“Nothing today.” He kept walking, strides long and easy as they carried him away.
Bethany whistled under her breath. “I wouldn’t mind finding a man like that, if you know what I mean.”
All the heat I’d tried to keep tamped down flooded through me. My face had to be a thousand degrees. I stood and tugged my jacket into place. “I should head back to work. I just wanted to stop by and thank you for the coffee.”
“Oh, yeah. You’re welcome.” Bethany wiggled her fingers in a farewell, but her entire body was turned toward Dante’s office.
I had no right to jealousy, but it surged through me anyway. My hands curled into tight fists that carved crescents into my palms before I managed to force them open. I kept my head down and focused on my work for the rest of the day. It didn’t stop the nagging feeling that everyone knew I’d slept with my bosses. It didn’t stop the feeling that they were judging me for it. I’d always been good with people. Good at reading them. Good at telling them what they wanted to hear. Good at making them laugh. It was all part of being a woman of my size. We learned to navigate the world differently from our skinny counterparts. We had to earn likability and understanding where it was given to them.
But with Alexander, Dante, and Julian, there was no pretending. They had loved every inch of my body. And I’d loved the attention.
Even as I stood to leave for the day, a steady ache in my thighs and stomach reminded me of all the wonderful, devious and delicious things they’d done to me.
I hated to see it end, but I couldn’t take the risk of discovery. I’d worked too hard to find my place in this world to have all taken away from me.
Even as my heart broke because I was already halfway in love with them, I chose to let them go.
13
ALEXANDER
The second hand on my watch ticked louder with every passing heartbeat. I’d worked all fucking day with that sound in my head. Tick. Tick. Tick.
It had never bothered me before, but today, all I’d been able to think about was Harper and how long it might be before I had the chance to touch her again.
I dragged a hand across the desk and flipped open the folder with the reports for the next quarter. The numbers blurred in and out of focus, forcing me to blink several times until they crystallized. A soft knock sounded on the door.
“Come in.” It came out gruff after sitting in silence all day, and I cleared my throat as Harper opened the door and slipped through.
She wore one of her regular pantsuits with a jacket that tapered at the waist and flared out over her hips. The sight of her high heels reminded me of the gala, and my mouth tipped into a smirk.
“Sorry to disturb you.” The meekness in the statement snapped my gaze up to her face.
She refused to meet my gaze.
What the fuck? I stood slowly and braced my hands on the desk. “I like your interruptions. What can I do for you?”
Harper locked her hands together at her waist and tipped her head toward the floor, avoiding my gaze. My desk didn’t sit on a dais like Dante’s, but my height did put her at a bit of a disadvantage. I’d gotten used to her confidence in the bedroom after the gala. What pushed her to return to the meek little mouse standing before me?
“Harper?” I waited for her chin to lift before I continued. “Is everything all right?”
A shuddering inhale shook her shoulders. “We need to talk.”
“Four of the most hated words in the English language when they’re strung together like that.” I motioned at the chair closest to her and moved around my desk to take the one next to it. “What’s going on?”
She sank into the chair and crossed her ankles, pulling them beneath her. The motion almost looked protective, especially when she settled her knotted hands in her lap and swallowed hard. “I just want to establish that what happened after the gala was a one-time thing. It can’t happen again.”
Getting kicked in the balls by a sumo wrestler would hurt less than the impact of her words and the way she continued to avoid looking at me. I took a second to compose myself, knowing that if I spoke right away, too much hurt and anger would come out. Anger that would frighten her away instead of convince her totalk to me. She’d been open and honest with me at the gala when we discussed her father. I needed her to do that again. “What changed?”
Harper fidgeted, twisting her fingers and pulling them apart, only to tangle them together again. Finally, she raised her shoulders in a shrug that jerked her head to the side. “It’s complicated.”
“Yes. Most things are. But you were so sure that your father wouldn’t mind, and you have enjoyed our time together. I’m unclear why you want that to end. I will respect your wishes, of course, but I deserve a real answer.” I kept my hands on my thighs. If I touched her, I’d never be able to let go, and I refused to coerce her or attempt to manipulate her emotions. If she wanted out, I’d let her go. Once I understood why.
Her chin dipped as she averted her gaze. Standing, she walked toward the windows that overlooked the city, effectively putting a dozen feet between us. “I’m concerned that someone has seen us.”
I stretched out my legs and crossed my ankles, adopting one of Dante’s casual poses. “The kid won’t talk.”
“Not him.” Harper locked her arms over her stomach and swayed side to side. Self soothing.
