AllFreeNovel
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It was so different seeing a person in a ballroom, surrounded by people, than seeing that same person in complete, casual seclusion.
I had him all to myself.
I’d been alone with him in the elevator, I supposed. But this was so different.
This was a hidden castle, abandoned, and then unexpectedly discovered. I wanted to explore, to familiarize myself with every aspect of him.
His hidden love of video games. His courteous offer for me to change my clothes so we could spend time together.
His…socks?
“Are those Swedish Fish?”
Hawk lifted a shoeless foot to display a yellow and green striped sock with bright red fish candies on them.
“You might think I’m a traitor to my own brand, but these were a gift from my sister.”
“But—the socks. They’re…fun.”
“You sound so surprised.”
I shrugged. I had no defense.
“I have a whole drawer in there. I’d show you, but that means letting go, and I’m not ready to yet.”
He pulled me closer still. I trembled inside, resting my hands around his neck.
“You have a drawer of fun socks?”
“Every day, I have to wear suits and dress shirts. I sometimes go all out with my ties, but depending on the occasion, even those have to be boring and conservative. Socks, though. Socks are a way I can express myself the way I really want to.”
“Why not dress how you want?” He was rich enough to.
He stroked my back. “That meansI’d show up to work like this every day. Doesn’t really come across as professional.”
“So the socks are, what? Your form of rebellion?”
“You got it.”
My attention shifted to his Christmas tree. It reached to the top of the windows and was draped in red, gold, and green ornaments. I’d been in here several times, but I hadn’t ever given the tree much thought.
“That is a beautiful tree.”
“I have my staff do a lot for me, but this is one thing I like to do for myself.”
“You put up your own tree?”
“I did, yeah. Put it up, decorated it, while I was texting you, in fact. I spend more time here than I do at home, so I like to have slices of home here as much as possible.”
“Hence the sweats,” I said, tugging at the pants he lent me.
“They look great, by the way,” he said.
“Ha ha. Very funny.”
“I’m serious. Don’t get me wrong, you were a stunner in that getup you had on earlier, and I was dying to see you all dressed up. But I like this look for you. Makes me wish we had time for more than a few dances.”
My brows drew together, and my thoughts drifted to Pris’s warning about how I couldn’t have more than tonight with him.
