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This time would be different, I decided. It wasn’t like Leo and I would actually be intimate with each other. All of this would just be pretend . . . nothing like our night together. As real as it may have felt in the moment, the bubble had already burst. Plus, there was really no choice in the matter, because as ridiculous as all of this was, Larkspur was the prize. And I would do just about anything to see that dream through. I could convince a stuffy billionaire of my love for his son if it meant getting what I wanted, right?
Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward and placed the contract on the desk next to Leo’s computer before looking him head-on. “Do you have a pen?”
His eyes roamed my face, scrutinizing me. “Are you sure?”
I gave him my biggest, fakest smile. “How could I say no to you, my love?”
He didn’t return my smile. His eyes only hardened further. But then he swiveled in the chair, reaching for a pen inside his black leather briefcase before holding it out between us. “After you.”
Swiping the pen out of his grip, and before I could even think about stopping myself, I leaned down to sign my name in blue ink. Then I handed it back to Leo, who cleared his throat again before he, too, signed the document.
Just like that . . . I was his.
Leo tucked the contract away in his briefcase. “I’ll scan this and send you a copy to your email by the end of the day.” He looked back up at me with an unreadable expression. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to work.”
He shifted in his seat, then turned toward his computer. He minimized the report he’d been looking at before and instead pulled up a window of what looked like security footage. The screen showed a dozen squares containing multiple viewpoints from various angles, but I could tell right away it was Larkspur. In one frame, Sam was moving behind the bar talking to customers, and in another Ethan stood at his post at the front entrance. “Wow,” I muttered, feeling a little fiery from Leo’s attempted dismissal as my eyes jumped from square to square. “I didn’t realize you were into voyeurism. That’s some kinky shit, Leo.”
Though he tried to hide his reaction, his shoulders stiffened at the accusation. “Yes, it’ll be a wonderful resource as I keep a close eye on my girlfriend this week.” He turned to look at me.
I smiled. “Good to know. I’ll be sure to give you plenty to look at.”
He exhaled, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “This must be some kind of bad dream,” he muttered.
My smile grew wider as I sat on the edge of the desk, my right leg brushing against the fabric of his pants as I leaned in close. I didn’t miss the way his eyes tracked the movement. “I’m your wet dream and you know it, honey.”
In the blink of an eye, Leo shot out of his chair and pushed his legs between mine, pressing up against me. The top of my head only reached his chest from where I sat on the desk in front of him, giving me a front row seat to the way his throat bobbed roughly around a swallow. “Be careful what you wish for, Mara.” His voice was low and dangerous.
While I was determined to remain unaffected by his little display of power, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me falter, like I might be losing grip on my own control. The feel of him so close to me like this—his strong thighs pressed against the insides of mine as his face bent down toward me—had me spinning with memories of the way this very same mind-bending pressure had led to immense pleasure only a few nights ago. I could smell his clean skin, could feel him as he breathed, and it was altogether too much. But I tried my hardest to stay neutral. “Or what?”
He smirked, his eyes sparkling with a heady mix of desire and irritation. But he didn’t answer me.
I made a show of shrugging, feigning indifference. “I’ve already told you I’m not interested in fucking my boss, Leo. I’ll pretend to be your girlfriend, but I’m only doing it for this club.” I let my eyes roam across his chest as I smiled again, masking the longing to reach out and touch him. “Plus, it’s not like you were that memorable, anyway.”
My heart punched wildly in my chest as his nose grazed across my forehead, inhaling against my skin. “Mara,” he rumbled, his voice full of heat, “we may have been thrown into a near-impossible situation, but make no mistake.” He wound his hand through my hair, fisting a large section of it and forcing my face up. His deep blue eyes pinned me in place, and I almost shuddered. My gaze dropped to his mouth as he continued to speak. “It’s never been like that before, for me or for you—I could see it in your eyes, the same wonder that I felt. This thing between us isn’t over. It can’t be. I don’t know how, and I don’t know when . . . but it’s only a matter of time before we can’t stand it any longer.” He pulled me even closer so that my entire front was pressed against him. “I already can’t stand it,” he whispered into my temple, the words dripping through me like liquid gold.
The honesty of them was unbearable.
I sucked in a big gulp of air, squaring my shoulders while my traitorous chest heaved. He watched me for another long moment before finally stepping back to sit down and refocus his attention on the surveillance footage. “If there’s nothing else, I really do need to get to work.”
My god. I wasn’t sure I’d ever been more turned on and wholly frustrated in my entire life. His reinforced dismissal was a slap in the face. This arrangement felt more dangerous now—as much as I’d been trying to ignore it, it was obvious we both still felt some of the lasting effects of our explosive night together. Because . . . What had he said? It’s never been like that before.
It stood to reason that the tension he was exuding was about more than just his parents.
I needed to get it together. As casually as I could, I jumped off the desk and landed on my feet beside him. “I’d like to politely remind you that this is my office. Lucky for you, I have to get behind the bar to help Sam, so you can stay in here for the time being. But this is my office, Leo, just as this is my club.”
“Not for another week,” he gritted out between clenched teeth, his eyes locked on the computer screen in front of him. As if he might implode if he looked my way again.
“Either way,” I pranced toward the door, triumphant in my ability to get under his skin. “It’s mine.”
Chapter Twelve
It was an hour before the shakiness in my limbs subsided. It took even longer to get our verbal spar out of my mind as I worked to help Sam catch up behind the bar, thankful for the loud music and high energy. It helped shake the want that’d been pulsing through me after feeling Leo against my body, after hearing the confession that poured from his lips. I had to figure out a way to keep myself composed, because tomorrow I’d be diving head-first into the deep end of that man’s world.
After dropping a couple of dirty martinis in front of an older couple at the end of the bar, my eye caught on a familiar face. Charlea’s smile was wide as her deep brown eyes crinkled in delight. I gravitated toward her from the other side of the bar, her presence already like a soothing balm.
“Hey, stranger!” she greeted, wrapping a warm hand around my arm when I reached her.
“Hi, gorgeous.” I leaned over the sticky, wooden surface to kiss her on the cheek. She was sun-kissed with a fresh tan, her white tank a bright contrast against her skin. She smelled like vanilla and citrus—like the sweetest treat—and it warmed me from the inside out. “I didn’t know you were coming in tonight.”
