His hand twitched to touch her again, to pull her into his arms. That desire was so strong and so foreign that Colton balled the hand into a fist and shoved it into his pocket before he plucked the audacity to rest it on the small of Avery's back as if it belonged there. What was wrong with him? He did not believe in lust at first sight let alone something more—but the way that treacherous heart of his bloomed achingly in his chest, some may think he was in love.

Love! Ha! What an odd and flippant thought. Colton slung his coat over a shoulder, unable to remember ever feeling those feelings for anyone. Not that he wasn't capable of love. He was. He just hadn't found one worth losing his mind over.

And who was he anyway, daring to get so familiar with a woman he'd just met?

I'm just doing what Carter would do... He assured himself, eyeing that enticing curve of her lower back as they were spewed out by the revolving door.

Definitely Carter!

When a wall of rain hit him, whipped about by the wind, he gasped, Avery and her back forgotten for a moment. "Shit, it's raining."

"Yep," was her response, standing there already shivering in her blouse and her pencil skirt, doused in rain.

"I think this calls for an extra hot coffee." He tried not to stare at her or answer the pull that had him wanting to take her in his arms, away from the rain. Seriously, who was this guy? And why was it taking all his energy not to glance at her wet shirt clinging to her chest, and that interesting choice of bra peeking out? It wasn't like he hadn't been with a woman before. He had. Many. Sure, there was no way he could match Carter's numbers, but he wasn't a celibate monk! But lately, his desire for casual flings had died, along with the hope that one day he'd find his own Mrs Thebes.

Yet, the urge to see Avery in her bra, without that clinging white shirt, hit him unexpectedly and he cleared his throat, quickly holding his coat out to her. "You look cold."

She peered at his outstretched hand like he was holding a live snake or something. He loathed eyeing her chest as if to say, 'everyone can see what I can see'. He could almost imagine her naked. Almost. An uncomfortable burn twisted in his chest at that. He did not want everyone to see what he could see. Far from it. If he wasn't on the verge of thinking, 'She's mine,' he would have chalked it down to empathy, how he would have hated for people to ogle him if he were in her shoes.

"Thanks." She finally reached for the coat. Whether it was because she realised what he was trying to say was, 'Your shirt is seethrough,' or whether she was indeed cold, he didn't care, as long as she no longer stood in front of him like some damned siren, tugging at his mind.

She wore the coat as a cape, large and enveloping around her small frame. Thank God. It did what he was hoping. It hid her from the world and any unwanted attention. Even his.

A small part of him mourned the change in his view while another part sighed in relief. He wasn't meant to run wild and engage in trysts, creating a literal HR nightmare for the company should the women complain, not that he could recall any against Carter, but still.

I'm meant to act like him, all charm-your-pants-off flirty, until the asshole's done with hiding for some reason. I'm not meant to get involved...

He forced his gaze back up to her pretty face. It seemed familiar somehow, like he knew her from somewhere even though this was the first time he'd met her. Like we were meant to meet you?

"Shall we?" He waited for her to follow him around the corner to the cafe, slightly panicking that she might change her mind the longer they stood there like two strangers. "The cafe is just a block away..."

She seemed to weigh her options, holding onto the two lapels of his coat over her neck. He could almost imagine her asking herself 'Should I stay or should I go?'

"Unless you have a prior engagement, of course," he added, hating the fact that he was offering her a way out of this if that was what she desired.

"No, I have no plans." She shook her head, eyeing the traffic whooshing past on the road and that sea of umbrellas that was now a trickle as most people were already on their way home or waiting for the rain to lessen before dashing to catch their trains, buses, and taxis.

"Great." He nudged his head in the direction of the cafe and held a leading hand out to her. Follow me.

After a hesitant glance at the traffic again, she matched her footsteps with his.

They walked side by side, staying close to the building and its concrete awning as much as they could. As they rounded the building, he placed himself between the onslaught of rain that was finding them now and then and the road where cars and buses were zooming by, not a care in the world for spraying pedestrians.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" He peeked at her from the corner of his eyes, wondering what made her change her mind about joining him for the coffee. He knew every time she had looked at the traffic and the road, she'd considered walking going home, getting out of the rain. "Why does a meteorologist apply for a personal assistant's job?"

"Would it be silly to say I'm looking for something?" She gave him a faint smile.

"And what are you looking for, Avery?" He narrowed his eyes as the cafe came into view, and unlucky for him, it was still open and fairly packed with Friday night patrons. He was suddenly glad Avery had his coat on, for her own sake as much as his. Why was she bothering him so much? Why her?

It must be the meteorology thing. I just want to know why she'd want such a random job. 

"Adventure," she replied, tugging at that heartstring of his that missed his adventure so damn much every day. He'd been acclimatising to summit Mount Everest for the past few months, helping a village out with a new school while he was there, and now, suddenly, all those months of planning, all that training, had all gone out the window because of his stupid brother whom probably did something stupid enough that he needed to hide from Pops.

"Adventure?" He chuckled, partly trying to hide how intrigued he was, and partly trying to tamp down his desire to throw all of this in Dad's face and get back to that school and that mountain. "I don't see how an office job can be adventurous." He opened the cafe door and watched her shimmy in, already ogled by some men there, but the matter worsened when she proceeded to take his coat off and hand it back to him.

"Corporate life gets as dull as a cheap knife..." He ground his jaw against the onslaught of mild rage. Those ogling eyes seemed to widen further at the sight of Avery and her see-through shirt. How dare these men look at her that way? She wasn't his, but even so, no woman deserved that kind of filthy attention, like a gazelle walking into a den of lions. He placed the coat back over her shoulders, shielding her from those looks, and tried to sound casual. "The novelty of it wears off just as quickly."

"What does a CEO do anyway, that you're already so bored?" she asked, her eyes dazzling under the warm cafe lights, stealing him away from his prickly thoughts.

Instead of replying, he glared at the floor of onlookers before rushing out into the rain. There, he stood, beyond the awning, letting rain pelt down on him until his white shirt clung to his torso, as sheer as her blouse was beneath his coat. His lush hair draped over his handsome face, forcing him to rake a hand through it and sweep it back. He imagined one wouldn't need much of an imagination to know what he, 'Carter' Thebes looked like naked or under a shower after that. The way his shirt clung to him readily displayed his torso from neck to navel, showcasing his chiseled abs. Once he was certain there'd be no mistake about his own state of 'nakedness', he waltzed back into the cafe as if nothing had happened.

When he joined her, dripping wet from head to toe, Avery's brows twitched a little higher.

"It was a bee." He smiled tightly, an unjustified ball of anger brewing in his core.

"A bee?"

"Uh-huh. I'm allergic to bees." He eyed the floor of people, from the barista to the customers at the tables he could see, all their eyes were now squarely on him. Good. At least this way, he'd spare Avery those uncomfortable glances. His gaze shifted back to her then, and his lips curved into a smile. A slight blush glazed her cheeks as her eyes hovered on his shirt a moment before she cleared her throat and peeled her gaze back to his face. "Shall we get a table then?"

She nodded, and he gladly enveloped her with his hand without touching and snaked them towards the back where he saw a couple getting ready to leave. Thanks to how packed the place was, Avery didn't seem to mind his almost-touch. Or perhaps she was still bewildered at his ploy to take attention for himself.

She probably thinks I'm full of myself. He smiled at the thought.

When Avery sat down on the padded seat set against the wall, he took the opposite chair, glad to be a semi-wall against the world and her should they think they could just eye her as a piece again.

"You didn't have to do that." She quietly flipped through her menu. "But thank you."

"Do what?" He tried not to make it obvious he was studying her over his own copy. "I did nothing."

She pierced him with a look, and it was too late to look away. She'd caught him staring.

"I didn't like the way people were looking at you, and since I insisted on this coffee, it's only fair I part take in that attention too, no?" He eyed the leering cafe and winked. Most people were staring at him, instead of her. The man who'd just given them a preview of every woman's fantasy about a sexy man getting caught in the rain.

"You got wet for me?" A shy smile bloomed on Avery's lips and she looked away, biting her lower lips. 

"I guess I did." He scoffed, returning to the menu.

"Why?"

"Maybe I'm trying to woo you."

"Did Carter Thebes just say woo?"

"I guess I did." He laughed again, relaxing into his seat. "So, what can I get you? Anything you like. It's on me." 

Utterly amazing him, she replied, "Well, Mr Thebes, surprise me," her eyes twinkling over the wall of menu they had propped up between them.

"What if you hate what I get you?" Colton dropped his menu, thus dropping his paper wall.

She shrugged, uttering the words that hit him like a cupid's arrow. "Then, it'll be an adventure."

"You and I seem to have very different definitions of adventure." He laughed, getting off of the chair. "Fine. Keep me on my toes. One surprise, coming up."

He couldn't help but steal glimpses of her on his way to the counter and as he placed their order, wondering what sort of adventures he'd go on if Avery was the one he said he wanted. As his PA, of course.

"One regular latte, on skim, one sugar, with a drizzle of your caramel sauce please; for me, a boring old cappuccino, both extra hot." Colton stole another glance at Avery, sitting there watching him with those curious eyes. Wonder what she's thinking? Whatever it was, a warm feeling seeped into his cold bones, and for the first time in years, he got the feeling he wanted something more than a fling, and for some reason, he wanted it with her. "And throw in two slices of your best cake, will you? I'm in the mood for something sweet."

"Celebrating?" the barista asked, eyeing Avery too.

"Not sure yet. Maybe." He tapped his phone at the pay station and grabbed the table number before returning to the woman who'd suddenly turned a dreary day into one he hoped wouldn't end just yet. He wasn't ready to say adios to Avery Honey. There was so much he wanted to know about her, but namely, 'Do you have a boyfriend?' was topping the list right now.

He wondered at her all the way back to their table. Their table. Such a simple thought, yet, it made him bouyant as a cloud. Because what were the chances he'd have met her any other way if it wasn't for the stupid interview? Apart from being aloof, Avery seemed to show little interest in him as Carter Thebes and more interest in having an adventure as a PA, whatever that entailed. But whatever it was, he hoped she'd be delighted when she got the job. He was going to hire her as his PA. He'd known it the moment he'd seen her CV, something out of the ordinary, someone out of the ordinary. And frankly speaking, he couldn't recall a single applicant who'd left an indelible mark in his memory.

His mind was all Avery Honey in the most delightful, yet slightly unnerving way.

He was captivated. Somehow, Avery had captivated him. And he would do anything to find out why? Was he just like his brother, falling for beauty, or was there something more to her that intrigued him in a way beauty alone couldn't? His heart was telling him it was the latter but his mind wasn't convinced. She'd said she was seeking something from Thebes & Thebes, or possibly working for him. She wanted something. He could see it in the way she eyed him when she didn't think he was looking. But what was it? Surely, lust wasn't the only fire burning in her eyes, not all the time. So what was it? What did she want from him?

"It won't be long." He dropped back into his seat with a smile. I want to know what you're hiding, Avery. "So, meteorology. Not many jobs going in it at the moment, I suppose?"

Thank you for reading BADBOY CARTER. If you enjoyed the chapter, consider leaving a comment, clicking the star, and/or follow me!