not a problem. I’ve walked home plenty of times, and I have a nice full can of pepper spray in my purse.” She lifted her purse and gave it a little shake to emphasize her point.
“Even so, I’d feel a lot better if I could take you home. If nothing else, do it for me so I can have some peace of mind?” I gave her what I hoped was an easygoing, if not “pity me” smile. The very thought of her getting hurt had this dread filling me, this tightness clawing into my gut and never letting go. “Come on, have some sympathy for your boss.” I gave her a wink and started heading toward the back, hoping she’d follow. Needing her to.
She laughed softly, maybe too softly that she thought I wouldn’t hear, but I felt myself smile at the sound.
But then I sensed her following me and breathed out in relief. I’d been holding my breath and hadn’t even realized, because I’d expected her to flat-out turn my offer down. And I would’ve pushed it, at least once more, but if she really hadn’t wanted me to, I would have conceded… and followed her home regardless.
I would have made sure nobody fucked with her.
Once out back in the alley, I led her over to my car, opening the passenger door for her and getting a concentrated scent of the sweet lemon aroma that surrounded her.
I curled my hand tightly around the car doorframe, forcing myself not to close my eyes and hum with pleasure. When she was seated, I shut the door and walked around the back of the car, once again having to adjust my hard-on. I pulled the length up to my waistband, feeling like a damn teenager who was popping boners left and right.
Once I slid into the driver seat and started the engine, I had to control myself not to take a deep breath in. The scent of her filled the interior of the car and nearly had me groaning again.
Get a grip, man. Pretend you have your shit together.
She was this drug to me, my own personal mix of ambrosia and euphoria.
“You really didn’t have to do this,” she said after a moment, breaking up the silence. “But thank you. I do appreciate it. My feet are killing me.”
I glanced over at her, the lights from the dashboard illuminating Korrie, making her even more beautiful, if that were possible. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I said, meaning that so hard I wanted to declare to this woman that there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her.
But yeah, after a week, that was probably crossing lines and would freak her the fuck out.
She gave me the directions to her apartment building, I almost wanted to complain all over again. She would have had to walk through some shady parts of the city to get home.
But I bit my tongue, just thankful I was here with her, vowing that she’d never walk home alone again, not if I had anything to do with it.