Naughty Nicks (5 page)

“No rest for the wicked. Or the horny.”

Locking the door and turning all the front office lights off, he crept back into his office, sat behind his small desk and stared at the pile of papers.

He’d had a golden opportunity to spend time with her outside of the office and he’d blown it. She’d been excited by the idea of having something to eat with him, so why didn’t he take advantage of it?

“Because I’m too old for her. And an idiot.”

And that was the truth.

Blake grabbed the top file folder off the pile, opened it up and did his best to stop thinking about his favorite holiday elf and her sinfully tight yoga pants.

Chapter Three

Kim had been tapping her Snoopy pen against the desk for the better part of the past five minutes. Her favorite beagle topped the cap, a present from Blake from the previous year. She’d cherished it, not just for the absolute cuteness of Snoopy sitting on his dog house, but because it was the first gift he’d given her that had been personal. Not a gift certificate to a spa, or a book store, but something that he knew she loved.

None of which was saving the poor dog this morning.

She wasn’t exactly nervous—because that would be absolutely insane—but she had more than her fair share of energy this morning. Even an extra fifteen minutes on the treadmill hadn’t helped quell the pulses that raced through her every time she thought about Blake and how she was convinced he was going to kiss her last night. Nor had the fifty squats she’d done, and she was definitely going to feel those tomorrow.

She couldn’t for the life of her figure out what had stopped him from following through on his intended kiss. Or why he’d practically ignored her since his arrival an hour ago. It wasn’t as though she would have hit him, or gotten mad. God knows she’d been throwing off enough signals for him to have picked up on them by now.
Stupid
,
irritating man.

Her sexual frustration was taking its toll on her and had become apparent to those around her. Poor Kevin would have died of a heart attack if she’d pushed him any further during their workout session. Thankfully, he’d been a client of hers long enough to call her on it before things went too far and he threw his back out or got a hernia. Next session she’d totally have to buy him a smoothie booster as an apology. And maybe cut down on the pushups for him.

Right now she had something more pressing on her mind—how to figure out a way to convince Blake he should take a chance on going on a date with her.

Snoopy’s head bounced hard enough off the desk that the pen flew out of her grasp. He landed nose down by the edge, in danger of falling onto the floor.
This is why you can’t have nice things.
It wasn’t Snoopy’s fault she couldn’t convince Blake that there was nothing wrong with the two of them taking a chance on starting up a relationship. Picking it up, she ran her thumb along the back of Snoopy’s head, checking for damage before tucking him back into her purse.

“Kim, have you looked any further into setting up our site to accept PayPal?”

Another burst of energy surged through her, taking time to ignite the nerves between her legs and set her nipples to harden.
Okay
,
this was getting ridiculous.
Blake was still tucked away in his closet of an office, so he thankfully couldn’t see the blush she undoubtedly now wore. Hell, it might be classified as a
flush
if the spike in her temperature was any indication.

She couldn’t simply be horny. She’d
been
horny many times in her adult life and not once had it been this all-consuming, so undeniably attached to a specific man, his voice, scent...

Maybe he wouldn’t notice if she ducked into the bathroom to get herself off.

“Kim?”

“PayPal?” Work. She was at work and her boss asked her a
very important thing
. She should be paying attention, not fantasizing about masturbating on the job. She took a deep breath and gave her neck a quick crack. “I took a look and it won’t be hard. I just need to set up our bank account and get a few things verified.”

The scrape of his chair gave her minimal warning before he stepped into his doorway. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Why?” She crossed her legs again, increasing the pressure on her clit. If she could keep him talking, maybe she could come without going anywhere. Would that freak him out? She was somewhat surprised that it wasn’t freaking
her
out.

“You don’t sound like yourself.” Crossing the short distance between them, he reached out and placed his hand on her forehead. “You feeling okay?”

Kim couldn’t breathe. Blake always made a point of keeping a physical distance between them since
that night
. But his gentle touch coupled with what she now mentally referred to as the Near Kiss Incident, and she couldn’t control herself. Getting to her feet, she kept her gaze locked on his and stepped into his personal space. He hadn’t moved his hand from her forehead, no doubt making this an odd-looking vignette if anyone were to walk in on them.

“I’m hungry.” She was? As good an excuse as any. “I never did get my burger last night and I pushed myself a bit hard this morning at the gym.”

Blake let his hand drop from her forehead to look down at his watch. “Did you want to take off for an early lunch?”

She wasn’t a fool and knew exactly what he was asking, but she was horny and still thrown off from his rejection last night. If she had an opportunity to swing things to her favor, then she was all for it.

“That’s an awesome idea.” Without giving him a chance to argue, she grabbed him by the hand and hauled him toward the door. “The fresh air will do us both good.”

“Kim, I didn’t mean for me to come—”

Fuck
,
he said
come
.
“It’s not a date. We’re just catching a quick bite before the afternoon rush.” In all her time at Nicks they’d never
had
an afternoon rush. Still, Blake allowed her to shove his coat into his arms and push him out the door.

They walked in silence for a few beats while they both zipped up their coats. Blake pulled his gloves from his pocket, but she realized hers were sitting back on her desk. She pulled her hands up inside her sleeves and hoped they’d survive the freezing temperature for the ten minutes it would take them to find a place to eat.

“Where are we going?” Blake swayed as he walked, his arm occasionally bumping into her shoulder.

“I think Burger Gourmet is open. It shouldn’t be too busy yet.” She hadn’t thought this through, and really didn’t know what to say to him. She wanted to look up at him, maybe throw him a quick smile, but a part of her was terrified that Blake would turn around and run.

“Okay.” He cleared his throat, but kept his gaze locked ahead. “So if you didn’t get your burger, what did you end up doing?”

Masturbating to the thought of you going down on me and then fucking me senseless.
“Not much. Ate a bag of microwave popcorn and looked for funny gifs on Tumblr.”

Blake stopped walking and stared at her. “What the hell is Tumblr?”

“Basically it’s Twitter with moving pictures of cats, corgis and Sherlock slash. Well, it is on mine at least.”

He shook his head. “I know I don’t want to ask what Sherlock slash is, so I’ll skip that one.”

“Oh, it’s when people take John and Sherlock and they—”

“We’re here! Awesome.”

Blake stepped in front of her to open the door. She couldn’t be certain if the red hue of his cheeks was from their topic of conversation, or from the cold. She was going with the cold...because if not, that was so ammunition for a later date.

Burger Gourmet specialized in weird and wonderful combinations—like PB&J, or pulled pork and coleslaw—on top of the burger. Kim loved it here. “I’m so getting a Three Ring Binder. Not that I’ll be able to eat it all, but I’m willing to make a valiant effort.” She reached for her purse as she stepped into line, only to freeze.
Shit.
“Oh no.”

Blake put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “It’s fine. I have my wallet. Consider it part of your Christmas present.”

Even though there were three layers of clothing between them, Kim could have sworn that she could feel the heat from his hand on her skin. The touch fired up her unrelenting desire and sent another wave of arousal through her body. She needed to figure out a way to deal with this, or else she was going to be useless around him for the rest of the season.

If she thought for one moment he’d agree to another night of no-strings-attached sex, she’d jump on it.

The order placement went quickly and before she knew it they were crammed into a booth, two massive burgers between them, their coats off and neither one of them speaking.

“So...” Kim picked up a fry and popped it into her mouth. “Did you get your Christmas shopping done?” There, that was good. A nice safe topic to get them going.

“All done. Did it a month ago because I don’t normally have time to get out.”

Silence.

Kim picked up her burger and took a bite. She regretted ordering something so big as soon as the juice from the meat and hot oil from the onion rings squirted over her lips and dribbled down her chin. She smiled as she quickly dropped the burger back into its basket and grabbed a napkin. “I should have cut it first.”

“No problem.” Blake’s gaze was locked onto her mouth and chin. His lips had parted and she swore she saw him swallow hard. “How about you? Shopping done?”

Bought myself a new dildo and a flogger.
Wanna see?
“Nearly there. Still have the parents to get for. Don’t have a clue what to get them, but I’m sure I’ll find some inspiration soon.”

“Good.”

“Yup.”

She didn’t know if what they were engaging in could be classified as eye sex, but it was certainly approaching that department. The moment she’d look up and catch his eye, he’d hold it for a few beats before turning his attention to a part of her body. It was as though they were engaging in some silent banter.

Hey
,
I
think you’re hot.

I
think you’re hot too.
Especially your breasts.
I
particularly love the right one.

Thanks!
I
had that nipple pierced first because it was the one you sucked on the night we fucked.

Really?
I’d love to have a closer inspection of the barbell.
Is with my mouth okay?

Sure
,
as long as you use lots of tongue.

A glob of ketchup fell onto her shirt when she wasn’t paying attention. “Shit.”

“Let me help.”

One moment she was staring at the red blotch trying to think about the best way to get rid of stains and the next, Blake had stuck a paper napkin into his water glass and was blotting at the ketchup. Kim froze, barely remembered to breathe as his fingers picked at the fabric that covered her cleavage.

Oh fuck.
She’d forgotten that his hands were that big. They’d easily cupped her breasts. He’d be able to pin her to the bed while he fucked her with long, slow strokes. He’d keep her on the edge of orgasm for ages, until she begged enough and he’d slam into her, hard and fast, pushing her over the edge...

“I’m sorry, Kim. I shouldn’t have touched you that way.”

She looked up to see that he’d dropped the napkin and was pushed as far back against the booth seat as he could manage. It was only then that she realized she’d been staring at where he’d been touching her. Blake assumed she’d been upset.
Oh baby
,
I’m the furthest thing from.

“It’s fine. You were trying to help.” There were many more ways she wanted him to help her. Taking her shirt off was a start.

“No that wasn’t acceptable.”

“Blake, it’s fine. I didn’t mind.”

“I can’t go around touching—”

“I
really
didn’t mind.”

He picked up his burger and took a large bite, effectively ending any further conversation. God, at this rate she was going to end up pushing him further away rather than encouraging him to make a move.
Great date
,
Kim.
Way to make an impression.

They continued on in silence for a few minutes longer before her nerves got the better of her. “I don’t think I’ll be able to eat all this. I’m going to get a takeout box.”

Blake nodded, though for a moment she thought she saw disappointment flash across his face. “Probably a good idea.” Before he said anything else, his cell rang. “Shit.”

“Get it. I’ll get the boxes.”

Their impromptu lunch was over, and she could tell from his end of the conversation that they needed to get back to the office. She packed up their food while he talked to whoever it was on the other end. Blake had slipped back into work mode and she was left feeling like an idiot.

It was probably for the best lunch ended early, given how craptastically things had been going. What the hell had she been thinking anyway? She didn’t even know if he was actually interested in her. It was nothing but vibes, and she could be way off base.

Bullshit.
He wants you and you know it.

Blake’s phone conversation lasted the full way back to Nicks and he stepped into his office, his phone still fixed to his ear. And that was it. Well, she’d made the attempt, but it couldn’t have gone any worse had she tried.

“Jerry, one second.” Blake stepped back out into the main area. “Kim.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry I screwed up lunch.” Then the most wonderful thing happened. He winked at her. “You should try and get that stain out before it sets.”

“Yeah. I’ll do that.”

* * *

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly enough. Blake’s call ended and they both seemed to have gotten over the awkwardness of lunch. Maybe it was the security of being at Nicks, but Kim saw him relax once again. Next time maybe she’d bring takeout and they could have a picnic on the floor.

The phone rang and she picked it up, making sure to smile as she spoke. “Naughty Nicks Frosted Fantasies. Where one of Santa’s helpers will bring you a
special
present from the not-so-frozen North. My name is Elf Kim, how may I help you?”

“Are you like their pimp? What the fuck is a chick pimp called anyway? A pimpette?” Laugher rang in her ears as she slammed the receiver down.

“Asshole.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Crank call.” She got up from behind the counter and went to fill up her water bottle at the cooler. “Someone just being a jerk.”