Page 29 of Strictly Against Policy

“Now, that’s the Lina I know,” he said in this deep, sultry tone I’d never heard before.

The tiniest bit of fire ignited in my lower belly, making me feel uncomfortable. His much bigger hands reached out toward me. He gestured for me to give my phone to him. But it looked as if he was gesturing for my hand and . . . for the part of myself I so willingly let him see.

Now there was no turning back, not after soliciting his help after only working with him for barely four weeks.

CHAPTER 15

Jonathan

I was irritated.

I refused to admit it, but I’d lived with myself long enough to know that when my jaw tightened and my neck tensed, it wasn’t good. It was never good. The writhing flush simmered across my skin, making me feel hot and bothered as Lina walked past me.

Andy and Anthony thundered out of the apartment with a box in each of their arms as I sighed. When Lina asked for help, I knew the perfect pair of twins who would help me get the job done fast. She said the two of us were good enough. But I insisted that if she wanted everything done before 2 p.m., then the Hughes twins were her best bet.

“We’re almost done,” I announced. “And it’s not even ten yet.”

Lina simply looked at me as she leaned down to grab a box from the floor. The low neckline of her white, loose shirt flashed me a sliver of the tops of her breasts. I had to look away to her face. My jaw ground tighter as sweat poured down my chest.

“I don’t have much. I suppose that makes things easier,” she said quietly. The tiniest of smiles on her mouth. “I appreciate this. Thank you.”

I quickly grabbed a box on the kitchen counter and headed out, following close behind her. My throat, now dry, swallowed thickly as I kept my eyes trained on her sneakers instead of her legs, which were clad in those dangerously tight black workout leggings.

Andy and Anthony were both polite to Lina as she walked past them. However, they were all grins and smirks with me. I silently groaned at them as I followed her to the moving truck.

Lina looked over her shoulder at me as she set down the box she had carried to the truck. Although her shirt was loose, it was thin, and I could still make out every dip and valley of her back as she bent over. I fixed my gaze on her shoes again as another flush sizzled across my body.

“You look hot,” she said plainly—almost bored.

“What?” I asked. The box I was carrying dropped into the truck with a loud clatter.

I whipped my head in her direction, face scrunched up in shock. The suddenness of my reaction made Lina raise her brows at me. She glanced at my chest. The white shirt I was wearing was soaked with my own sweat, plastered against my chest like a fourth layer of skin. Just like the night her brother harassed her, I watched the way her eyes darted over my chest and arms.

She eyed the width of my chest and the veins on my hands, slowly and meticulously. However, instead of her usual composed and unbothered nature, I noticed the tiniest of fractures in her icy demeanor. My heart began pumping as she looked back into my eyes.

“I said you looked hot. Not that you are hot,” she stated.

“You’re not wrong,” I said. “I am hot.”

It was an unusually warm and sunny day for February. It was forecasted to be in the mid-80s, not a single cloud in sight. Mild compared to the high triple-digit summers we always got here in Sunset Valley. However, due to our usual overcast and ice-cold rainy winter days, I wasn’t accustomed to this weather.

It was true. I am hot.

Before she could retort, I grabbed the back of my shirt and peeled it off. Sweat dripped down my sternum to my flat, defined abdomen, and lower to the top of my gray sweatpants. Lina watched the sweat drip, soaking onto the darkening cotton.

Her eyes quickly darted elsewhere as I continued to stand there, half nude with the sun beating down on us. She didn’t reply as her cheeks tinged with pink. I tossed my shirt over my shoulder with a smirk on my face. I climbed into the truck to organize the new boxes we brought in.

“Whew! I didn’t realize we’d be invited to a strip show when we agreed to help this morning!” yelled Anthony as he brought a box.

Andy laughed. I glanced at Lina to find her blood red from her ears to her hands. My brother-in-law tipped his head in my direction as I organized the boxes into neat stacks.

“He likes to show off,” Andy said as a matter of fact to Lina, jutting his jaw in my direction.

“I don’t,” I scoffed.

Anthony smiled at the silent Lina. “Oh, he’s definitely showing off,” he insisted. His loud voice echoed easily, making me shake my head.

“He’s not,” she retorted quietly. I stood taller at her sudden sheepishness and her avoidance of either of the twins’ eyes. “I told him he looked hot⁠—”