Chapter 5
JULIET
“Tell me about Spenser,” Maggie demands with a grin.
It’s a gorgeous, warmer-than-usual Saturday and we’re walking along the boardwalk at the lake, the wind whipping our hair.
The air smells like spring and possibilities, not to mention cinnamon, which is blowing this way from the bakery.
“I’ve stopped by the bookstore multiple times, but he’s so shy, it’s impossible to get anywhere with him. ”
I crinkle my brow. “He’s not shy.”
Maggie laughs. “Dude, he’s barely said ten words in all the times I’ve talked to him. He’s shyer than the Shy Guy in Mario.”
I shake my head. “Not talking doesn’t make him shy. Just…quiet. Reserved, maybe. I think Mothfolk are just like that.”
“If you say so.” She shrugs, like she doesn’t quite believe me.
“Seriously. He talks to me all the time. He’s really smart and thoughtful and interesting. You just have to get to know him.”
“I’ve tried. Like I said, it’s impossible. Unless, you know, you’re a tall, beautiful brunette with a knack for trivia.”
“Hardy-har. Spenser talks to lots of people.”
Maggie grabs my shoulders and looks me in the eye. “I’m telling you, he doesn’t. Based on everything you’ve told me about your job, I’d say he talks to you, because he likes you.” Her expression turns mischievous. “Maybe he even lurves you,” she sing-songs.
“Oh, shut up,” I grumble. “We’re friends, that’s all.” If she ever caught on to the fact that I tend to get a flutter in my belly whenever I’m with him, I’d never hear the end of it. She’d tease me mercilessly. I yank my ponytail to tighten it, mostly to give my hands something to do as we walk.
“Well, then, tell me all about your friend. Beyond him being smart and thoughtful.”
“Uh, well, he organizes the bookstore on multiple levels, so it’s suited to both humans and monsters, which is really clever.
He’s protective of his employees. He likes…
bland foods.” I can’t reveal his secret penchant for snacking on dusty old pulp paperbacks.
“Um, he doesn’t believe in choosing a favorite book.
You’re not a true book lover unless you have at least ten favorites.
” I stop myself from saying that he has nice arms. She’d pounce on that like Jasper pounces on toy springs.
Maggie looks skeptical. “So…you’re saying he’s good at his job and he doesn’t like seasonings? That’s…really boring, Jules. Maybe that’s why he never talks. Is Spenser just a boring guy?”
“No!” I say, a little too loudly. “He’s fascinating, I swear.
I’m just not describing him very well.” I think of his feathery antennae and the swirling colors of his wings, the way he let me set up my own display based on vibes, his meticulous method of tackling inventory.
The way he searches for meaning in things and that he didn’t really know his parents.
How do I convey all that to my cousin without sounding like I spend all my free time cataloging this man?
“That’s true, which is weird. You’re usually better with words than this,” Maggie says.
“Look, I don’t know what to tell you. Spenser isn’t shy and it isn’t hard to get to know him. I don’t know why you’ve had trouble with it.”
Maggie stops walking, plants her hands on her hips, and smirks at me. “Sure, sure. I’m definitely the problem. It’s not that the two of you have some connection and secretly like flirting with each other. He keeps the two of you on the same schedule, probably just to spend time together.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s because I’m still in training. You know I didn’t come here to find a relationship. I came here to get over one.”
A cloud shifts and the sun beams directly on her, like a spotlight from the heavens, making her golden hair glow. It’s as if the universe itself wants me to listen to what she has to say.
“Oh, please. I don’t buy that for a second.
” She shifts, leaning against the wooden railing.
“You stayed with Braeden for as long as you did because it was comfortable and easy. He stayed because he wanted a mother, not a partner. He didn’t break your heart, and I don’t remotely believe that you miss him.
I bet you haven’t thought about him once since you moved here.
” She arches her brows, daring me to disagree.
I avoid her penetrating gaze, staring at the lake instead. I haven’t spent much time here, on the boardwalk or the beach. I should correct that when the weather warms up.
“Well?” Maggie says.
Ugh, I hate that she’s right. I did stay too long because I was comfortable, and I haven’t thought about him.
At least, not since I met Spenser. Still, she can’t make me admit it.
I start walking again, faster than before, leaving her behind me.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!
I cry in my pillow every night!” I shout over my shoulder.
She bursts out laughing and moves to catch up with me. “I know you better than that!” she calls out. I pick up my pace even more, forcing her to run behind me, still cackling.
SPENSER
It’s inappropriate to date employees. In fact, it’s inappropriate to even develop feelings for an employee, because if they catch on, it could make them uncomfortable.
I pride myself on being a good boss who always behaves well.
I have never dated an employee or even entertained the notion of being attracted to one.
I nod to myself. I don’t break those kinds of rules.
Therefore, I cannot have a thing for Juliet.
Except I do.
Dammit.
I set down the dumbbells I’ve been mercilessly curling. My chest and arms are on fire, but the pain isn’t doing a damned thing to distract from the hot brunette who works for me.
I take a drink of water and pace around my apartment, music pounding in my earbuds as Flicker watches me from her window seat. “It’s nothing, right, Flick? At most, a passing infatuation that’ll go away any day.”
Flicker yawns at me, smacks her lips, and closes her eyes.
“Some help you are,” I grumble.
Then again, maybe this is a good sign. Murmurkin are known matchmakers, so if she’s this disinterested in my Juliet dilemma, maybe that means this whole thing will pass and I can go back to working without worrying about getting hard every time Juliet so much as smiles in my direction.
My antennae will settle down, my dick will chill out, and I’ll be able to focus again.
Although…Flick has never really played matchmaker with me.
Granted, my relationship history is grim, a fact she surely recognized.
In fact, they barely counted as relationships at all.
Neither one of my exes could understand my need for occasional solitude.
They didn’t get that the moth part of me needed the alone time.
Now I’m alone all the time, which is how I like it.
Right?
A naked, fantasy image of Juliet pops into my mind, miles of soft skin, silky hair, perfectly round bre… “Jesus, Spenser, get it together,” I admonish myself, glaring down at my stirring cock. “Focus.”
I pick up a heavier set of weights and get back to it, grunting my way through the reps. Normally, working out is a great way to clear my head. The sweat, the attention on form…for me, weightlifting doesn’t leave room for daydreaming or ruminating on one’s problems. Or having explicit fantasies.
Usually.
I drop the weights when I finish my set, drinking more water and shaking out my arms. Argh!
I kick one of Flicker’s bouncy balls under the couch in frustration.
This is my personal ‘me’ time. No one ever sees me like this.
I don’t have a gym membership or jog around the lake.
I work out in private, where no one can tell that I’m vain and proud of my muscles.
Now, incessant thoughts of a tall, smart woman are ruining it.
I keep trying to convince myself that what I feel for her is just physical, but it’s more than that.
I mean, yes, she’s gorgeous, but she’s also smart, witty, vulnerable, interesting…
she’s exactly my type, and I knew it the moment we met.
I knew I’d hire her as soon as she took the application out of my hands.
What the hell was I thinking?
I chug my water in frustration and head for the shower. I need to cool off.
Or maybe jerk off.
I stomp to the bathroom, stripping as I go, and turn the shower on high. Stepping under the stream, I let the water pound against my skin, massaging my sore muscles. My cock is already hard and aching, my claspers extended and flexing, searching for the mate that isn’t there.
The fantasy image of Juliet dances through my mind as my eyes drift closed.
Her pheromones already drive me crazy, not to mention her jasmine scent and silky hair.
I know she has curves, and I bet her tits are high and round, perfect handfuls with tight little nipples.
She has an ass to match, juicy and plump, perfect to grip as I plunge into her from behind.
I grab my cock, squeezing hard, imagining it’s her muscles gripping me. I can all but hear her breathless moans as I fuck her, begging me to go harder and faster.
Yes, Spenser, just like that. Keep going. Right there!
My abs flex as I stroke myself roughly, not even bothering to go slow. I don’t want a tease. I want a vicious release. My breath comes in sharp gasps as the pleasure starts to build at the base of my spine.
Oh my god, Spenser. That feels so good. Don’t stop. Please don’t stop!
My hand slides along my cock even faster, squeezing the head on each downstroke, and my hips start pumping, chasing the orgasm. I piston into my hand, imagining it’s her pussy, over and over again.
Yes! I’m gonna come! Oh, fuck, oh, fuck, I’m coming!
Her imaginary voice echoing in my head, my cock flexes once, twice, and then I come harder than I ever have in my life. My knees go weak as pleasure courses through me, rope after rope of cum landing on my stomach.