Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“I’m not!”
Her hands flew up and pressed against my chest, shoving hard. She wasn’t strong enough to actually move me, but I stepped back, allowing her to escape the chair. Raina shot to her feet, flustered, her face flushed as she tugged at the collar of her blouse.
Not angry at all. Sure.
“If this is going to work,” I said evenly, “we’re going to have to be honest with each other. Otherwise, I might as well call Alexander and tell him to partner with Chuck instead.”
At that, something in her expression finally softened. “You should see your face when you say that. You look like you’d rather chew glass than let Chuck get one over on you.”
I shrugged. She wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t going to force her into this if she was truly unhappy about it. Even if that meant losing Alexander’s business.
The thought stopped me cold.
When did her well-being become more important than a business deal?
I didn’t have an answer for that—or maybe I did, and I wasn’t ready to examine it too closely. All I knew was that somewhere along the way, Raina had become more than just my assistant. More than just the woman I found attractive. She mattered to me, in a way I hadn’t let anyone matter in a very long time.
Raina sighed, absently twisting a strand of blonde hair around her finger. I found myself wondering if it felt as silky as it looked before forcing myself to focus.
“I really am fine. It’s just…” She cleared her throat, her gaze dropping to the floor between us. “The kiss.”
I went still.
Then, she lifted her chin, a stubborn look in her eyes. “I don’t want you to kiss me for the sake of a business deal ever again.”
Everything I thought I understood about this morning shifted. I’d misread the situation entirely. She wasn’t upset about having to pretend to date me. She was upset because I’d kissed her as a performance, a calculated move to sell a lie to Alexander.
Did she want me to kiss her for real?
A shocking amount of hope surged through me—hot and unexpected—but she was already moving toward the door. She reached for the handle and started to pull it open, but I was faster. My palm landed against the cool wood, pushing it closed again. I stood so close that my chest nearly touched her back.
Raina spun around, her eyes going wide when she saw how little space remained between us. She tried to step back, but there was nowhere to go. Her shoulders pressed against the door.
Fire coursed through my veins, and I couldn’t stop myself from touching her. I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, letting my fingertips trail across the soft skin of her cheek. Raina’s pupils dilated, her breath catching audibly.
“Tell me something,” I murmured. “Are you upset about the kiss itself? Or are you upset about why I did it?”
“I never said I was upset.”
I chuckled, low and quiet, and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. The movement sent a bolt of heat straight to my groin, my erection starting to strain against the front of my slacks. It took every ounce of willpower I possessed not to press my hips forward, not to let her feel exactly what she did to me.
I could see that she was affected too. Her pulse fluttered visibly at the base of her throat, and the flush on her face had deepened to a rosy pink. But wanting her didn’t mean she was ready for everything I felt—the intensity of it, and the way she’d consumed my thoughts since the moment she started working for me.
Hell, I was still trying to process it myself. All the feelings she evoked—the possessiveness, the tenderness, the raw need—it was overwhelming. Foreign. Terrifying in ways I didn’t want to examine.
“Please step back, Mr. Powers.”
I frowned. “Call me Simon.”
“Fine.” Her eyes blazed, and I genuinely couldn’t tell if it was lust or fury, or some combustible combination of both. Either way, it only stoked my own desire higher. “Move out of the way, Simon.”
I smirked and took two measured steps backward, still close but no longer crowding her. “I am sorry about the kiss,” I said.
Hurt flashed across her features before she could hide it. She turned toward the door again, clearly ready to flee, so I spoke quickly.
“Because I did it for the wrong reason.”
Raina paused, looking back at me over her shoulder. “The wrong reason?”
I nodded slowly. “But rest assured—the next time I kiss you, it won’t be a performance, and I won’t hold back.”
Her jaw went slack, her lips parting around words that didn’t come.
I turned away and walked back toward my desk, putting distance between us even though every instinct screamed at me to close it instead. I wanted her—another touch, another kiss, a chance to discover what else existed between us.