I want You Deeper

He came around the counter and stopped. He was looking at her now like he’d never seen her before. Crap. Her legs were so pale, that he probably thought he was seeing a ghost, especially when combined with the state her hair was in.

“Temporarily.” Alyssa picked up the laptop and turned to face him. The laptop became a shield, protecting him from noticing her braless state. “I was laid off from TravTech. Most of the staff was let go. I’m starting my marketing firm and Technologia Cafe is my first client.”

“Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit. You’ve grown up.”

Yeah. She’d grown up. The last time he’d seen her, she’d been walking across the stage at college graduation along with his sister. He’d already been well-established in Silicon Valley and had flown out to see them graduate. Since Emily’s and Jeremy’s parents had died in a car accident while she and Emily were in college, Jeremy was the only family Emily had in the audience.

“Butter your butt and what?” Alyssa couldn’t help but smile. Yeah, she was supposed to be mad at him, but this was how it always was with him. The second he came around, she found it impossible to stay mad.

“I picked some sayings up from my business partner.” He shrugged. “Bad habit. Now, put that laptop down and hug me.”

She didn’t move. He didn’t move. He cocked his head slightly, frowning.

Was she prepared to explain to him why she was mad? She shook her head. No, she wasn’t. Not giving him the hug he wanted was creating unnecessary drama. But she didn’t want to hug him. Okay, she wanted to hug him, but she didn’t want to want it. So she decided to avoid the subject altogether.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

The frown lessened a little and he turned to stare at the glass-covered part of the counter next to him. Looking down, you could make out the top level of muffins and bread that Emily sold along with coffee every day. He’d have to go around the counter to see what was on the other shelves, though.

“I’m back.” He shrugged, turning toward her. “My sister needs me, so I’m working out of the Silicon Valley office for the foreseeable future.”

She seemed to have lost her ability to breathe normally. Jeremy was back. She hadn’t realized until now just how much it had helped her, knowing he was on the other side of the world. His company developed parts for cell phones, and the manufacturer was in Asia. He had a business partner here who managed things while he oversaw the manufacturing process.

Yeah, they’d all known he’d be back someday. She just hadn’t realized how soon “someday” could be.

“That’s great.”

Alyssa struggled to sound polite without seeming excited. This grudge against him was messing with her emotions. Deep down, she wanted to be genuinely excited.

“I’m here to help Emily out.”

Alyssa announced that it would mean anything to him. Jeremy had made a fortune off his company, using the money he’d gotten after his parents’ death. Emily, with the same investment, had started this coffee shop that was still struggling to get out of the red. Jeremy had put some of his own money into it to hire more people and buy extra equipment so they could take advantage of the local delivery market. But the undeniable truth was that you couldn’t throw a rock in Silicon Valley without it touching down between five coffee shops. The market was just beyond saturated.

“She told me. Thank you.”

Jeremy stepped toward her. She fought the urge to move back. She wasn’t afraid of him. She’d never be afraid of him. What she was afraid of, though, was the way she felt when he was around.

With a nervous laugh, Alyssa looked away. “It’s not like I’m not getting something out of it, too. I’m doing all the marketing for her in exchange for room and board. It’s a great resume builder for me. We’re pouring a lot of time and energy into her socials, just to get the word out. Plus, I have some plans to maybe get some media attention. Can you imagine if we could get a reality TV show or movie to film here?”

“That would be great.”

But he sounded distracted. When she dared look at him again, he was staring at her. Staring at her. It was like the grown-up version of her teenage fantasies.

He’d never, ever, ever looked at her like that before.

“I should be getting back upstairs.” Alyssa stepped around him, walking as far to the right as she could in the confined space behind the counter. It was like he was a magnet and she was metal. If she got too close, she’d be sucked toward him…

Maybe that didn’t sound as unappealing as she wanted it to.

“I’ll just hang down here, maybe fire the coffee machine up,” he called after her.

Alyssa turned to look at him. Seriously? He was just hanging out here until they opened? But…why?

“I figured you’d go home,” she said.

He shrugged. “My clock still hasn’t adjusted to U. S. time. I’ll sleep this afternoon after I get some work done at the office.”

Good. By the time she returned in an hour or so, he’d be gone. She could open the shop, help Emily out with customers, and maybe, just maybe, forget Jeremy was back in town. Hopefully, he wouldn’t stop in very often, and when he did, she’d be too busy to deal with him. Besides, she had her hands full lining up other clients, anyway. Ideally, she’d soon be able to move into her place and meet with Emily once a week or so, just as she would with her other clients.

“Just lock up before you leave.”

She didn’t wait for his response to that, instead turning and heading back toward the stairs that would take her to the safety of Emily’s apartment.