Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“Go ahead, now I’m curious.”
“I’ve been jealous for a while now.”
My heart flutters. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I know how you are. I’ve seen all the girls, you know? It’s hard not to notice when we’ve been working closely together for all these years, and I keep telling myself that I shouldn’t care. You’re just my boss, right? We’re professional. I can handle it. Except there’s always been a voice in the back of my head that’s, like, why doesn’t he ever hit on me? What is it about everyone else?” She laughs lightly and shakes her head, rubbing it against my shoulder. “I know, it’s stupid, right? I feel silly saying it out loud.”
“No,” I say as something loosens in my chest. “It’s not silly.”
“Sure it is. I mean, you’re Conlan Costa. Manwhore extraordinaire.”
I grimace, not looking at her. I’ve never been ashamed of the women I’ve slept with, at least not until right now. “You’re a decent person.”
“No, I’m definitely messed up if I’m admitting all this to you. I’m like begging you to make fun of me or something.”
“I’m not going to make fun of you. But what I meant is I never came on to you because you’re a decent person, and I never wanted to ruin that.”
“You think you’d ruin me?” She laughs, sitting up. I love the mocking, adorable look in her eyes. “Come on, Con. Get over yourself. It’s just sex.”
“Yes, it’s just sex, but you’re my assistant, and you’re a damn good one. If I fucked you and that made things awkward, I’d have to fire you, and that would be terrible for everyone.”
“Exactly why I never gave you any indication that you had a chance.”
I lean toward her. “Do I have a chance?”
Her mouth opens. She’s about to say something cheeky. Some comeback that would put her walls firmly back into place.
I could let her shut this down. It’d be better for both of us if we didn’t keep walking this line. I feel it, like we’re spiraling closer and closer, pulling together, and it’s going to end in an ugly crash.
Except in the meantime, it feels so fucking good.
Before she can say whatever she’s thinking, I kiss her. I kiss her hard, pulling her against me, letting my mouth dominate hers, letting my tongue break in past her teeth, lengthening the kiss, tightening it.
She kisses me back immediately. No hesitation this time, no surprise. Only desire, pure and simple, burning back across our connection.
She feels it like I do. All this talk about jealousy, but all this time, I’ve been the one watching her from afar.
I’ve wanted her since the day I gave her the job.
Hell, I even planned on fucking her at some point.
But as the days passed, then the weeks, and I realized that she was not only extremely competent, but also not the kind of girl I typically went for—I decided that she was better off without me.
That hasn’t changed.
Only I’ve crossed the line and once that line’s crossed, I’m not the kind of man able to turn back.
“Come with me,” I say, standing. I grab her hand and pull her along as she pulls in deep breaths.
“Where are we going?”
I shove open an employees-only door. It leads into the indoor pool, currently closed for renovations. I bypass it, cut a line toward the far wall, where I yank open another door and flip on a light.
“Take off your clothes.”
She stares at me as I shut the door behind me.
It’s a sauna. Currently turned off, but I work the mechanism until the heat fires up.
“What are you doing?” she asks, but she’s not trying to get away.
“Get undressed. It’s going to get hot in here shortly.”
“We shouldn’t. I mean, you shouldn’t. I mean—”
I step up to her and put my hands on her hips. I kiss her neck then the corner of her mouth. She whimpers gently.
“You can leave,” I whisper. “Go ahead, walk past me, I won’t stop you. But if you want to stay, take off your clothes.”
The moment hangs. I don’t know what she’ll choose. The anticipation drives a spoke of adrenaline into my core. I love this moment, suspended between two possible outcomes, between two worlds—the reality in which she walks away, and the reality in which she stays.
“You first,” she says.
So I take off my shirt.
Chapter 24
Isabel
That man is too attractive.
Normally, I hate him for it. There’s nothing worse than someone that knows how good-looking they are.
It’s just an ugly ego thing, like he knows that I want something from him—and he’s going to hold that against me.
Except right now, with Conlan standing there shirtless, looking at me with his eyebrows raised, all I can think is—
This is a mistake I’m going to enjoy.
I’m not drunk. Tipsy, loose, sure, but not drunk. I know what I’m doing when I take off my top. I know what I’m doing when I watch him remove his pants until he’s only in a pair of boxer briefs. The man’s long, lean muscles are beautiful in the weak sauna light. The room begins to steam as the automatic mechanism pours water over the fake rocks.