My shoulders droop forward, and he runs his knuckles over my cheek, not finished speaking.
“Last night was so much more than I thought it would be. If I seem like I don’t care, it’s because I’m trying really hard not to pick you up and carry you into the shower so I can beg to be the one to wash your hair. The last thing I want is to overwhelm you when this is so new. So, I promised myself that I was going slow this morning and hope like hell you could still tell just how much I like you. I’ve obviously failed in doing that, and I’m sorry.”
It hits me viciously. Guilt worms its way through me, making me frown as I reach for the hand on my thigh and thread our fingers. His eyes brighten once again, turning my favourite shade of blue-grey.
“Don’t say sorry for that. I should have known you were just thinking about my feelings. I’m being selfish.” I take in a long breath and twist my mouth. “And you’re not going to scare me off. I know I’m not the most obvious with my feelings, but I like you, too. A lot. It shouldn’t be all that different for us now. We’ve always been best friends. The only difference now is that I know what you look like naked.”
His laugh is rough yet vibrant. “That, among a few other things.”
“You could remind me of what I was missing,” I say, a sudden shyness stealing the confidence from my voice.
He glances at the time above the stove and then back at me. “You’ve got time?”
“I can make time.”
Our food gets abandoned, half-eaten and growing cold. He stands and tugs me off my stool before tugging on my loose robe tie and groaning when it falls open. His heated stare threatens to set me on fire when it lands on my hard nipples. My lips lift at the corners as I take a step backward. He takes one forward, tracking me like a predator.
“What are you waiting for?” I tease, continuing to retreat.
Suddenly, an arm shoots out and catches me around the waist. I belt out a laugh and let him carry me back through the condo to my bedroom. He bypasses the bed and heads for the ensuite instead.
Then he makes good on his promise to wash my hair.
35
My lips are still tinglingfrom earlier when I sit in my eleven o’clock meeting, already counting down the minutes until I meet Finn for lunch in an hour.
After the shower that lasted long enough for the water to run cold, he sat on my bed and watched me get ready for work. And I mean literally watched. He didn’t go on his phone or turn a show on the TV hung on the wall across from my bed, even after I told him he could. Instead, he took inventory of every piece of makeup I picked up, how I used them, and then asked to help curl the few pieces of hair behind my head that I was struggling to reach.
If I wasn’t already falling in love with him before, I would be after that.
There’s no denying that’s what’s happening. If I’m not already in love with him, it won’t be long before that changes. I could dig into that, but I’m choosing not to. What we’re doing is too new to be pushing it like that.
Victor’s polished, hard voice carries across the sleek conference table in the centre of the room, but he’s too busy arguing with Rowena to notice that I’m not paying much attention to what he’s said thus far. He’s been up her assabout my demand for the crypto disclosure and why he wasn’t consulted before it was sent off.
It’s my fault that we didn’t tell him beforehand. I haven’t worked directly with Victor since I first started here, and I suppose I’ve grown accustomed to simply corresponding with Rowena regarding our clients. She’s just as in control as he is, but she’s not constantly trailed by a demon spawn with a habit of running his mouth to the Devil. A.k.a., the same asshole who’s sitting on Victor’s right with his chin lifted in a way that tells me he’s the real reason behind this meeting.
“What concerns me is that a disclosure motion was filed without my knowledge,” Victor says, his hands folded on the conference table.
The glittering watch on his wrist surely costs more than my car. He’s flashy like that. The type of man who wants the world to know how successful he is and doesn’t settle for mere career accolades. Even at hisbigage, with his name on the door of a well-respected law firm, he has the confidence of an up-and-coming Soundcloud rapper who posts videos of himself online, counting fat stacks of money.
Rowena doesn’t so much as blink beside me. She keeps her legs crossed beneath the table and hands laid on her lap. “Yet it wasn’t filed without approval. I knew all about it. I’m not sure why your knowledge is more important than mine when you chose to sit back on this case.”
It’s only a small lie.
She knew about the motion after I finished filing.
“It exposed the firm to the risk of being seen as overly aggressive,” he counters, not touching the rest of her argument.
Across from me, Spencer shifts in his seat. I can feel his slimy gaze on me, heavy and unwanted. It’s only when he speaks that I look at him, teeth almost bared.
“With all due respect, Rowena, motions like this should go through all of the managing partners on the case before being filed. Especially when they’re based on speculative assets.”
Speculative?
Stiffening in my chair, I lick my lips and pin him beneath my narrowed eyes. He’s cut through the good mood I came into work with this morning, and that’s pissing me off more than his ridiculous argument. I can feel Rowena’s attention flicking briefly to me before disappearing.
Finn’s voice drifts through my head, and I focus on the steady warmth of it before zoning back into the room.
