Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 3

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    Taylor turned to close the door and Zach got a good look at his ass; firm, high, tight, with a frayed patch in the denim that exposed a glimpse of thigh. Fuck it. The jeans were a plus. They showed Taylor was a working man and there was nothing wrong with that.
    "I was expecting to see Jack," Taylor remarked, taking a seat. He swung one booted foot up to rest on his knee, exposing his groin. For the second time that day, Zach was grateful to have a desk to hide behind. He could see the outline of Taylor's prick and the bulge of his balls through the washed-thin jeans, and it was mouth-watering.
    Zach knew exactly what side of the street Taylor walked and from the gleam in those brown eyes, and the warm, lingering looks Taylor was sending his way. Taylor had picked up on his interest and returned it.
    Taylor definitely presented a challenge. Zach licked his lips nervously and tried to get the meeting started with him firmly in control. "Mr. Brandon was called away. He authorized me to take the details of your bid and report back to him."
    "Well, he must think pretty highly of you then, Zach, because in all the years I've known him, Jack's never let anyone dictate to him."
    "No shit." Zach cringed. Way to be professional, asshole. "Umm, what I mean is, that's true, and the final decision's his. I'm just gathering data."
    "No, you meant, 'no shit'," Taylor said with a grin. "It's okay. You can loosen that pretty tie and relax around me, honey. I don't bite." The grin widened. "Oh, who am I kidding? I do, but I won't snap your head off." He stood and stretched. "Stiff as a board. I spent yesterday on a plane and those seats are designed to leave a man bent in half. Mind if we move this to the couch?"
    Zach gave the couch a dubious look. Low, wide, upholstered in dark red leather, it didn't really match the rest of the office furniture. Brandon used it to sleep on when things got too busy for him to go home. Once he was on it, though, there'd be no way of hiding the fact that Taylor's drawl and sweet, sassy grin had set the smoldering sparks of his arousal burning brightly again.
    Taylor didn't wait for his agreement, but flopped down on the couch with a wriggle of his ass and a low groan. "Oh, yeah. Most comfortable couch ever." He patted it. "Come on over."
    Zach picked up the file and a pen and used the first to shield his erection and the second to give his hand something to hold before he grabbed hold of Taylor instead.
    Once Zach was beside him, Taylor lost the grin and answered Zach's questions, balancing detail with brevity in a way Zach appreciated. The other two guys had droned on forever.
    "I need this job, I won't lie," Taylor said after a while. "My crew's good, but we're new compared to the men you say you saw before me."
    "You've been in business for five years," Zach said from memory.
    Taylor wrinkled his nose, making him look even cuter than when he was grinning. "In this town, that counts for nothing. Plus, I'm not from here originally."
    "I can tell," Zach said. Taylor had a Southern accent, faint at times, but unmistakable.
    Taylor nodded. "So can everyone else I talk to. Shit, it's like they don't think I know which end of a hammer you hit the nail with."
    "It's the stick part, right?"
    Taylor snickered. "You're going to have to be more subtle than that, honey."
    "Don't call me that."
    "Don't mean anything by it." Taylor patted Zach's knee. "You done asking me questions?"
    "I -- yeah, I guess so." He had a page of notes for his report, but he wasn't going to need them.
    "So, if I'm not being indiscreet, who gets the job?"
    "That's up to Mr. Brandon."
    "Mm-hmm. Well, who gets the Zach seal of approval?"
    Zach hesitated, but he couldn't see what harm it would do to tell him. "You do."
    Taylor's mouth set in a firm, serious line, making him look older. "Mind telling me why?"
    Zach shrugged. "The first company who bid was too big. This job is nothing to them and they weren't prepared to use a seasoned team. We'd have gotten kids too green to know when you can take shortcuts and when you can't. The second was a father and son outfit. Reliable and their bid was competitive, but one of them gets sick, or they run into problems, and they'll miss the deadline. I liked that they were ambitious, but they weren't prepared to go all the way and hire on more workers to make sure they could do the job."
    "Too big, too small, and I'm just right?" Taylor smiled and tugged at his hair. "But I'm Goldilocks, not