More than expected

Chapter 1

September




“You’re the one who’s acting weird,” Michelle hissed in a low voice. Tyler’s mouth pressed into a hard line. “Why are you always so unreasonable?” he scolded. She rolled her eyes and gathered the warm stack of papers from the copier. “Excuse me, I have work to do,” Michelle said, pushing past Tyler’s muscular frame.

He was hot on her heels as she clipped down the hallway towards her desk. “Michelle,” he growled in a low voice trying to keep up. She was undeterred by him and nearly to her chair when he grabbed her by the elbow and pushed her into his office.

“Hey,” she said, yanking her arm free. He slammed the door behind them, which sent a shockwave crashing over the gentle hum of their co-workers. Obviously someone would notice how forceful he had been. Tyler exhaled sharply and ran a hand through his hair. “Damn it! Will you just talk to me?” he said.

She was taken aback by the frustrated tone in his voice. She could see his chest rising as he caught his breath. She bit her lip thinking about all the toned flesh under his button up. God, why was he so sexy when he was angry?

“You can’t keep ignoring me,” he said, advancing on her. His tall physic closing in, she instinctively backed up until her round behind was firmly pressed against his desk. She was trapped. She reached a slender hand out to stop him from coming any closer. Her fingers burned against his rock hard pecs. It would be too dangerous for them to share any physical contact beyond this. She wouldn’t be able to stop herself.

“What do you want me to say?” she said. Her voice was slightly breathless. It made her annoyed that it was betraying her arousal. A wolfish grin spread across his lips. She didn’t like the power he had over her.

He reached up, placing both of his strong hands on her elbows. He couldn’t risk letting her slip away again. Not after all the chasing he had been doing over the past few weeks. He leveled his cold blue eyes at her. He could feel her slightly trembling at his touch.

“It was a mistake,” she said quietly. Tyler’s grip tightened. “We both know that’s a lie,” he replied. Her honey colored gaze drifted to the floor. “Michelle, you can’t deny that the other night was amazing,” he said, his voice softening.

She just shrugged, still unable to meet his eyes. One drunken night was all it took to royally complicate a five year working relationship. Michelle had been the executive assistant for Tyler and Jake Gilbert since they opened their own financial consulting firm. They had hired her straight out of college and she absolutely loved her job.

She knew that Tyler had found her attractive. She knew that he was a great guy, caring and hard working, even if he was a ladies man. They shared a playful flirtation that both of them knew would never advance beyond that, but then something changed.


“I can’t,” she said. He cupped her chin, tilting her face upward. Pools of tears had gathered in her almond eyes. She couldn’t bear to look at him. “I took advantage of you,” she whispered, biting back her tears. His pained expression was torture.

“Michelle,” he started in a low voice bringing her into his arms. She couldn’t believe that he was the one comforting her. It was for his own good. If she gave into him that would be the end of everything they had built over their working relationship. She leaned into him and just let him hold her. She breathed deeply, inhaling his special smell of spice.

Then there was a gentle knock at the door. Michelle quickly tensed and stepped out of Tyler’s strong embrace. “Sorry, I should get back to work,” she said, dabbing her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. Before he could protest she was slipping out the door of his office past his brother Jake.

Jake just stood clutching the door handle with a perplexed look on his face. Tyler threw up his hands and shook his head. Jake looked around between Tyler, who was now sulking in the corner of his office, and Michelle, who had tossed a stack of loose papers on her desk and then charged off towards the bathroom. “Should I even ask?” Jake said. Tyler just grunted and turned his chair to stare out the large window.