A Little Taste of Naughty (A Shattered Lives Short) Read Free

her long, black hair drags over my body while she’s kissing me down to my… I better stop or it’s going to get awkward in here real fast.” They both laughed. “Mostly, I’m just frustrated and I don’t know what to do to help her.”
    “Got nothing for you, boss man. You’re on your own with this one.”
    “Not really seeking out advice. Just venting.”
    “No problem.” Steve glanced at his watch. “I suppose we should open up shop.”
    They both stood. “Let the circus begin,” Henry mumbled.

    -Elaina-
    Once confirming Claire would pick me up for dress shopping, I spent the morning lounging in sweats, screwing around on social media, and even reading a bit.
    But all I could think about was Henry and how sweet he had been to me all week over the dress disaster. Feeling awful about how I treated him, I decided to pay him a visit at work, thinking maybe we could do lunch…or I could be his lunch.
    I walked into the blood bank’s front doors, and approached the reception desk, but no one was there. Weird. I looked around, and the waiting room was packed.
    With a stack of file folders in his hand, Henry stalked out of the door on the left side of the reception desk, stopping dead in his tracks when his saw me. He looked quite stellar in a lab coat. “‘Laina? What…? Why are you here?”
    “I’m feeling guilty about this whole week and about being a crazy bitch, so I thought we could, umm… do lunch.”
    His arms lowered a bit, and he smirked. “I wish, love. But Jennifer called out and Sandy has today off. I’m playing receptionist, phlebotomist, manager…” He looked over my shoulder. My gaze followed his. Then he set the folders on the desk and placed his hands on my arms, dragging them down to my hands. “I really want to do lunch with you, but I just can’t. I’m stacked up. Sorry. Go figure, right?”
    “Yeah, really. Do you want me to get you some food?”
    “Actually, we just ordered for delivery and will eat in between appointments and walk-ins.”
    Another employee popped out of the door on the right side of the desk, stopping. “Ready for another, boss man.”
    “Thanks. Uhhh… Steve, this is Elaina. Elaina…Steve. He’s a phlebotomist here.”
    I watched them exchange a nod, like Steve was giving his approval. I held out my hand and murmured, “Pleased to meet you.”
    As he accepted, he said, “Pleasure is all mine, sweetheart.” Henry quirked a brow as his hand lingered. He pulled away and jammed it through his hair. “Right. Well, I should get back to work.” He snatched a file from a bin on the desk, and called out the name.
    “Okay, well…I guess I’ll go back home until Claire picks me up.”
    “I’m sorry. Wish I had the time.” He wiggled his brows which, in turn, made me laugh. He pulled me into a soft embrace, whispering in my ear, “Later, I’m going to fuck you silly. Love you.”
    Suppressing a girlish giggle, I whispered back, “Love you, too.”
    Henry pressed his lips to my cheek before I broke the embrace and headed out.

    Right on time, Claire picked me up. It was my last chance to find something to wear to Julian’s wedding. If I didn’t find anything, we decided I would raid her closet.
    The mall was stupid busy and we had to push through the mindless drones staring at the obnoxious holiday décor. There was so much shiny tinsel shit, I almost went blind from the glare. Not that I was Scrooge or anything, but I prefer to eat my Thanksgiving turkey without choking on the Christmas spirit.
    “I cannot believe the holiday decorations are out and the Christmas music is blaring already. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet,” I muttered as we pushed through the crowd waiting in line to see the jolly fat guy in the red suit with all the creepy elves hanging around.
    “It’s quite crazy, but you have to admit it is whimsical.” Claire’s sing-song voice made me want to punch something. “Let’s just find you a dress and shoes.”
    “Yeah…a