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I probably looked like a bum compared to her. She eyed me up and down, and I could see the disinterest on her face.
She opened her mouth, maybe to tell me to leave, to give me a smart-ass retort, but the sound of heavy footsteps coming closer, and then of a masculine throat being cleared, had my entire body going rigid … coming alive.
“Piper,” Zane said, and his voice, so deep and rugged, masculine with a touch of a gruffness in it, had every feminine part of my body coming alive.
I became wet, my nipples hard underneath the thin material of my shirt. My heart pounded, my palms sweating. It was the same reaction I got any time I was near him. We didn’t even have to say a word to each other. Just one look at him and my body instantly ignited.
I could imagine all the things he’d do to me, how he’d use his much bigger body to press me down on his mattress. He’d use his hands to spread my thighs apart, his warm breath teasing the most intimate part of me. I knew nothing about this, apart from my fantasies, sexual acts that were only things I’d read about or unabashedly watched on the Internet.
Here I was, a virgin who thought filthy, inappropriate things about a much older man, her father’s best friend. My throat was tight, my mouth dry. I curled my hands around the strap of my purse, not sure what to say, but sure as hell not wanting to seem like a teenager who couldn’t get her emotions in check.
I was here for a job, nothing more.
“Mr. Alfonzo, I didn’t know you knew her,” the receptionist said in a much happier, sexually laced voice than the one she’d used on me.
But Zane ignored her, waving his hands in dismissal before placing one on the small of my back and guiding me down the hallway. I glanced over my shoulder at her, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly parted.
A little piece of me felt triumphant, even if how he acted toward me was probably nothing more than affection because of who I was, not because of any desire he felt toward me.
“Here it is,” he said, as we walked into his office. I looked around, everything so clean, so pristine.
“You need a cleaning lady?” I turned around, looking up and down the office. “Because this looks pretty damn clean right now.” Shit. Like I needed to swear to my boss in his office. “Sorry,” I said and looked over my shoulder at him. “But seriously, this place is immaculate.”
He grinned and shrugged. “It’s just a surface clean. I have no doubts you can get the hard-to-reach places.”
I chuckled and looked around the office again. If you say so.
“Mr. Alfonso, your first meeting of the day is set up when you’re ready,” his receptionist said softly.
Zane didn’t take his gaze off of me.
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
We were left alone again, and I swallowed, feeling my body come alive in his presence.
“Are there any other offices I need to clean, any other things you’d like me to work on?”
He took a step toward me, this strong expression covering his face. “No other offices, no other places in the building. You’re mine, Piper.”
The way he said that had my toes curling. I could imagine he meant that in the very basic, literal sense, and his expression hinted that possibly that was the case. But maybe that was just in my head?
“Just get acquainted with the layout.”
“Don’t you want me to start working? I don’t want any special treatment because you happen to be my father’s best friend.” I chuckled, but it sounded a little awkward.
“No rush, Piper. I’m just glad you’re here, and I can help you out with this steppingstone before you start your life.”
He gave me a warm smile before turning and leaving me alone in his office. My body still buzzed with his presence and he wasn’t even here anymore.
God, this was probably a bad idea if I couldn’t even get myself under control where Zane was concerned.
2
Zane
One week later
One week.
Seven days.
It was such a short time in the grand scheme of things, but having Piper here, working beside me daily, was the hardest fucking thing in the world, especially where my self-control was concerned. Why I thought I could handle this—handle having her near constantly—was still left to be seen.
I shouldn’t want Piper for many reasons.
But the main reason I should have stayed away was because she was my best friend’s daughter.
She was too young for me, her father like family. I’d known Liam nearly my entire life, and although I hadn’t been around and watched Piper grow up, I still should’ve kept my distance.
At thirty-eight, I was nearly two decades older than her. I knew better than to desire her, but damned if I was going to stop myself from going after her.
