Chapter 17
Opportunity knocks, but temptation leans on the doorbell.
Sophia
I hum as I enter Flynn’s house. Today has been a great day. The contract for Gourmet Corner arrived. I didn’t get locked out of any of Five Fathoms Brewing ’s social media accounts.
And, best of all, I got to spend the day imagining Flynn being barraged by phone calls from strangers about zonkeys. He probably didn’t know what a zonkey was this morning. I bet he does now!
I think I deserve a long soak with a bottle of beer and one of Maya’s romance books. I grab a bottle of our Summer Ale from Flynn’s refrigerator – the man’s an ass but he’s got good taste in beer – before climbing the stairs to my bedroom.
“Ah. This is heaven.” I sigh once I’m settled in the tub with my Kindle and a beer. The warm water feels luxurious on my tired muscles.
The front door slams. “Sophia!”
I giggle. Someone’s mad. Serves him right. How dare he kiss me and then say he’s not attracted to me. I will not be another conquest to Flynn. Screw him.
“Sophia!” Flynn shouts again before he bounds up the stairs.
I don’t answer. I don’t wanna. And I’m not getting out of this bath.
“I know you’re here. Your car’s in the driveway.”
Give the man a medal for detecting the obvious.
“Get out here!” He bangs on the bedroom door. “Don’t make me come in there.”
“Go away!” I yell.
“No! Get out here.”
“No!”
“I’m serious, Sophia. What you did today was not okay.”
And it is okay to treat a woman the way he’s treated me?
“What did I do today?”
“I’m not having this discussion with a door between us.”
“I guess you can leave then.”
“Open this door this minute or I’m coming inside.”
“Go ahead. I dare you.”
The bedroom door squeaks open. “Where are you?” Flynn doesn’t wait for me to answer before barging into the bathroom.
I’m starting to regret daring him to open the door. I should have at least shut the bathroom door, but I wasn’t expecting him to barge into here.
Flynn screeches to a halt. “Are you naked?”
“What was your first clue? The clothes on the floor in the bedroom or me lying in the bathtub?”
“Fuck. It smells of mango in here.”
Anger shoots through me. “Is there nothing you like about me?”
He rears back. “What are you talking about?”
“You don’t like the smell of mango, you don’t like me, you claim I’m throwing myself at you all the time.”
He rubs a hand down his face. “Could you put some clothes on? I don’t want to have this discussion with you naked.”
“I don’t want to have this discussion period.” I point to the door. “You can see yourself out.”
He snorts. “Do you think I’m an idiot? If I leave now, you’ll sneak out of the window.”
I motion to the bathtub. “I’m in the bath. I’m not sneaking out of the window.”
Besides, the window in here is way too small to sneak out of.
“Fine.” He crosses his arms over his chest. His biceps flex with the motion and his t-shirt strains to contain his muscles. I rub my thighs together under the water as I imagine his biceps straining as he moves above me.
“We’ll have this discussion now.”
There go any sexy images. “Wait. What?”
“You heard me.”
I decide to go for nonchalant. “Why are we having a discussion anyway? Why are you mad?”
“You want me to tell you why I’m mad?”
I shrug. “You’re the one who wants to have this discussion.”
“And you’re some innocent bystander who has no idea what’s going on.”
I smile. “Exactly.”
A muscle ticks in his jaw. His jaw that is currently covered with a shadow of a beard. There’s something about a man with an unkept beard that makes me want to scratch my fingernails over his jaw. Preferably while he explores my body. With his tongue.
“I don’t buy it.”
“Buy what? Did I miss a sale?”
“Your innocent act. You know exactly why I’m mad. What I want to know is what I did to deserve your wrath. I put you up in my house.”
I hold up a finger. “Because the apartment in the building you own is not up to code.”
He nods to the empty beer bottle on the floor. “I stock the refrigerator with your favorite foods and beverages.”
My brow wrinkles. “You don’t enjoy the Summer Ale from Five Fathoms?”
He ignores me to continue. “I drive you home when you get drunk.”
“Hey, now. I didn’t ask you to drive me home.”
“I drive you to work.”
“Because you insisted. I could have walked. It’s two miles.”
“Two miles you would have had to walk in heels.”
“I’m a woman. I can walk two miles in heels in my sleep.”
He snorts. “Things certainly have changed. I remember when you refused to wear shoes.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not a child anymore.”
“As I recall, you were seventeen when you got suspended for refusing to wear shoes.”
“I didn’t get suspended for not wearing shoes. I got suspended for refusing to wear the shoes the school wanted me to wear.”
“You can’t wear slippers in woodworking shop.”
“I don’t know why not.”
“Because you’ll…” He cuts himself off. “You’re distracting me.”
I beam at him. I’m doing an awesome job of distracting him. I give myself an A for execution and an A+ for effort. I’ll pat myself on the back later when I’m not naked in the tub with Flynn in the room.
Wait. Maybe I should pay myself on the back now. See if he can resist me if he catches a glimpse of my breast.
I start to lift my arm before I remember. Flynn doesn’t find me attractive. I’m merely another conquest to him.
“Just go.” I motion to the door. “I’ll finish my bath and then we’ll talk.”
He frowns. “You’re serious? You’re willing to have this discussion later?”
“Sure. This bath has lost its appeal anyway.”
“What happened? You were joking with me but now you look like I ran your cat over.”
“I’m not a cat person.” I tap my nose. “Allergic.”
“Don’t distract me. What’s wrong? Why did your fire dim?”
“I’m tired is all. It’s been a long day at work.”
He lifts an eyebrow. “You want to compare how long our days were?”
“I didn’t say I did. It’s not a competition.”
“Soph,” he pleas. “What’s wrong? What did I say? Why were you pissed at me?”
“What makes you think I was pissed?”
“The twenty calls from people wanting to adopt my zonkeys.”
“I hope they found a good home.”
“I’m serious, Soph. What did I do wrong?”
I’m regretting my prank now. I didn’t think this through. I didn’t think Flynn would ask me why I pranked him. I didn’t think I’d have to confess how hurt I am by what he said to Weston.
“I don’t want to discuss it.”
“Too bad. We can discuss this now or later, but we’re discussing this,” he growls.
I glare at him. “We are, are we? You’ve decided. To hell with what I think?”
“I care about what you think.”
“You just don’t find me attractive.” I slap a hand over my mouth. Shit. I wasn’t planning on admitting I heard him talking to my brother last night. Could this be more embarrassing?
He rears back. “Who said I don’t find you attractive?”
Is he seriously denying it? What an ass! “You did, you big buffoon!”
“I never …” His voice trails off. “The bathroom. You eavesdropped on me and Weston last night.”
“I didn’t eavesdrop. I accidentally overheard you. It’s not my fault you forgot I was in the bathroom.”
He rubs a hand down his face. “Shit, Sophia. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I understand. You see me as your little sister.”
I don’t know why it hurts to say the words now. He’s said them often enough in the past.
He drops to his knees next to the bathtub. “No, Sophia. I don’t see you as my little sister.”
“But you said—”
He places a finger over my lips to stop me.
“I said what I had to in order to stop Weston from realizing the truth.”
I push his finger away from my mouth. “The truth?”
He nods. “The truth.”
I wait but he doesn’t continue. “And what is the truth?”
“The truth is I don’t consider you my little sister. The truth is I want to strip you bare and fuck you until you forget your name.”
I gasp. Flynn is saying the words I’ve always dreamed of him saying. I grab at the chance.
“There’s no need to strip me bare now. I’m already naked.”
His eyes fall closed and he groans. “You’re a temptress.”
I love the idea of being a temptress. Especially when the man I’m tempting is Flynn. Time to do the big, scary thing.
“How’s this for temptress?” I grasp his hand and place it on my naked breast. He immediately begins to knead and massage the area.
“How am I supposed to resist you?” he mutters as he watches his hand on my body.
“Maybe you’re not supposed to.” I don’t know who this wanton creature is but I fall into the roll.
He groans before he molds his lips to mine. I grasp hold of his shoulders and pull him near. I’m not letting him go. Not this time.