Except it's not just the sex. It's her.
The fire in her eyes. The defiance. The way she stood in the corner of that gallery and went for what she wanted after I walked up to her, didn't wait for permission, didn't play games. She knew what she wanted, and she took it.
When's the last time someone wanted me for me? Not for my name, not for my money, not for protection or power. Just... me.
Never. The answer is never.
"Boss?" Viktor knocks on the open door. "You good? You've been staring at that same page for ten minutes."
I look down. He's right. Same paragraph, same numbers, might as well be written in ancient Greek for all the sense they're making.
"I'm fine."
"You don't look fine. You look like you're about to murder someone or fuck someone up, and I can't tell which."
"Both," I mutter.
He grins, leans against the doorframe. "Who is she?"
"What?"
"The woman. The one who's got you all twisted up. Who is she?"
I should lie. Should tell him to mind his business, get back to work, stop asking questions. But Viktor's been with me for fifteen years. He knows when I'm lying.
"Met her at the club two nights ago," I admit. "Saw her again at the gallery."
"And?"
"And nothing. It's fucking complicated."
"It's always complicated with you." He crosses his arms. "What's the problem? She married?"
"No."
"Cop?"
"No."
"Then what?"
I lean back in my chair, scrub a hand over my face. "She's young. Too young. And I don't know who she is, who her family is, what kind of trouble she could bring."
Liar. You know exactly what the problem is.
The problem is I want her. Want her so badly it's making me stupid, making me forget every rule I've built about keeping distance, about not getting attached, about treating sex like a transaction instead of a connection.
The problem is she made me feel something, and I don't do feelings.
"So find out who she is," Viktor says. "Have your fun, cover your ass, move on. You're making this harder than it needs to be."
He's right. I know he's right. I should dig into Aurora, find out who her family is, what world she comes from. Do my due diligence like I would with any other risk.
But part of me doesn't want to know. Part of me wants to keep this separate, untainted by the reality of who we both are.
"You coming to the dinner tonight?" Viktor asks.
"What dinner?"
