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"Well, lucky for you your new assignment doesn't require you on the field just yet, so take it easy at your desk today, alright?" He didn't seem thoroughly convinced with how hesitant he sounded, but at least he didn't push the matter either.
"Fine dad, I will." I replied playfully—and mostly innocently—with an equal smile.
It was subtle, but I caught the way his breath deepened briefly with his flared nostrils. The hand he had rested on my lower back tensed a little as he pressed it firmly against me.
I should stop. I was playing with fire, and I would definitely get burnt if I didn't stop. Hell, I shouldn't even be entertaining any of this if I intended to keep him at a distance. But I couldn't help it. The little reactions I got from him were too fun to give up.
Smiling innocently, I unwillingly stepped away from him, subconsciously shivering at the lack of warmth from his hand the more distance I put between him as I slowly made my way to the door. "Well, let's go?"
True to his word, Stepan left me to my own devices with Lev after showing me my desk, which happened to be right outside his office. Right outside, across a little ways from the door. I'm pretty sure the part about keeping me close to Lev because he would have me working closely with him was an excuse, but not like I could argue with him because I had no grounds for one.
It'd been a few hours since I'd been alone after Lev dumped our new assignment on me. As much as my body itched for some action, I was grateful today was seemingly effortless because my body definitely needed some downtime.
Letting out a long breath through my nose, I leaned back in my chair and brought a hand up to my shoulder to rub at it to get the tightening knot out. My brows knitted together with the tightening ache, and the corners of my lips kept pulling down and down with each passing second the more I dug my fingers into my muscles.
My body jolted at the tightening feeling of hands on my arm and shoulder, and I was about to jerk my arm back to whack the idiot who dared touch me until I caught a glimpse of who it was.
"Fucking hell, Stepan, don't sneak up on me like that." My head spun for a split second from letting out the breath I didn't know I held.
"Hanna, you're not going to get attacked in my building, so relax." He chuckled amusingly as he used the hand on my shoulder to brush away my own.
"You're going to wear yourself out fast if you keep your body in a constant state of fight or flight." There he goes again, chiding me like I'm some child. Well, he didn't sound like a lecturing parent, more of a concerned friend, but it sounded like the former coming from him.
"I'd be dead if I weren't." I retorted with a dry chuckle, grimacing with a hiss of pain when I felt him lift my arm into the air by my wrist while his fingers from his other hand dug into my sore shoulder.
"It's not healthy, Hanna. I don't want to see you tense and on edge while you're here in the office, alright? This is a safe space for everyone, including you now." His thumb digging into my stiff muscle made a soft groan slip from me as the tension grew and went.
"Are most of the people here bratva?" I didn't want to stay on the subject of my bad habits any longer.
"A majority, yes, but don't think you can slink away from me little tigress." Leave it to him to prevent an escape, too.
"Do you always dig so personally into your other employees?" I snarked back, not wanting to let him any closer to me.
"I know more than enough about my employees, especially those who are members of the bratva." His answer didn't confirm or deny anything, which was frustrating.
"Stepan, we can't be doing this." I deadpanned with a heavy sigh, leaning away from his hands.
I wasn't successful because his grip on me tightened, keeping me rooted. "Doing what?" His tone was a little apprehensive, making me feel small and cornered.
Steeling myself, I slightly twisted my body towards his hold to face him a little. With my free hand, I gestured between us with a disappointed frown. "This. You're my boss Stepan, we can't let it go beyond anything but a working relationship." I couldn't maintain my eye contact with him. My eyes had a mind of their own when they turned away from his face, no matter how much I fought my nerves.
The hand on my shoulder released and slid across my back to the other side before it curled around me, trapping me in his dominating presence. His hand slowly slid across my upper chest and upwards, splaying around my slender neck where my pulse was drumming madly. No doubt he felt it with how firmly his digits started to wrap around me.
His other hand remained wrapped around my wrist, slowly bringing my arm down across my waist so I was caged between him in my seat.
I could hear my heart thumping against my eardrums as my breaths picked up, making my body shiver with every inhale of his intoxicating scent. The crisp scent of morning dew brightened my senses and drew me into the freshness before his underlying warmth of spices—anise and cloves—ensnared me fully.
My eyes avoided him briefly before his grip on my jaw from his thumb and forefinger tightened to force my head upwards. I couldn't avoid his intense gaze if I wanted because he lightly jerked my face until my soft, chocolate brown eyes melted under his intense azure gaze filled with desire.
"Hanna, look me dead in my eyes with utter confidence and tell me you don't want this or anything between us, and I will drop it all and stop." His deep, smooth voice shook me to my very core, making me hitch my breath while I clenched at nothing.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I forced it down the aching channel as I tried to regain my confidence. Sadly, nothing came out when I opened my mouth, even though the words were literally right there on my tongue.
"I don't want this." I practically had to force the words out of my mouth, fighting against the suffocation that squeezed at my chest when my heart seemed to ache at those words.
That should have been the end of it—the end of us.
But I made a grave mistake.
