Mr. Buff: A Flaming Romance Read online

  Mr. Buff

  A Flaming Romance

  Milly Taiden

  Latin Goddess Press, Inc.

  Contents

  Mr. BUFF

  Untitled

  Untitled

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Milly Taiden

  Also by Milly Taiden

  Also by Milly Taiden

  Also by Milly Taiden

  Also by Milly Taiden

  Mr. BUFF

  A FLAMING ROMANCE

  NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

  MILLY TAIDEN

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  http://eepurl.com/pt9q1

  Every morning, Alexandra drinks in the sexy vision of Mr. Buff through his office window across the alleyway. He takes his workouts seriously, and Alexandra never misses the opportunity to see him return half-naked, sweaty and pumped, to his office suite to shower.

  But when Alexandra bumps into Mr. Buff, aka Andrew Carter, at a club, things go from visual to physical. Turns out Andrew enjoys the view from his office just as much as she does from hers and can’t take his hands off the woman who makes his blood roar.

  When Andrew is framed for the murder of his secretary, Alexandra goes “undercover” to get the confession from the real killer. All the while, someone else wants her dead for exposing a massive embezzling scheme. With a laundry list of people who want Alexandra dead, Andrew will have a hard time trying to keep her alive long enough to ask her to marry him.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Published By

  Latin Goddess Press, Inc.

  Winter Springs, FL 32708

  http://millytaiden.com

  Mr. Buff

  Copyright © 2012 by Milly Taiden

  Cover by: Mina Carter

  Edited by: Tina Winograd

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Property of Milly Taiden

  June 2018

  First ebook publication 2012

  Second ebook publication 2018

  Created with Vellum

  Untitled

  —For my readers. You rock!

  1

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  Alexandra stared around the restaurant, waiting for her boyfriend, Jack Masterson, to get off his cell phone. His disregard of her seemed to be happening more and more.

  When they first hooked up, he was nearly perfect for a boyfriend. He wanted to settle down and have a family. He was courteous and thoughtful. And not bad in the sack, when she could get him in there. But now, the true colors where showing.

  He called himself a highfalutin real estate developer—emphasis on highfalutin. Oh please. High full pain in the ass was more appropriate. Sometimes Alexandra wondered why the hell she was dating him.

  Jack looked around the immediate area at those seated nearby then turned in his chair to face the window. His voice dipped lower, but she still heard what he said.

  “I don’t give a fuck. Slip in whatever you have to but bury it deep in the contract so Carter doesn’t see it. He won’t sign it if he does.” He paused. His face turned red as if his blood pressure was about to pop his head off like a zit. “I want to take him for as much as we can.”

  That caught Alexandra by surprise. Who was Carter? What kind of person purposefully meant to hurt others? Yes, Jack could be a prick sometimes, but what man wasn’t? She couldn’t believe this. She’d not see this side of him. How much more had he hidden from her?

  After he finally hung up, she asked, “Who were you talking to? You can’t mean to consciously inflict harm on someone. Jack—” At his name, he snapped his head up, anger-filled eyes drilling into her.

  “Eat your salad, Alexandra, and don’t worry about my business.”

  And that was another thing. Why did she always have to eat salad while he ordered steak? She was so sick of lettuce, she could vomit. On his shoes, preferably. That image brought a smile to her face.

  “What are you smiling about?” he grumped.

  “Oh, nothing. Just contemplating my dinner salad,” she replied.

  He picked up the steak knife and sawed at the slab of meat on his plate. “Stop contemplating the damn thing and eat it.” She gave a silent sigh before he continued. “You’re going to lose weight if it’s the last thing you do.”

  The fork fell from her fingers, clanking onto the ceramic dish piled with rabbit food. “What the hell are you talking about?” she blurted in a whisper. “I don’t need to lose weight. The doctor says I’m as healthy as any other thirty-something. I’m happy the way I am.”

  Jack glared at her. “Well, I’m not happy and I’m the one who has to look at you. I want you into a size two by the end of the year.” Returning his attention to his food, he tried to let his words be the last.

  She called bullshit.

  Throwing her napkin on her plate, she launched to her feet. “Well, I’m not happy with the size of your dick, and I’m the one who has to fake it all the time,” she countered. Even for her, that was a bit over the top for a comeback. Just proved to her more that she needed to end this relationship.

  When the neighbors at the other tables stared with wide eyes and shock, her face heated. She grabbed her purse and headed for the exit.

  “Alexandra,” he called after her. She didn’t stop or look back. “Alexandra—” his hand grabbed her arm, stopping her, “don’t make a scene,” he growled.

  She snatched her arm from his painful grip and narrowed her eyes at him. “Scene?” her voice raised, “I’ll show you a scene, asshole.”

  “Alexandra, please calm down.” His tone sounded apologetic so she backed down and continued her path to the door. Unfortunately, he followed, whispering loudly, “Alexandra, I order you to stop right now.”

  And stop she did. She spun around and jabbed a finger into his chest, breaking a damn nail in the process. Now she was more pissed off. “You have no authority over me. Especially now that I’m no longer your girlfriend.”

  “W-what?” he stammered. “You’re dumping me?”

  Oh, for fuck’s sake. His insinuation wasn’t even dignified enough for a response. She whirled around st
epped through the door the hostess held open for her. How arrogant could someone be? She managed to find the cream of the crap.

  Digging in her purse, she felt her keys and pulled out the fob, clicking it to start her car. The echo of her feet stomping across the parking lot was loud. Her eyes searched for anyone getting into or out of a car. Nobody. Just her and Tiny Dick.

  “You cannot just walk out on me,” Jack said behind her.

  Her head turned over her shoulder. “Why’s that? Can Mr. Masterson, real estate mogul, not think that a woman wouldn’t want him?” She snorted. “All the money in the world is not a replacement for no intimacy, Tiny Dick.”

  He snorted. “No intimacy is what I got from you,” he said. “I have to fuck someone else to get any satisfaction.”

  Jerk-off Jack had been cheating? Questions that had never existed before rose with his words: “You’re a control freak, Alexandra. No man wants a woman telling him what to do in the sack. Sometimes I want to be the one leading. You’re too aggressive. You’re a good fuck, but not someone I could ever be with long-term.” Oh yeah, Jerk-off Jack had definitely let loose.

  As she reached her car door, Jack swung her around and slapped her face, throwing her against the vehicle. She glanced at the light pole next to her parking spot and pointed up. “Look up there and say cheese.”

  He twisted around and tilted his head back. “What the fuck you talking about?”

  “That’s good,” she continued. “The police can use the video just recorded as evidence when I press charges for assault.” With that, she kicked him in the crown jewels. He went down, hands covering his cajones.

  Through gritted teeth, he spit out, “I will kill you, bitch.”

  Alexandra opened the driver’s side door. “I’ll make a deal with you, Tiny Dick. You stay away from me and I won’t go to the media with all I’ve discovered about you.” That was totally a bluff. She had no idea he was doing immoral things. Only going off the phone call she heard inside. The guess seemed to be right, if his reaction was any indication.

  His face blossomed red. Really red. She’d never seen that shade on a person before. She feared he may have a heart attack or bust a nut. Wait a second. After all he said to her inside the restaurant, why should she care if he dropped dead? She repeated her warning.

  “Stay away from me and I’ll stay away from the media.” With that, she slammed her car door shut and sped out of the parking lot.

  Anger surged through her, changing her foot into lead. By the time she reached the on-ramp to the expressway she was doing seventy. She had her life back and she’d be damned if she let someone tell her she had to do this or obey that. If her next man so much as stared at another woman, she would kick him to the curb.

  Alex shook her head. She wasn’t that kind of person. The paranoid, untrusting woman Jack had formed her into. Could she get back to the person she was before Jack?

  2

  “So? What’s he doing? Come on, come on. Stop holding out already.” The soft, feminine voice on the other end of the line whined like a child.

  Alexandra rolled her eyes and tried not to smile. Why in the world had she decided to tell Nina about Mr. Buff? Nina had gotten Alexandra a temp job with the company. The woman who took care of the payroll and independent contractors was on maternity leave for several months. Since Alexandra specialized in accounting and HR, which payroll was a part of, Nina knew Alex would be a great fill-in

  On Alex’s first day, she stumbled upon Mr. Buff and his daily habits. And now, every morning, like clockwork, she’d get a call from her coworker, best friend, and cousin, requesting updates.

  Wound up and ready to pant, Alexandra looked into the office across the alley.

  The large, sparkling glass windows on both buildings allowed her to view the man walking around. She drank in the sight of the large, buff body, hence the name Mr. Buff. The man definitely took his workouts to heart.

  “Alex! What’s Mr. Buff doing now, chica? Tell me please, please, pretty pleeease?” Her fiery cousin, Nina, was a pain in the neck when she thought she was missing out on something good—especially information about one sexy, half-naked man, a man currently running long fingers through his impeccably cut hair.

  Alex watched a few locks fall across his forehead. “Not much. He’s about to put his shirt on.”

  “Crap. Listen, I have to go, but you have to record this stuff on your phone and e-mail it to me. Stop being so selfish and share. You know I don’t have a man right now. I can use all the visual stimulation I can get.”

  She hung up on her cousin’s laughter and continued watching the top contestant to fulfill all her fantasies dress. Under an idyllic trance, she visualized the rest of him when he was in the shower. Excitement hurled through her at the thought of getting a peek at Mr. Buff in the wet room. A streak of unbidden desire whisked through her veins and raced down to her core.

  Her brain, better than any digital calendar, had recorded his schedule down to the minute. Each morning, he walked into his office wearing his workout gear. In running shorts and tank top, his body glistened with perspiration. Every time she got a glimpse of all that sweat-covered brawn, her nipples pebbled.

  In wide-eyed enthrallment, she watched him head into the bathroom attached to his office to shower. Every single day it was the same. He walked out in his suit pants but never the shirt. She wondered if he had some kind of conspiracy against her hormones. The display of contracting muscle made her breath hitch.

  His powerful back and amazing, tight ass were sending out Morse code signals, beguiling and inciting her interest.

  His white, tailored dress shirt cut the visual feast short. She had to bite back the urge to scream. Not that he would hear her, but her coworkers sure would.

  Why not just go over there and ask the man out? Typically, she would have done that already. Found out his name, instead of just calling the poor, sexy, strapping creature Mr. Buff, at the very least. “Go after what you want” was her motto in every aspect of her life; she was a self-assured woman. Until recently, she didn’t lack self-confidence. Thanks to her ex, her confidence had taken a whipping.

  Would she be able to find a man who would want her, deal with her for who she was and not try to change her? At thirty-three, she was tired of the dating scene. Was it so wrong that she wanted to meet someone and maybe settle down?

  Alexandria refocused her mind, her vision still glued to Mr. Buff. Oh shit. He was watching her. Heat crawled across her skin and settled over her cheeks.

  Embarrassed, she gave him the usual small smile and microsecond wave.

  His wicked grin turned the man from handsome to outright gorgeous when he waved back. Balling and holding papers in a death grip, she dropped her gaze. All she needed was for the man to think she had some kind of sick fetish for watching him.

  An unexpected meeting had run late. Appeased by the quiet, she was sure the floor was empty as she walked back to her office. The soft rustle of her skirt was the only noise she heard. She needed to send some emails and update files before she went home.

  She was worn out but wanted to take care of these tasks while they were fresh in her head; tomorrow she had other things to do. Darkness enveloped Mr. Buff’s office, and a small tug of gloom pulled at her. Foolishly, not having seen him all afternoon, she missed the sexy giant.

  Peaceful and silent, the starlit sky summoned her. She headed to the large glass window to stare out at the night for a few moments. Irritation flared at a bothersome tear in her pantyhose. Whoever created hose was surely into cruel and unusual punishment. Without a second’s hesitation, she lifted her pencil skirt, turned her back to the glass, and attempted to pull down the stretchy nylon.

  Toeing off the high heels, she twisted a foot. Her nails caught on the material, and she tripped and lost her balance. The room spun, and she careened backward. Plastered all over the glass, her bikini-clad ass was on display.

  She pulled and huffed in frustration. Angry, aggravat
ed, and exhausted, she soon lost her composure. She pinched her own skin and growled when she tugged.

  She finally was able to rip off the torn hose. Exasperated, she fixed her skirt and straightened. Stupid material—no way she was wearing a pair again. She was going back to thigh highs. Making a face that matched her disdain, she balled the hose and hurled them at the trash. She peered into the darkened office across the street and gave thanks no one had witnessed her embarrassing moment. Out of breath, she sat down to work and placed the annoying experience in the back of her mind.

  3

  “What do you want, Leslie?”

  Andrew gritted his teeth as he weaved his way along the busy morning sidewalk crowd. He listened to the woman on the other end of the line complain about his lack of interest in returning her calls. For fuck’s sake, when would she get the picture? He’d stopped calling, didn’t answer her messages, and had stated in his nicest possible tone, “I don’t think this is going to work out,” but she still continued to reach out to him.