Page 41 of The Forbidden Billionaire
My brows rise again.
“Stacy let it slip,” she says. “Wasn’t her fault. She didn’t realize I didn’t know.” She gives me a curious look then. “Why did you go? What did you say to him?”
I pause, not sure what to say.
“Go on,” she says, “tell me.”
I look into her eyes. “I told him if he comes within a country mile of you, I’ll break both his legs.”
She bites her lip. “Really?”
“Really. I could see that he scared you, and that made me mad.”
“What did he say?”
“Not much.” I frown then. “I apologize if I overstepped the mark.”
“You didn’t,” she says softly. “I’m glad you did it. He deserved it. He’s a bully, and he’s hurt me in the past. I don’t know why I agreed to see him again. You were… you were right. I don’t mind saying it again.”
We study each other for a moment. The building is quiet. I’m conscious of the camera at the end of the corridor that’s focused on the door, and the fact that Stacy is probably watching us.
Aurelia’s eyes are huge, the pupils dilated in the low light. Her lips look very soft.
“Happy New Year,” I say.
“Happy New Year.”
“I’ll see you Monday morning?”
“Yes, okay.”
I back up, out into the hallway, holding her gaze. She watches me, then lets the door go, and it slowly swings shut.
Chapter Nine
Aurelia
On Monday, the doors of the elevator open to reveal Luke sitting in reception, waiting for me. He looks up and gets to his feet, and I cross the lobby to stand in front of him.
I didn’t see him over the weekend. I spent most of it at my parents’ home, and as they have good security there already, and I guess the guy needs time off sometimes, Stacy drove me there and back. She’s rather dour, and clearly prefers to concentrate on the road rather than chat to me, so I ended up looking out of the window or reading my phone, and trying not to miss Luke’s easy banter and wry humor.
I need to get over this ridiculous schoolgirl crush I appear to be developing, if he’s going to be my CPO for a significant amount of time. It’s tough when you spend lots of time together, but he’s obviously determined not to give in to any feelings he may or may not be developing for me, and if I carry on the way I have, I’m going to embarrass myself. I cringe every time I remember asking him to kiss me on New Year’s Eve, and his firm no.
It’s one reason why I agreed to a date with Ivan. I like him—he’s young, funny, energetic, and ambitious, and at any other time, I’d genuinely have been interested in getting to know him better. I’m conscious that right now, my motive for dating him is to show myself—and Luke—that other men are interested in me and I’m not obsessing about him.
Even if I am. Even if I keep dreaming about him and fantasizing about what it would be like to kiss him. Even if I’m getting goose bumps right now at the way he’s looking at me.
“Ready, ma’am?” he asks in his dry, formal way.
“Yes, sir.”
He lifts an eyebrow and gives me a warning look.
“What?” I ask innocently.
Mumbling something, he walks off toward the gym. I follow with a small smile. I agreed to let him show me some moves because I was genuinely alarmed by the way Dom grabbed my wrist and refused to let go, and I would’ve liked to have been able to get out of his grasp myself. I’m small, and a woman, and I’m sure men think of me as an easy target, so I’m looking forward to feeling a little less insecure if I’m out on my own—not that that is likely to happen at the moment, with Mr. Super Glue stuck to me at all times.
But I also had an ulterior motive. Although I understood why he didn’t kiss me, I’m a woman, and it still pissed me off that he was able to resist me when I was doing my best to be sultry. So, secretly, I also hoped that being up close and personal with him might push his buttons.
