Fifteen Hours of Perfection
Maisie
It was possible – just possible – that we were behaving unprofessionally.
Griff had me pinned between the wall and the counter, and we were very much not thinking about tires, receipts, or anything remotely bike-related.
"You know…" I murmured as his mouth trailed toward my collarbone, "this is supposed to be a workplace."
"Is it?" he said, his lips grazing my skin. "Because it feels more like heaven."
Amen to that . Barely fifteen hours had passed since I'd caught him sneaking into the back room, and they'd been some of the most blissful hours of my life – even if most of them were spent in a tent.
But hey, I wasn't complaining.
Sure, I'd gotten nearly no sleep and had woken at the crack of dawn with a kink in my neck and my right arm all tingly from sleeping on it wrong.
But I'd woken in the arms of the most incredible guy I'd ever met – a guy who had rubbed my arm until it stopped tingling and massaged my neck until the kink went away.
Griff really was amazing.
Afterward, we'd gone our separate ways for barely two hours to shower and get dressed for the workday.
He could've showered at my place. I had offered. But he'd declined, telling me he'd rather wait until I talked with Tessa before making himself at home.
It was so sweet and thoughtful – and beyond sexy, because here at the shop, he'd made up for the lost time by sneaking kisses between customers. And yeah, I was sneaking my share, too.
With a silly grin, I wrapped my arms around his neck. "If you think this is heaven, just wait 'til I find the key to the storage closet."
He gave my neck a playful nip. "You don't have a storage closet."
I giggled. "We could always put one in."
" We …" he said against my skin. "I'm liking the sounds of that ."
I was, too. Already in my mind, I could see it – him and me running the shop like my grandparents did all those years ago. They'd seemed incredibly happy – working together, playing together, living together.
It was true that my own parents hadn't found nearly as much bliss, but hey, I was an optimist at heart. With a smile, I whispered, "If you like that , you're gonna love the next employee perk."
"Which is…?"
With a boldness that surprised even me, I reached between us and stroked him through his jeans. He made a quiet sound, something between a growl and a moan. Whatever it was, it had me wishing I could close up shop and make good on the promise now .
Into my ear, he said, "You're killing me. You know that, right?"
This wasn't the first time he'd said such a thing, and I couldn't stop my grin. "Yeah, but you love it."
Sounding way too cocky, he said, "I'm not the only one." He pulled me closer. "Admit it. You love it, too."
I didn't answer with words. Instead, I answered with my lips and hands – kissing his neck and caressing his back as I completely ignored the fact that I was supposed to be working.
But the shop had been slow all afternoon – crazy slow, probably because of the wind. It was a blustery day, slightly cool with the threat of rain. Sure, it wasn't raining yet, but the bell on the door hadn't jingled in ages.
We were safe. Probably.
And besides, that giant box I'd set on the front counter would block all of this from prying eyes, including Franny's, even if she walked up and stared through the front window.
I knew this because I'd personally checked, staring through the glass from the sidewalk outside. So yeah, I was being a little devious – using a big empty box to block out the world – but these kisses were private, and I wanted to keep them that way.
We were still kissing when the bell jingled for the first time in forever. We froze. Both of us cursed – him out loud and me in my head.
Slowly, we peeked around the box – him from one side and me from the other.
I almost groaned out loud.
Damn it.
It was Devon and Sierra.
Again.