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Gilbert returned moments later with the food and set everything in front of Fender.
Fender ignored him and stared at me.
Gilbert studied Fender’s face, hoping he would meet his look, but he never did. “I’m very sorry about the mix-up—”
“Leave us.”
His face was hit with disappointment, his eyes falling along with his mouth. His hands went behind his back, he gave a slight bow, and then he dismissed himself, carrying himself without the same immaculate posture he usually possessed.
Fender had been in his office all day and through the night.
He was a different man now, so I felt welcome stopping by for a visit. Before I reached the door, I halted in my tracks.
Because Fender had just threatened someone.
“The only reason you’re still breathing is because if I kill you, I have to kill Magnus too. So, trust me when I say my breath will be on the back of your neck, day in and day out, waiting for that trip, waiting for that simple mistake that will give me a reason to do what I should do right now.”
I was so scared that I just stood there, too afraid to turn around and leave because my heels might tap against the floor and interrupt their…whatever this was.
He spoke again. “You’ve been warned, Liam.”
Footsteps sounded a moment later, someone approaching the open doorway to his office. A man emerged and immediately turned right, heading to the front of the house where he could depart.
He didn’t even notice me.
Oh, thank god.
My hand braced against the wall for support, like I’d been the one just threatened. I lifted my knee so I could pull off my heel and I wouldn’t make a sound as I walked away.
“Chérie.”
I stilled, my fingers against my designer shoes. Fuck. How did he know I was there? I lowered my foot back to the floor, took a breath, and then emerged into the open doorway.
He leaned against his desk, in his black sweatpants without a shirt, his feet bare. His muscular arms were crossed over his thick torso, and the large hearth on the wall adjacent to him blanketed him with a flickering glow. Those magnetic eyes were on me, pulling me toward him with an invisible force, the earthy brown color visible because of the way the firelight hit his features.
My fingertips came together in front of my waist as I entered his office. My heels barely tapped against the hardwood floors because I moved so slowly, prepared for him to scream at me for what just happened. “I wasn’t eavesdropping. I came by—”
“I’m not angry.”
“Really? Because you look angry.”
His eyes kept their intensity, but a slow smile crept on to his lips. It happened rarely, like an animal assumed to be extinct emerging in the wild for a brief second before it ran off again. He was so handsome when he smiled.
I stared at it, knowing it would be gone any second.
Then it disappeared.
Gone. Like the fire just went out in the hearth.
He pushed off the desk and straightened as his arms came to his sides. “That’s just how I look.” He stopped when he reached the front of the seating area, as if he expected me to move the rest of the way and come to him.
I was in another designer dress, black and tight, the sleeves made of lace. An assortment of diamonds and jewelry had been placed on my nightstand, so I paired it with whatever I wore, looking ready for a special event even when I just sat around the house all day.
As I walked toward him, I watched the way his eyes took me in, absorbing me like paint on a blank canvas. The man he just threatened had left his mind the second he was gone. Now his thoughts were on me, telling me how beautiful I was without saying it, surrounding me with affection without even touching me.
Sometimes I forgot he was the boss. Because with me…he was just a man.
When I stopped in front of him, my hands immediately planted against his stomach, my fingers flinching because he was so hot, it was like touching a log in the fire. He was over a foot taller than me, and without the heels I constantly wore, our heights would be nearly incompatible.
His hand slid deep into my hair until it came around the back and fisted the entire thing. He squeezed it like a wet sponge he wanted to wring out. He dipped his head, looked into my eyes for a brief second, and then kissed me. It all happened in one fluid motion, but to me, it was as if time had slowed down, every action taking an eternity. His other hand wrapped around the small of my back, giving me a squeeze against him before his hand gripped both of my cheeks in a single palm.
