10. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Gunnar
I pull up to the small lot behind The Bar, exhaustion creeping in.
After two straight days of physical labor working on the the cottage with my brothers, my muscles are protesting any movement. Including getting out of my truck and walking up the stairs to make it to my bed.
My parents’ cottage on the property had a pipe leaking, so we had to replace all the flooring. My brother called and asked me to come help with it. I love staying with Wyatt, but I am happy to be home in my own house.
Once I muster the strength, I lock my car and head up the back stairs to grab a quick shower, and hope that the hot water relaxes some of my tight muscles.
Willow is asleep on the couch when I walk through the door. The sun streams through the slider, casting a golden glow on her. It makes the copper hues in her hair glow like the sun .
Her perfect round ass is on full display in short bike shorts with my tee twisted around her waist.
Fuck me.
The urge to squeeze or slap said perfect ass is too much. I grab a blanket from the chair and cover her up before heading into my bathroom to shower, and dream of what it would be like to touch every part of her flawless body; that I’ll never get the chance to touch.
I woke up this morning to a text from her, that I haven’t been able to respond to yet. It was a continuation of the little twenty questions game we’ve been playing.
Willow : What is your favorite charity?
It is such a random question, I don’t know how to answer. I do a lot for our Lupine Valley community but very few people know about what I do. Outside of the community, I like to donate to quite a few charities. I just wonder what prompted her question.
Thinking about Willow and seeing her perky ass, has left me with a problem at the end of my shower. A rock hard problem that I can’t make go away, or go to work with.
Sighing, I accept my fate, and bring images of Willow up in my mind once more.
An image of her laughing, cooking breakfast in my kitchen, bare faced after a shower, the tiny scraps she calls shorts. I lean against the wall of the shower with one arm, while the other hand strokes my hard as fuck cock. Just as the orgasm is about to hit, the woman herself opens the bathroom door.
It’s too late, I can’t stop the orgasm from happening, and just as it hits, she whips around to witness the whole show.
“Oh my God!” she screams, headphones in her ears. Damn her and those headphones, she’s constantly walking around and bumping into me because she can’t hear me.
“Get the fuck out!” I yell back.
But she is frozen in place, staring open mouthed at the sight in front of her.
After a few seconds she breaks the fog she’s in and says, “I didn’t know you were home, I’m so sorry! I just needed toilet paper!” She runs out of the bathroom and leaves me feeling like an idiot in my own bathroom.
“Damn it,” I mutter to myself as I dry off.
I find a pair of gym shorts to throw on and head out to the kitchen. Not that it really matters at this point, she’s seen it all.
“I’m so sorry.” A blush, deep red, automatically covers her face and rushes down her chest. “I didn’t know you were home, and I was out of toilet paper, and I thought maybe you had some in your bathroom.”
Mustering a confidence I am absolutely not feeling, I cut her off. “It’s okay. At least you liked what you saw.” I shrug and grab the eggs from the refrigerator.
“What? No - I -” She flounders to find the right response. “Fuck you.” She stomps off towards her room.
I don’t know why I push her like that. I know I should have handled that differently. I knew she would stomp away pissed off. But I guess I do it to keep her away from me. If she thinks I’m an asshole she won’t tempt me like she did that night in the bar. And that is the best outcome all around.
I give up on cooking breakfast and get ready to head down to my office. I have to get caught up on paperwork before the employees show up today. Especially being gone for two days. And I don’t think I can handle another interaction with Willow right now.
Slinking back to my room I find my usual jeans and The Bar tee for work before trudging my tired body back down the stairs.
To semi make up for being such an asshole, I text her back to continue with our game.
Me : Wounded Warriors. What is your favorite song?
I sigh as I unlock the door to The Bar. Some days I really love what I do, other days I just want to take a nap and say screw it. Like today.
I’m behind the bar with Bennett when Willow walks in so I have a front row seat to see every single head turning in her direction. Including Bennett’s. I smack him from behind and point to the list of drinks he’s working on. Of course she chose to come in to work tonight in the tightest jeans known to man and that damn cut up tee she wore her first night.
“Get to work, asshole. No sex with other employees,” I say angrily.
“No one said anything about sex ‘cept you, bossman.” He laughs and walks away to grab a new bottle of tequila.
Groaning, I walk over to Willow. I can already feel the tightening of my own jeans. This is going to be a long fucking night. One I’m not ready for. Maybe I can convince Mack to cut me early.
Wishful thinking.
Willow is in the kitchen grabbing her apron and order pad.
I’m speechless standing there watching her in silence. I feel like a creep but I can’t force myself to move or speak. She turns around once she finishes and catches me battling with myself.
“Is there something you need?” she asks curtly.
You.
“You’re first to get cut if it’s slow tonight,” I say and turn away from her to go back to my office. I’d much rather deal with Madeline’s ditzy act than Willow’s near naked body .
“Yes sir!” She yells from behind me. “Asshole,” she mumbled after, so I shouldn’t have heard her.
I shake my head and slam the door to my office. I need to get myself under control before I can go back out to the bar with Bennett. But before I even have the chance, someone is knocking at the door.
I get up, and whip the door open. “What?” I snap, the lingering anger with myself lacing my voice.
“Sorry bossman, but we got a golf group of rowdy dudes. I need some help, when you’re free, uh, I mean, no rush. But… kind of a rush,” Bennett sputters.
“I’m sorry, Bennett. I’ll be right there.” This time I respond a little nicer. He’s just doing his job. And it isn’t his fault I want to bend my newest employee over the bar for real this time.
A group of rowdy guys who spent the day golfing for ‘work’ is a sure fire way to douse that fantasy right now. They’re always assholes to my staff and run us ragged for no reason other than they’re entitled asses who spent all day drinking in a tournament.
“Willow!” I yell from my office.
“What?” She appears in my doorway too fast.
“There’s a group of golfers out there. Help Bennett serve them please, I’m putting Madeline on the patio tonight.” I need to be on damage control and I can’t do it inside and out.
“What? Why?” She pouts.
“Because you fucking need to. Is there a problem with how I run my own damn bar?” I spit back .
“You know, for someone who wasn’t bothered by this morning, you sure are being a jerk to everyone for no reason tonight.” She crosses her arms over her chest and her lips tighten while she stares me down.
Fuck. So we’re doing this here.
“You know if you had minded your own business instead of coming into my bathroom and staring at me naked…ugh… I’m not upset,” I lie, “It’s not my fault you enjoyed what you saw, but don’t go getting any ideas.” I shrug again like I don’t have the same thoughts of her.
“You’re such an asshole. Why did I agree to live with you?” She storms off before I can answer.
Which is probably good. I don’t have an answer since I wonder on a daily basis why I offered in the first place.
I suck up any feelings I have about that conversation and walk back behind the bar to help Bennett.
It takes awhile for us to get caught up. Once we finish a round of twenty drinks, they’re ordering another. I finally had to tell them that I wasn’t serving another round until they got their food, forcing them to slow down, and place their order with Willow.
I watch closely as she walks around the table taking up most of my bar, taking their orders one at a time. She smiles at the inappropriate jokes they make, and shifts uncomfortably as some of them start to get bold and accidentally brush a hand over her ass, or stare too long at her body .
I do not like these guys. They are too bold with my wom- employee. My employee.
“Bossman, you see those douchebags?” Bennett’s jaw is clenched watching Willow.
My face is heated and I know he can see the scowl on my face. “Yea Bennett, I fucking see those guys.” I grit out quietly.
Willow comes back to place their orders with Mack. I stop her on her way back.
“Hey, I’m going to take over the table,” I say, lightly grabbing her upper arm.
“What? Why? I’m handling them just fine,” she rebuts.
“Bennett and I think they’re getting a little too handsy. So it’s best I take over.” I hope that Bennett can’t hear me blaming him.
“No. I’m. Fine.” She grits her teeth and whirls around to leave me, effectively dismissing my order.
Sparring with her unfortunately is just as much of a turn on as watching her walk away.
I yell over to Bennett that I need to do something in the kitchen and he nods back. I walk into the large freezer, taking deep breaths to get myself back under control.
The familiar anger bubbles to the surface. One that contributed to one too many drunken bar fights. I start to take the deep breaths that my therapist taught me for stressful situations.
The door behind me opens and I curse, not ever getting a minute to myself today .
“You alright?” Mack’s gruff voice comes from behind me. She sounds like she smoked packs of cigarettes a day when she was younger, but I can’t beat her cooking.
“Yea, I just -”
“Need to get your mind off a particular redhead you’re now regretting hiring?”
“No, I just - you heard her! She fights me on everything.” I argue like a petulant toddler.
“Yea, and you want to tap that little firecracker.” She continues when I don’t answer. “She’s got some demons in that pretty head G. Don’t get involved if you don’t plan on sticking around to find out what they are,” She warns.
She walks out of the freezer, leaving me in blissful silence.
The door opens once more, “Oh, and no sleeping with the employees.” She is laughing all the way back to the kitchen. If I was smart, she’d be laughing all the way to the unemployment office.
I never had to enforce the no sleeping with employees rule before. The college kids I hire for summer don’t usually have issues, or at least none that spilled into my bar. But it would look damn bad if I couldn’t stick to my own rule.
I grab a few plates for the table on my way out and head out behind Willow to serve these assholes. Hopefully the faster they eat, the faster they leave. I will not be showing them any hospitality I was taught growing up .
Willow and I pass each other taking turns running dishes from the kitchen, and each time she scowls at me. I make a mental note to apologize tonight when it’s just us left.
As I exit the kitchen one last time, I see the ringleader of the group reach out and grope Willow’s ass.
Full on ass cheek grab.
I see red immediately. Beyond the fact that this is Willow, she’s my employee. And I pride myself on having a safe work environment for all of my employees.
With the fury still drumming through my veins I stomp over to the guy and rip his arm off Willow.
She’s smiling politely but still shifting uncomfortably trying to get away from him.
“What the fuck, man?” This idiot has the audacity to act like I’m the one in the wrong here.
“Get out now,” I demand.
I push Willow behind me, standing in protection between her and this asshole. For once she’s doing what I want her to do and staying put.
“I’m not leaving. You can’t make me either.” He laughs and turns back to his friends, pointing over his shoulder at me.
“Actually I can. My bar. My rules. Get out. Or I call the cops.” I grasp Willow's wrist and pull her toward the kitchen.
“Mack, get ‘em out. I’m taking Willow upstairs,” I demand once again. I really owe my staff for tonight .
I continue to push Willow to the door next to my office that leads upstairs to the condo. I can feel the blood rushing in my ears, anger still swirling in my veins.
Willow stops dead in her tracks, slowing me down a bit. “What the actual fuck are you doing, Gunnar?”
“You’re going home. I’m cutting you. Then I’m getting these assholes out of my damn bar.”
She crosses her arms over her chest staring at me.
“Darling, he put his hands on your -”
“First of all, don’t darling me when you’re trying to charm me into doing what you want. Second of all, I’m used to these types of guys. I can handle myself.”
“Trust me, I fucking know,” I mutter under my breath.
“What was that now?” she asks sarcastically.
“Listen, please just go upstairs. I don’t tolerate that behavior from anyone against any of my employees. It’s not because it’s you. So just go. Please.”
She continues to stand there with her arms crossed, staring me down, waiting for me to cave. But there’s no way. If I can’t touch her, they definitely fucking can’t. “Would it help if I said please for a third time and offered to bring you a buffalo chicken salad and cheesecake?”
“No. But I’m going anyway. Mack scares me and I think she’d yell at me to leave too after having to deal with that alone. So go help Mack.” She whips around to take the stairs. “And don’t forget my food,” she adds before making sure to slam the door.
Once I hear the stomping around in my condo stop, I let out a breath. What am I getting myself into? Moments like tonight remind me why I try to keep my rage in check and my employees at arm's length. Willow is wreaking hell on my self control and I can’t even let myself get a taste of her to get it out of my system.
I take a few seconds to get some deep breaths in. Keeping my rage in check is more important for me than others. When I was lost and trying to find my way after the military, getting into bar fights was more my thing than stopping them.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Willow is upstairs safe.
Breathe in, breathe out.
My staff is capable to handle this situation.
Breathe in, breathe out.
I control my actions.
I complete the exercise my therapist gave me, push the door to the kitchen open and join Mack in the dining room.