I walk through the main room and past the chairs stacked on tables. She’s probably in her office so I doubt she’ll even notice I was here and gone. I make my way to the employee entranceand into the back hallway. As I pass her office, I see the door is closed. Strange. She keeps it open when she’s here.
Through the back and up the stairs effortlessly. I pick up her floral fruity scent as soon I reach my door. Is she… in my office?
I open the door and see her sitting on the arm of the couch, looking at me expectantly. She’s wearing a tank top and tight yoga pants, her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She looks like she’s just come from working out.
“Ms. Lorenzo,” I say. “What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk,” she says.
Uh-oh. In my entire history with women and relationships, those words have never meant anything good. I walk all the way in and close the door behind me. “I just stopped by to grab my wallet. So, if there’s something you want to talk about, we should do that during business?—”
“I’m quitting.”
I freeze and stare are her. She’s not joking. Her hands are clasped in her lap and she’s got a look of slight panic in her eyes. “What are you talking about? We had a deal.”
“I know, and I intended on honoring it… but something’s come up and I just need to quit.”
“What’s come up?” A flare of anger rises toward me as I approach her. “If it’s another job, I’ll match whatever salary they’re offering?—”
“It’s not another job, it’s just that this was a bad idea.” She pauses and her eyes take on a doe-like appearance. Innocent and wanting. “I can’t stay here any longer.”
“The hell you can’t.”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t be that way. I mean, it’s all just business?—”
“Do you have any understanding of who the fuck you are dealing with, little girl?” I growl at her. “There is no backing out of a deal with me.No onebacks out of a deal they make with me.”
She stares uncertainly, then she stands up slowly. “Mr. Orlov, I’m not a part of your world. I don’t have to adhere to your rules?—”
“You don’t make deals with Bratva and renege on them,” I say, getting even closer to her. She holds her chin up to me defiantly, her eyes dancing. “Lesser people than you have paid a hefty price for doing just that.”
“You know, the whole fucking world doesn’t revolve around you, Roman Orlov,” she says in a low, almost conspiratory tone. “If I want to walk out of here, I’ll fucking do it and you can’t keep me here?—”
I grab her by the back of the neck before I’m even conscious of doing it. I pull her close to me, holding her still as she grabs my wrist, panic rising in her eyes.
“You’re not going anywhere.” I growl at her. “Not unless I say so. I am the reason this club is still standing. I am the one keeping money in your pocket.”
She stares up at me. We’re almost nose to nose. Her warm breath brushes my face. “Let me go,” she whispers.
“You are staying, Ember. That was our deal and you’re going to stick to it.”
I push her away. She stumbles back, tumbles over the arm of the couch, and lands on her back. Her legs spread automatically, showing me the triangle between her legs. I can almost trace out the lines of her lips through the tight fabric. She looks up at me from the couch, her icy blue stare becoming determined.
“You want me to stay?” she says in a breathless, yet even tone. “Make me.”
The air has shifted between us. She stares up at me, daring me to make a move. I’ve got raging hard-on right now. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a woman more than I do right now.
“Don’t tempt me,” I tell her, and I mean it. She’s got no idea where this could lead if she keeps this up.
She regards me for a few seconds. Then she sits up and clears her throat. She smooths back the strands of her hair that have come loose from the ponytail. “I’m leaving, Roman,” she says. “If you don’t want me to go, I suggest you figure out how to keep me here.”
She stands and starts to walk around me. My arm comes out automatically, wrapping itself around her waist. She stops, and we’re side by side, eye to eye with her looking up at me.
Her lips are pink and moist with anticipation and her eyes darken as she focuses on my mouth. “You do not want this, Ember,” I say to her in a low growl.
Her hand moves to my crotch, rubbing my cock through my jeans. “You do, though,” she says softly. “You declared your rules, Bratva King. Are you not man enough to enforce them?”
I smile down at her. A woman who’s used to being in control is very, very intriguing. “I didn’t give you permission to touch me.”
