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PROLOGUE
LINDSAY
Ben slipped out of the limo first, and I hesitated for only a second to accept his extended hand. As soon as my palm touched his, a jolt of electricity shot up my arm and set my nerve endings tingling all the way to my core. Touching him, even just casually, was such delicious torture. Reminding myself of all the reasons why I couldn’t give in to the chemistry I felt for Ben did nothing to stop the sharp twinge that went through me. It only got more intense when he didn’t drop my hand. Instead of letting it go, he folded it in his own, cradling my palm with his. I couldn’t help but notice that for a billionaire, his flesh was slightly rough.
I imagined that hand moving over my body, cupping my breasts before slowly trailing down my stomach, and the thought made me tremble.
“Cold?” He asked, his bright blue eyes gleaming. Could he tell how I felt?
I shrugged, not committing to an answer. His touch disoriented me, and it took a moment to realize we were at the back of the building instead of the front. I’d never come into the Imperial from this side. Until a few weeks ago, I’d never gone in the exclusive apartment building in downtown Manhattan, even from the front. “Where are we? What are we doing?”
“There’s a party going on in the penthouse, so the front entrance will be packed. I had the driver bring us here instead.”
I nodded as I followed him inside, unable to ignore the fact that his hand was still clasping mine. Perhaps he was feeling the same? Could it be that the rich and powerful Ben Hudson was actually attracted to me, his daughter’s nanny? But I’m so much younger than him! It sounded ridiculous in my head, but I wasn’t imagining the heated looks he’d sent my way this evening, and there’d been that moment when we were out this afternoon, looking at the animals at the zoo with his daughter.
I blinked and shook my head, trying to rid myself of these crazy ideas. It’d be impossible to go on this way. All I was doing was torturing myself with memories of an almost-kiss that was never going to happen, when I should just let it go. Just like I needed to let go of this dumb crush I still carried for him. He was just my employer.
Just like I needed to let go of his hand.
The new crush I had on Ben was, admittedly, different from what it was when I was a little girl, only twelve. Back then, it had been a spark for a handsome, sophisticated older man. Now, despite the fact I was still a virgin, I was a woman, and he was most certainly a man, and crush seemed like too tame of a word to describe the flood in my panties every time he turned his eyes my way.
He pulled me over to a large elevator that I hadn’t used before. “This will be quicker.”
I followed him into the large car, gasping at the opulence around me—which was saying something considering the Imperial’s already record-breaking level of luxury. Elegant Christmas decorations gleamed on the already opulent walls. The plush carpeting almost swallowed the kitten heels I’d chosen to wear to the meeting with the school counselor, and I wiggled my toes in the shoes as I imagined running my feet over the carpet instead. It was soft enough to lie down on.
Or get fucked on, whispered a voice in the back of my mind.
I shifted restlessly and barely held back a moan at the thought. In desperation, I looked away from the floor and instead found my gaze meeting Ben’s in the mirrored wall. There was hunger in his expression. He’d been standing behind me, but off to the side. Now, he moved to completely envelop my back, and I watched in our reflection while I stood frozen and burning hot at the same time. I trembled as his hands hovered over my shoulders for just a moment before laying claim to them. I was still looking at the mirrored version of Ben and couldn’t turn my head to face him yet.
He bent his head to rest his face slightly against my brown hair. He drew in a deep breath.
“Why do you always smell so good? It’s like sunshine…”
I giggled nervously. “I didn’t know that I did. I’m not even sure what sunshine smells like, Ben.”
“Like citrus and happiness and innocence.” He pressed deeper into my back. Was that hard ridge pushing against me his cock? Need swelled in me as he swept hair off my shoulder before nuzzling my neck. His mouth drifted to my ear, and he whispered, “Are you very innocent, Lindsay?”
I didn’t feel very innocent at that moment. My nipples were hard, tight peaks begging for attention, and I was dripping with need. I whimpered as his teeth grazed the side of my neck. “Are you?” The question was firmer this time, demanding an answer.
I pressed closer to him, reaching back tentatively to put my trembling hand on his hip. “Yes,” I said as more of a sigh than a word.
“Fuck, that makes me hot. I should do the right thing and push you away, and we should both pretend this isn’t happening.”
I moaned again, this time in distress at the idea of stopping. All the reasons this was a bad idea no longer seemed as important as the pulsing ache between my thighs that was crying out for Ben to satisfy.
“That’s what I should do, but unless you tell me to, I can’t.” With a sudden motion that left me dizzy, he spun me in his arms so I was looking into his eyes, not the mirrored version. His expression in his bright eyes was intense, and almost scary, but it didn’t frighten me away. I did my best to look straight at him and project a confidence I wasn’t quite feeling.
“Is that what you want, baby?” he whispered. “Do you want me to take you to my bed, and make you mine tonight?” His head bent lower, and his lips were teasingly close to mine, though he didn’t bridge the gap.
He was leaving the decision to me, making me speak it aloud. It would have been so much easier if he just swept me off my feet with some sweet kisses and the kind of touching that would get me to agree to anything.
I was a bit too shy to want to say it aloud, though part of me respected him for giving me the final say. The question was, was I brave enough to take what I wanted, and damn the consequences? Or would I spend another night alone, touching myself and wishing I’d accepted—even if it was a one -night thing, and risked everything I had?
I looked up at him, lips parting slowly as he waited for my answer.
