Snow Job by Tara Wyatt (best large ereader .txt) 📗

now here he was, set on ruining the life she’d worked so hard to build. She could feel herself starting to spiral. She was going to get fired, and then she’d have a hard time finding another job, and then she wouldn’t be able to cover her half of the rent and she’d have to move out of the city where it would be harder to find the kind of job she wanted and she’d have failed. And it would turn out that her biggest mistake was ever agreeing to work for Sebastian Prescott in the first place. She pressed her hand to her eyes, her shoulders shaking, tears slipping through her fingers.

“Kayla?”

Oh, fucking hell. The absolute last person she wanted to see right now. Of course.

She swiped at her eyes and forced herself to look up. Sure enough, there stood Sebastian only a few feet away, looking ridiculously sexy in a gray Henley and jeans. She hadn’t heard his footsteps over her sniffling. She glared at him, knowing and not caring that she probably had mascara running down her cheeks and that her skin was all splotchy. She was not a pretty crier.

“Come to gloat?” she shot at him.

His eyebrows drew together and he tilted his head to the side. “No. I was coming to find you to apologize because I feel like an asshole.”

She narrowed her eyes, squinting at him through her tears. “Probably because you are an asshole.”

He sat down on the bench beside her without waiting to be invited. “Probably.”

“Well, you can shove your apology up your ass because it’s too late. The damage is done.”

He stared down at the floor, his hands clasped between his spread legs. “I’m really sorry, Kayla. I’ll go talk to Stammler. I’ll tell him it was me.”

A fresh burst of anger flooded her and she turned to look at him, her arms crossed. “You know, the pranks were one thing, but messing with people’s food? You crossed a line. Someone could’ve been hurt or worse. That was low, even for you.”

He looked up at her, his frown deepening. “Wait, what? I didn’t do anything to anyone’s food.”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Right. Like I’m going to believe anything you say.”

He laid a hand on his chest. “Kayla, I swear on my life that I didn’t do anything to anyone’s food. All I did was the itinerary and the cult video.”

She looked down, not sure if she believed him or not. He sounded sincere, but she didn’t trust him. Not after the havoc he’d caused. And yet…she found that she wanted to at least hear him out. Why, she had no idea. Maybe she was just a sucker for a handsome face.

Or maybe she was just a sucker for Sebastian.

“I’m thinking of joining, by the way,” he said casually, leaning back and extending his legs out in front of him. “I’m not taking my chances waiting around for those alien garbage trucks.”

Despite herself, despite everything, she bit her lip, trying to hold back a laugh.

“You should join. Maybe they’ll put you on a rocket straight to the sun.”

He glanced over at her, the corner of his mouth quirking up. “Maybe they will.” He took a breath and then looked at her. “I really am sorry, Kayla. I know you probably don’t believe me, but I am. It was stupid. I was blaming you when I shouldn’t have been.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you, you jerk.”

“I know. I don’t listen well.”

“Among other things.”

He nodded slowly. “Among other things.” He shifted a bit closer and his scent hit her, making her stomach explode in butterflies. Why did she have to respond to him this way? It wasn’t fair. He was able to turn her on simply by existing, even when she wanted to throttle him.

“I felt bad about what happened, you know. I mean, I wasn’t sad to see you go, but I still felt bad. I just wanted help. And when I went to go talk to your boss, that was coming from Stammler. Not me.”

He shifted his weight, turning to face her. “I know. I let you down. And then when I saw you again…I just wanted someone to blame and I got caught up in…in all this stupid shit. But I’ll talk to Stammler, okay? I’ll tell him that it was me.”

“Do you swear you didn’t mess with the food?” She studied his face, looking for some kind of sign that he was telling the truth, because for whatever reason, she really, really wanted him to be telling the truth.

He pressed a hand to his chest, drawing her attention to the way the fabric of his shirt clung to his muscled frame. “Swear. I wouldn’t do anything that would hurt anyone.”

She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Then maybe some of this is on me. I thought I had it all handled, but…” She shook her head. “I don’t know.” Fresh tears pricked at her eyes, and then she sucked in a sharp gasp when she felt Sebastian’s warm fingers under her chin, tilting her face up.

“Hey. Don’t do that to yourself. I worked with you for three years, Kayla, and I know how capable you are.”

She sucked in a shuddery breath, her eyes holding his. They were the most gorgeous shade of deep blue. The kind of blue she wanted to dive into and get lost in. “Did you really come find me to apologize?”

“Yeah,” he said, his voice dropping. “I did.” He moved a little closer. “And to do this.”

And then his mouth was on hers, his lips firm but gentle, sending tingling heat dancing over her skin. Her heart fluttered in her chest as he kissed her slowly and deliberately, like he was tasting something meant to be savored. Like she was a dessert he’d been looking forward to for a long time. She made a soft sound in the back of her throat and he lifted his hand from her chin to her cheek, cupping her face.