“I’ll knock his lights out.”
She spins to me, staring in horror… and something else nestled in her expression, something she probably wouldn’t even want to admit to herself. She likes it.
“Dom!” She gasps. “You can’t say things like that.”
“You have every right to come to work and justwork, Izzy. You don’t deserve this.”
“Maybe I do.” She drops her gaze.
I close the distance again and cup her chin. The electricity between us is undeniable. I know she feels it too by the flush that spreads across her cheeks and down her neck, disappearing into her white blouse.
“What makes you say that?”
Her eyes glisten. “You don’t know me, Dom.”
“I know you donotdeserve any of this crap. Kenny’s never going to work here again. And if anyone else harasses you, you come to me.”
My hand is still on her chin, touching her as gently as I can. She reaches up and wraps her hand around mine, maybe to pull me away. But she just holds my hand gently.
“You don’t owe me any special favors.”
“Let me put it simply, Izzy,” I snarl, knowing I should stop. But knowing I can’t at the same time. “The only person who lays their hands on you in this office, or anywhere, is me. Understand?”
Oh, fuck.
The way my words make her chest rise and fall, drawing attention to those shapely, wonderful tits. Even better? The eagerness sparkling on her gorgeous face, her eyes flooded with excitement and addictive adrenaline.
“Dom,” she whimpers.
“No one else,” I tell her firmly. “Understand?”
Is it only harassment if she doesn’t like it? I’m putting her in an awkward position here. A sick relative, a new job she needs to keep…
I take a step back, shuddering, my body burning. “I’m so?—”
“Don’t apologize,” she cuts in. She strides to the door, looks at me over her shoulder, just like in my fantasy. “This isn’t simple, obviously. But nosorrys.”
“You look so beautiful right now,” I tell her.
She rolls her eyes.
“I mean it,” I say firmly. “Confident, determined, with your hair just messy enough to be sexy but tame enough to beprofessional. I’m a hypocrite, Izzy. Tell me to stop. Tell me I’m beyond fucked.”
She shakes her head slowly. “I can’t,” she murmurs.
When she’s gone, I try to work. Really, I do. I’ve got so much to deal with. Commercial projects, low-income housing, and the West Coast office. My foremen are probably wondering where the daily call is, or they might even be grateful for the break.
I end up in the shopping district, in a jewelry store I’ve never had cause to step foot in before. When I spot the earrings in the shape of musical notes, I know I have to get them. I don’t care if the price tag would make most people’s eyes water.
Toward the end of the workday, I slip the earrings into an envelope and head to the pit. The atmosphere is tense as I stride across the office. Clearly, everyone has heard what happened.
I place the envelope on Izzy’s desk—she isn’t here—and then leave.
As I ride the elevator up, I’m smiling like a goofball. I can’t help it. For the first time in years, something apart from work is firing me up.
CHAPTER 7
IZZY
