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My body burns as I hold her close, and the longer I do so, the more I’m aware that I haven’t let her go.
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Of course.” Looking down into her brown eyes, I’m lost for a second in something that feels larger than both of us.
She clears her throat, breaking the spell. “What’s wrong with the elevator? Aria is going to think I packed up and left.” Stepping away from me, she gives me a moment to think logically without her presence filling the space with thick tension.
I hit the call button, and Wallace answers. “We’re working on it, sir. Give us a few. The power to the building is down, and somehow the back-up generator didn’t kick on.”
I sigh. “We might be here a while.”
Seraphine swallows, drawing attention to her throat, where a cross necklace dangles.
She’s so beautiful it hurts.
Her dress was made to her measurements, fitting like a second skin. Her hair is always up in some messy do that makes me wonder most what she looks like with it down. The way she looks apprehensive and confident at the same time is a skill most haven’t even begun to master, and I want to explore her.
I want to know her.
It’s been so fucking long since I’ve wanted to even speak to a woman that the feeling is foreign to me, coating my nerves in a drug that makes them dance beneath my skin.
Shifting on her feet, she winces.
“Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?” I rush to her aid, hoping I don’t look too eager.
“I’m fine. It’s just these shoes. I wore them for my first day, trying to be presentable, you know? Then, I saw that Aria wears them daily, so I’ve continued, but quite frankly, I’m dying.”
Her rambling makes me smirk. “Take them off.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“What would anyone think if they saw me? I’m sure the boss around here would lose their mind if I stepped off the elevator without shoes.”
I don’t know what comes over me—lunacy, probably. I step into her. “What if I told you I am your boss and I’m completely fine with you being barefoot? In fact, I demand you take them off. Leaving them on would be insubordination.”
She laughs nervously. “What?”
“I mean, I’m not the CEO, but I’m close enough. I’m the CFO, and the only one typically here daily, so yeah. Take off your shoes.”
Typically, Elias is the more bossy of us, so my back straightens at the way my tone had edged on domineering for once.
He’d be proud.
I hear her next swallow. “You’re the CFO,” she realizes aloud.
“Yes.”
“God, that makes the other day even more embarrassing.”
“What? Why?”
If more light were flooding this elevator, I think her cheeks would be flushed right now, and I wish I could see it.
Without answering me, she slips off her shoes, dropping five inches onto her petite feet. Her toes are manicured with French tips, and I can’t help but bite my cheek as I gape at them too long.
Fuck, she’s cute.
