Page 62 of My Forbidden Boss

My mind is a whirlwind, battered on the inside by three words. Three little words that pin me to the ground and tilt my world off its axis, never to spin the right way again. I’m inside out and upside down with no way to put myself back together. Jagged sides have smoothed. Concave angles are bowed.

I peek up at David, inhaling his scent to keep me steady, and fall into his gaze because his eyes are endless pools. He strokes his fingers through my hair, tucking the strands sticking to my wet cheeks behind my ear and holds me against him as though there’s no other place he wants me to be.

I try to glance around his shoulder to see what spectacle I’ve created, but he stands between me and the world. No one will break through his barrier. He’ll protect me from the rest of the world. He already has and I’m adrift in unfamiliar seas.

“Are you ready to get out of here?” he says, his chest rumbling with his deep voice. I feel the vibrations through my fingertips clutched in his shirt as he speaks.

I nod. “Yes.”

He links our fingers together and leads me from the shop. My surroundings are a blur. I lean on him and he accepts my weight as he leads me free from the racks of clothing, the stunned looks of patrons and the shop assistants and the next thing I know, he’s seated me in a secluded table with high bench seats that surround us and low light. The sounds of a busy airport outside fade beneath murmured voices and the clink of glasses.

“Water?” he asks.

“Yes please,” I whisper, my voice hoarse.

You are worthy, and I…don’t doubt his words.

He asks for drinks from the waitress when she comes to take our order and soon a glass is in front of me, the outside dripping with condensation. He sits close enough that his thigh presses against mine. I don’t move away. I like the pressure and warmth.

“No one will intrude on us here.” My attention is drawn to the full lips pulling into a smile. “I have you all to myself.”

Goosebumps flash across my skin and I see every little thing about him in minute detail. The way the strands of his hair dip over his brow. The rough shadow dusting across his jaw. His long fingers as he slides the glass across the table in front of me. The width of his shoulders beneath his navy sweater and winter jacket.

You are worthy. The words flow through my mind, whispering around the soft center of my heart. Promising me things I never dared hope for.

“Did you…?” I have to know I didn’t get it wrong. Have to check that he said what he did. That I’m not stumbling over new-found emotions without cause.

“I meant every word I said, love. Would you like me to say them again?” he says. I study him. Search for any hint of deception and find nothing but honesty. His complete attention is locked to me. I’m pulled into his orbit, about to break atmosphere. I’m burning up and I don’t care.

“N…no,” I say. There’s no need. His words resound around my head, never to be forgotten, seared on my consciousness.

He pushes the glass into my fingers. “Drink, love.”

I raise the glass to my lips and sip, glad when the freezing fluid hits my tongue. It helps clear the fuzzy edges from my mind. I suddenly remember I didn’t try on a dress, or anything in the shop. Time blurred and I forgot myself. “The dress.”

“I’ve ordered your clothing. They’ll be on the plane ready for you to change into,” he says.

“Clothing? But you said a dress. Just a dress,” I say.

“The entire contents of your suitcase are dirtied. You need more than one outfit,” he says.

My breath stutters. The invisible band tightens around my chest. Not just a dress. Other things too. Prices I can’t afford. A shop I would never dream of entering. “Have to pay you,” I rasp.

I can take them back when we return. I’ll wash the mud from my packed clothes and hope they’ll dry before tomorrow, and if not I’ll wear them damp.

David’s warm palm settles against my jaw, beating my panic back as though it had no right to be there. “I don’t want you to pay for them.”

“But…” I can’t accept them. They’re too good. Too expensive.

They’re not for someone like me.

“They’re a gift, love,” he says.

I can’t take them. I won’t, I—

“Say thank you,” David says, leaning in close. His face fills my vision, stealing the world again.

“David, I —”

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