Chapter 10
10
KILLIAN
I t made sense for Noelle to move in with me. Especially since the other rooms on the floor were occupied. It would be nice to have her close.
I should be concerned that it would be hard to keep my hands off her with her living with me. But so far, it had been fine. I didn't see her much more than when she lived elsewhere.
She woke up early and went downstairs to make donuts. She returned a few hours later and showered. Then we started our day. She took me to my appointments and ran errands for the resort guests during that time. Then she'd pick me up, and we would go to lunch before heading back to the resort.
In the afternoons, I napped while Noelle sorted through my emails which consisted mainly of fan mail. Riley was working with a younger snowboarder and couldn't manage the load.
In the evenings, we cooked dinner together, then attended Christopher's races or watched TV in the living room. It was a nice routine. I could get used to it.
On Friday morning, she took me to physical therapy, and on the way to the condo, I said, "My presence is required at family dinner this weekend at my parents. Do you want to go with me?"
Noelle frowned. "Do you not feel comfortable getting around on your crutches?"
"I just thought you'd like a meal not cooked by your own hands." Sensing she was going to say no, I continued, "I think my mom wants to say thank you for taking such good care of me."
Noelle smiled over at me. "That's not necessary.
"Mom specifically said to bring you with me. Do you want me to get in trouble?" I asked, using my best pleading voice.
Noelle gave me a look. "Okay. I'll go. I wouldn't want to disappoint your mother."
"But you don't mind disappointing me?" I couldn't help but tease.
Noelle shrugged. "You'll get over it."
"What are your plans for the rest of the day?" I asked.
"I know we didn't talk about my time off, but I wanted to go to my family's and spend some time with them."
"You can have time off. I didn't mean to make you think you were at my beck and call twenty-four seven."
She glanced over at me. "That is the job of a personal assistant."
"I don't mind. But what am I going to do?"
"Watch TV? Reply to some of that fan mail?"
The thought of reading through it and admitting that I wasn't sure if I could snowboard at the same level again was crushing. "Can I come with you?"
"Why would you want to come with me?"
"You're saving me from boredom. I've been either at the condo, the therapy office, or the doctor's office. The occasional lunch out isn't enough. I'm getting cabin fever."
"Uh-huh." Her lips twitched with amusement.
"What? I am. I'm used to being busier. Please."
"How can I say no to that face?" Noelle said, exasperation tingeing her voice.
"You won't regret it."
"I already do. Don't you think my mom will think it's weird that you're with me?"
"Tell her you have to keep an eye on me, and you don't trust me not to work out if you're not there."
Her eyes widened. "You're not working out when I'm making donuts in the morning, are you?"
"Not yet. But the better I feel—" I wiggled my brows.
"Ugh. You're worse than babysitting a five-year-old. You don't know what's in your best interest."
I chuckled. "Speaking of what's in our best interest, did you talk to Cal yet?"
"I need to before I sign Eli's contract."
"Let's stop by Cal's and grab your trays. If he's there, you can tell him what's going on. There's no point in continuing to work for him when you don't like going there and he's threatening to pay you less."
"Yeah, okay. I'll get it over with." When she parked in front of the building, I got out. "You're coming with me?"
There was a reason I suggested this while I was in the car. "You need help carrying trays."
She raised a brow. "And how are you going to do that?"
"I'll manage," I said as she opened the door for me.
I was getting tired of her waiting on me. For once, I wanted to do something for her.
Inside, Cal was at the counter.
"I'm here to get my trays."
Cal joined us in the kitchen. "Sold out again today, but we had more complaints online about the price."
Was Cal even telling the truth?
Noelle chewed her lip. "I wanted to talk to you about that."
"I'm glad you're seeing reason. Customers will be happy, and you'll sell even more donuts."
I couldn't imagine her baking more donuts. She got up early as it was. I leaned a hip against the counter, holding my crutches in one hand.
"Our agreement says I can pull out anytime, and I'm going to exercise that right. Today was my last day."
"You can't just up and leave me in the lurch. My customers are expecting donuts on Saturday morning."
She let out a breath. "I'll bring a few trays for tomorrow, but I have a new vendor, and they want exclusivity."
"Who's the vendor?" Cal's tone was dangerously low.
Every muscle in my body was tense. I didn't want to step in, but I would if he yelled or made a move toward her.
Her face pinched, she said, "That's none of your business."
"I'm going to find out."
"I appreciate the opportunity, but this new vendor offers an industrial kitchen so it's a better situation for my business," Noelle continued in a professional tone.
Cal grumbled. "My customers aren't going to be happy about this."
"I'm sorry, Cal, but I had to do what was best for me and my business. I wish you luck." Noelle grabbed the trays, and we headed outside.
On the sidewalk, she let out a breath. "That wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be."
"That's because I was there." I saw the way Cal's gaze shifted from Noelle to me. He knew I had her back, and I didn't have to say a thing. I might be on crutches, but the Wilde family had clout around here. I wouldn't let him treat her poorly.
"Thank you for coming. I wasn't sure I'd ever work up the courage to do it."
"One more day giving Cal donuts, and then you're all ours. Have you thought of a donut shop name?"
She chewed her lip. "I'm still working on it. Do you have any ideas?"
I thought through some options. "Wilde's donuts. But then that highlights the resort, not you."
"These are the ones I was thinking of: Sugar Rush. Donut Delight. Noelle's Nirvana."
"I kind of like Sugar Rush."
"Me too. But there's no alliteration like with the others."
"Do you want your name on the donuts? The more I think about it, I wonder if it would be better to keep it separate from your other businesses. It's something unrelated to your personal assistant or your event planning business."
"That's a good point."
She had to go there tomorrow, but maybe I could invite myself along again. She could handle Cal on her own, but she didn't have to. He was disgruntled and might not react well. I wouldn't give him a chance to give her a hard time.
It was clear that Eli would be a better business partner than Cal, who was only looking out for his bottom line.
At the resort, she carried the trays to the kitchen where Marcus had cleared space for her.
"Are you our exclusive donut girl yet?" Marcus asked.
"One more day. I just need to sign the contract and give it to Eli."
Marcus hugged her. "It will be nice to work with you."
She threw her arms up. "This kitchen is a dream compared to my apartment."
"Do you need help moving your stuff?" I asked her.
"Are you going to help?" Her brow raised playfully.
"I have a few brothers who could."
"I don't have much. Just clothes and other small items. Your condo is fully furnished."
"What will you do with the furniture in your apartment?"
"I'll probably just leave it."
I wanted to ask follow-up questions, but her face was closed off. She didn't want to talk about this, especially in front of Marcus.
"You want to take that contract to Eli? Make Sugar Rush official?" I asked her.
"Sugar Rush. Is that the name of your donut company?" At Noelle's nod, Marcus said, "I love it."
"Thanks for your support. I think I'm going to like working here."
"There's no better kitchen or chef," Marcus teased as we laughed.
"I'll run this contract upstairs and then meet you in the condo. I'll slide it under the door if Eli isn't working."
"I'll go with you."
Eli’s door was closed so she pushed the envelope underneath.
"Are you going to let me go to your mom's tonight?" I asked her.
"I said I would. Besides, I owe you one for the donut deal."
"I didn't have anything to do with that. It was Eli."
"Yeah?" Noelle looked at me as we got into the elevator.
I swiped the card, and the elevator ascended to the penthouse level. "Eli already had the deal in mind when I came home."
"I'm glad I got it on my own merit."
"Of course you did." It was obvious to everyone she was a hard worker.
In the condo, I sat in my usual spot on the couch and flipped on the TV while she set up with the laptop on the armchair. She sifted through emails, occasionally asking for help in responding to something.
It was nice; there was the hum of the TV and the click-clack of Noelle's fingers on the keys. Before I knew, I was out.
In my dream, Noelle put down her laptop and straddled my lap, promising to make me feel good.
My cock woke the hell up at the feel of her on top of me. She kissed me as her hands drifted over, then under, the edge of my shirt. Her hands felt so good on my skin. But I wanted more. She sat up and lifted her shirt over her head, revealing breasts that threatened to spill over the lace cups of her bra. I couldn't resist reaching around her and unhooking her bra. The straps slipped down her arms, and she let it fall between us.
Her nipples were a dusky rose color, hard and begging for my mouth.
"Killian. Killian."
I woke up to a gentle shaking and warmth along my side, not my lap.
"Wake up. We have to get ready to go to my mom's."
I sat up, wincing at the residual pain in my knee and alarmed that my dick was hard and the dream wasn't real.
"You need medicine?" Noelle asked me, her voice laced with concern.
I nodded shakily, hoping she wouldn't notice the bulge in my pants. When she stood and moved toward the kitchen, I grabbed a pillow and placed it in front of me. Then I thought about Noelle's mother and siblings, desperate to ease the ache. By the time she returned with two pills and a bottle of water, I felt calmer.
"What were you dreaming about?"
"Was I talking in my sleep?" I asked, worried I'd called out to her or given her some indication that I was dreaming about sex with her.
She frowned. "No, but you were restless."
"I was dreaming about snowboarding."
Her face filled with understanding. "That must be hard."
"I thought I'd miss it more when I was awake, but I've been surprisingly okay. It's been nice spending time with my family." I downed the pills, then the water, hoping to soothe my dry throat.
"Do you need to take a quick shower before we go?"
"I should." Maybe I could rub one out and get this woman off my mind. I didn't hold out much hope for that though.
"I'll change too. I grabbed my stuff when I went out earlier." Noelle disappeared into her bedroom, and I was grateful for the reprieve. I felt vulnerable after dreaming about her. Like my emotions were way too close to the surface. I didn't want her to know how I was starting to think about her as more than a friend. She was my assistant, and this wasn't my home. This entire situation was temporary. I had to remember that.
When I recovered, I'd be back on the slopes again. Telluride would be a distant memory. It would be pointless to develop feelings for someone whose job and family were here.
I hobbled to the shower, turning on the water and stripping out of my clothes. This time, I locked the bathroom door. Noelle had a habit of showing up in my bedroom after I'd showered. I didn't want her to happen upon me while I was rubbing one out to the memory of her in my dream.
She was able to be professional while living in my condo. The least I could do was not lust after her. But first I needed to get rid of this desire building inside me.
I stepped into the shower, shampooing my hair, and letting the water take care of the suds. I soaped my body next, my mind drifting back to that dream and the memory of her breasts. Would dream Noelle have moved down my body, pulling my pants down to reveal my hard dick? Would she have licked the head, then stretched her lips around the length?
I wanted to think she would. That every time she asked if she could help with something, it included my aching cock. I was the worst boss in history, but I wasn't ending this fantasy, not before I got some relief.
The sensation of her mouth around my dick had me spurting over the tiles within seconds. I rested my head on the cool tile, wishing that I could do something about this urge to make a move on Noelle when there were so many reasons why I shouldn't.
I cleaned up and turned off the water. Then I rushed to get dressed. I said I'd hurry, but I'd probably taken too much time in the shower. I found Noelle on the couch, looking down at her phone. "Are you ready to go?"
She blinked up at me. "Yeah, sure. I was just dealing with something."
"What's that?"
She stood, and her shoulders were tight. "Cal. He's mad that I'm leaving him without any donuts."
"I thought you could back out anytime you wanted without notice?"
"That was our agreement, but I think the provision was meant for him. He could back out anytime he wanted."
"That's not how contracts work. What did you say to him?"
"That we had an agreement, and I'm not doing anything wrong." Noelle sighed. "As soon as we left his shop, I felt lighter. I can't wait to be done with my obligation to him. I didn't realize how badly I felt working with him."
"I'll come with you to deliver donuts tomorrow." I didn't trust him.
She smiled at me as she grabbed her purse and moved toward the door. "Are you going to protect me with those crutches?"
"Hey, I've got moves." I swung one crutch crazily, and she giggled.
"Are you strong from your workouts?" she teased.
"Yes," I growled, not liking her teasing me about this.
Her expression softened as she opened the door for me to hobble through. "I appreciate you acting as my white knight. I'll take you up on your offer."
That meant that whatever was on her phone was worse than she was admitting to me. I didn't like it. I'd need to talk to Eli about Cal having the potential to cause problems for Noelle and, by extension, us.
In the car, I asked, "What do I need to know about your family?"
"You already know everything there is to know."
"I remember your mom reprimanding us when we'd run wild through the lodge. She'd say the guests didn't want to stay here with wild animals running around."
Noelle smiled. "I remember that too."
"She'd call us her boys, as if we were hers too. We called her our other mother."
"She felt like you were hers in a way. I guess all the staff did. You were around all the time."
"Just like you."
"It was a nice way to grow up, but I'm glad that Mom can be home with Christopher and Winnie."
"I bet she likes that too."
"She doesn't like not being able to physically go to work. She wants to feel useful. And she'd never say anything to your family, but she takes pride in the consulting work she does for you."
"Eli said that she's probably not recording all her hours."
Noelle sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised. She doesn't feel like it's work unless she's in an office or changing bed sheets. She's old-fashioned like that."
"Can you encourage her to report her hours? It would go a long way to helping you too." I kept my focus on the side of her face, so I caught the slight wince.
"You know my mom."
"Maybe if she knew how much pressure you put on yourself to help out, she'd be more willing to be honest about her hours. She deserves to be paid for her time." Noelle deserved so much more too.
Noelle kept her gaze trained on the road. "I can try and talk to her."
"You don't like talking to her about money." Money was an issue for their family, and it was also the topic they avoided.
She glanced over at me. "You know me so well."
"You're a lot like your mother. You're a hard worker, and you care about everyone around you."
The skin around her eyes softened. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"I meant it as one. You traded your dream for your family. Not many people would do that."
She scoffed as she turned onto the road that took us to her mom's. "A lot of people think I'm crazy for doing that."
"I don't."
She glanced over at me as if she was surprised by my answer.
"I admire you for it."
"You're sweet."