AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I touch the necklace with two fingers, not sure if I can speak. I lick my lips and swallow hard. “Ronan, this is … I don’t even know what to say.”
“I know what it’s like to lose someone,” he says. “I saw this recently and thought of you. I know it isn’t the sort of thing a boss gets an employee, but I figured maybe we’re a little more than that now? Friends, at least?”
I meet his eyes, my heart in my throat. “Thank you. This is so thoughtful.”
He smiles, and I’m frozen in place. The buzz of conversation hangs around us, but I’m transfixed. It’s so strange to be with him here, surrounded by my friends. We only see each other when we’re working. But here we are, standing in a bar on a Friday night. It feels so casual, like he could be a man I know from somewhere else. A man who isn’t my boss.
Right now, I really wish he wasn’t.
“Can I buy you another drink?” he asks.
My eyes flick to my glass, sitting on the cocktail table next to me. It’s almost empty. “Sure. I’m just going to run to the ladies’ room.”
“Meet you back here,” he says.
I tuck the box into my small handbag and head toward the back of the bar. My heart is beating too fast. I need to get myself together.
I step into the bathroom and take a deep breath. Was that Ronan who just gave me an incredibly sweet and thoughtful gift? And he did it with no innuendo, no jokes about wanting to get me naked in his office. I’m so used to verbally sparring with him all the time, I wasn’t sure what to say. I need to get my wits back so I can thank him properly.
I reapply lipstick and take a few more deep breaths. I don’t want to think about how close I was to kissing him. Goddamn, that man knows how to keep me off balance. I need to slow down on the drinks, or I’m going to do something I’ll regret.
I open the door and almost run into a guy coming from the bar.
“Sorry.” I try to step out of the way.
“That’s okay,” he says. He doesn’t move, taking up all the space in the small hallway.
I try again to go around him, but he moves in front of me.
“Excuse me,” I say.
“Look at those legs,” he says, his voice slurring a little. He gets closer, looking me up and down.
I don’t know who this guy is, but he’s making me very uncomfortable. I take a step backward and put my hands up. “Can you let me past? I’m just trying to get back to my friends.”
“Come back here with me first,” he says.
He steps in and grabs my arm, his grip like a vice. I suck in a breath to scream at him to let go, but he clamps his other hand over my mouth and presses me back into the wall.
I struggle, trying to kick at him, but he’s so much stronger than me. He lets go of my mouth and wraps his arms around me, crushing my chest. He shoves me further into the hallway. I scream, but unless there’s someone in the men’s room, I’m sure no one can hear me. The crowd and the music in the bar are too loud.
He pushes me against a door and opens it. We both stumble into the alley behind the bar. Fuck, I can’t let him get me out here alone. I grab the door jamb, clutching at it with my fingers, but he manhandles me outside, and the door bangs shut.
I get in a good kick to his shins, then stomp on his foot. He grunts, but his grip on me doesn’t loosen.
“Get the fuck off me,” I say.
He makes a growling noise in his throat and pushes me up against the side of the building. I try to knee him in the balls, but he turns just in time.
“Struggle harder,” he says into my ear. “I like it.”
“Fuck you!”
I thrust up with my knee again but he wedges my leg against the wall with his, and puts his hand over my mouth again. His body pins me. I can barely move. My eyes widen as his hand reaches beneath my shirt and he squeezes my breast through my bra.
Oh fuck. This can’t be happening.
Fear swirls through me and my heart thunders. I keep struggling, but no matter what I try I can’t squirm out of his grip. He runs his tongue along my neck and shoves his hand into my jeans.
