Page 74 of Release Me

I swallow as an unfortunate wave of desire rushes through me, soaking my panties. “No.”

“Then why would you think our relationship would make me see you as anything other than exactly what you are?” His fingers flex against my hips as he straightens to his full height, which brings him several inches above me. “I see you more clearly now than I ever have, precious.”

The heat from his body bleeds into my back, and I find myself leaning into him, admiring our reflections in the mirror. We look like we belong together, and it’s not just the designer clothes or our complimentary heights. It’s the possessive grip he’s got on my waist, and the happiness swirling around us. It’s those champagne eyes on my face and the synchronicity of our breathing.

“You’re quite the romantic, Mr. Adler.”

Warm lips press a kiss to my temple. “Only with you, Miss Hendrix.”

Our transition into formality is playful at first, but then it turns into something else when I remember that we’re about to take our changed dynamic into Cerros, and we haven’t discussed how that’s going to work.

I spin around to face him. “You know, we never discussed how we were going to navigate this at work.”

His hands skate over my ass. “How do you want to navigate it?”

The smart thing to do would be to keep us under wraps and avoid all the speculation about whether I got my job because I’m sleeping with the boss, but that just doesn’t feel right. For a long time, my life was nothing but one horrific thing after another, and now that I have some goodness, I don’t want to hide it, I want to shout about it from the rooftops.

I wrap my arms around his neck. “I don’t want to keep us a secret.”

A heart-stopping smile curves his lips, and I taste joy on his tongue when he leans in to kiss me. It’s a short, sweet peck that makes me squirm with anticipation for more.

“Good,” Sebastian says, his eyes dancing with humor because he can see on my face that I’m now hungry for things we don’t have time for. “Because I have every intention of walking into work together, holding hands.”

It’s such a sweet, juvenile desire. You would think it’s too simple a show of possession for a man who is the master of his universe, but when we walked into Cerros hand in hand, Sebastian’s expression was all satisfaction and open affection. No one seemed surprised to see us together. Regina was especially unaffected when she found us kissing outside of my office door. She didn’t so much as gasp, just waited patiently for Sebastian to turn his attention to her so she could sweep him off to meetings that keep him from me for most of the day.

By the time lunch rolls around, I’m hungry for food and Sebastian’s attention. Since food can be acquired anywhere at any time, I prioritize my desire for attention, abandoning a half written email just to seek him out. I find him in his office behind his desk but realize too late that he’s in the middle of a video call. I pause, mid-stride and try to back out as quietly as possible, but he spots me.

“Hold on, Talia,” he says, glancing up from his phone to set questioning but pleased eyes on me. “Where are you going, precious?”

I hook a thumb over my shoulder. “Back to my office.”

“Why? You just got here.”

“Because you’re in a meeting, and I don’t want to interrupt.”

He frowns and beckons me forward with two fingers. “You’re not interrupting anything.”

Except a call with his ex-wife who he went to great lengths to keep me from meeting the last time she was in town. I hesitate to go to him, wondering if this is an attempt to right that wrong, to prove that he has no qualms about showing me off to her.

“Sebastian, really, I can come back later.”

His gaze darkens. “Come here, Nadia.”

With a huff that’s half annoyance, half arousal, I go to him. He pushes back from his desk and turns, opening his legs so I can stand between them. I’m aware of the phone in his hand and the silence on the other end that tells me Talia is listening to this whole exchange. I wonder what she thinks of it.

“This is completely unnecessary,” I tell Sebastian. “I just came to say hi.”

“Then come say hi.”

He grabs my hand and tugs, pulling me down onto his lap. I land on one of his hard thighs and glare at him, which only makes the smile on his face spread wider.

“So this is Nadia,” a husky voice says from inside the phone. For the few seconds I’ve been in front of the screen, I’ve made a point not to look at it, not to look at her, but now I don’t have a choice.

Talia West is stunning.

Her skin is ebony perfection, and her jet black microlocs look like they’ve been growing for as long as Sebastinan’s have. There’s something sharp about her smile that makes her look predatory, like a pantheress with dinner in its direct line of sight. Except on her it’s more sensual than sinister, which is surprising but a little less unsettling.

Sebastian’s placing his hand on my thigh. “Yes, this is Nadia. Nadia, this is Talia.”

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