Page 175 of Boardroom Sins

Rae gasps, but I cover it up with a kiss.

I’m patient with it. I feel like I have all the time in the damn world to taste her and feel her swoon. My tongue slides against hers and she becomes a puddle in my lap.

When I finally pull back, her lips are swollen again. I decide I want them that way always.

“Good morning,” I murmur against her mouth.

“Good morning,” she breathes back.

I settle her more firmly in my lap, one arm banded around her waist, the other reaching past her to retrieve my coffee. She fits here like she was designed for it. Her head drops to my shoulder and she lets out a contented sigh.

We stay like that, twined together on a kitchen stool in a house full of ghosts, drinking coffee while the dawn light strengthens around us.

“Oh!” Rae says after a minute of peaceful quiet. “Forgot. I brought your phone down. It was buzzing like crazy.”

She hands it to me. I glance at the screen. I have hundreds of missed calls and text messages. Afon, my attorney, half the board—the list goes on.

Rae watches my face as I sit and survey and do nothing. Her brow furrows with concern. “Shouldn’t you…?”

In response, I power it off completely and put it in a drawer.

She blanches. “Lukas?—!”

“Whatever’s burning can keep burning.” I cup her face in my hands, tilting it up so I can kiss her again. “I’m not done being selfish yet.”

58

RAE

Apple Watch Daily Activity Summary

User: Everett, Rae

Date: 16 December 2025

06:14 A.M.: Elevated heart rate detected. You appear to be exercising.

06:31 A.M.: You closed your Move ring! Great start to the day.

07:45 A.M.: Elevated heart rate detected.

09:30 A.M.: Elevated heart rate detected.

09:48 A.M.: You've doubled your Move goal!

11:22 A.M.: Elevated heart rate detected.

12:40 P.M.: Elevated heart rate detected.

12:41 P.M.: You've TRIPLED your Move goal. New personal record.

03:22 P.M.: Elevated heart rate detected.

03:39 P.M.: You have burned more calories today than in any previous 24-hour period.

05:15 P.M. — [WATCH REMOVED BY USER]

On Day 2 in the brownstone, consciousness arrives second.