Page 64 of Forbidden Boss (Manhattan Billionaires)

I snorted and drifted toward him. Sitting on the sofa with about a foot of space between us, I reached for the glass he’d poured for me. Before I could grab it, Rome’s arm snaked around my waist and pulled me tight to his side.

“That’s where you belong,” he said, nuzzling at my neck.

A shiver went through me, but I resisted the urge to give in. I leaned forward and grasped my wine, then met his gaze over the rim. “I want to lay some ground rules,” I told him.

He leaned back and laid his arm across the back of the sofa before dipping his chin. His expression was half guarded, half amused. “Okay.”

After my lust had abated slightly in the helicopter, I’d forced myself to think about what we were doing. And I decided that if life kept shoving me in the role of the placeholder, then that’s what I should be. This man was a billionaire, the CEO of a corporation of his own making, a man who could twitch his fingers and get something delivered within moments.

He was my boss. The man who’d found my next apartment. The man who signed my paychecks.

He would always have more power than me.

The best thing to do would be to not indulge in the physical with him, but those horses had bolted, and I didn’t particularly want to close the barn door in the first place. So I’d decided that if I wanted to keep this job—with the great bonuses, the health insurance, the salary—while also indulging in more nights like last night, then I’d have to put walls up within myself.

Yes, there was more to Rome than I’d originally thought. We connected on a level that I hadn’t expected. I understood his history, even if it was very different from my own. But we could never be together. Not for real.

I was a placeholder—but I’d own it.

“This is temporary,” I said.

Rome blinked.

I went on: “I’m not looking for anything serious,” I told him. “At least not with—” I clamped my lips shut.

“At least not with me,” he finished for me. He took a sip of his wine and set the glass down on a side table, then turned his eyes to meet mine. His gaze was dark, his emotions unreadable. “May I ask why?”

“A relationship should be built on mutual respect and some level of equality. I can’t be in a relationship with a man who can take my job away if we get in a fight.”

“You think I would do that?” The skin around his eyes tightened.

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “We’ve spent time together these past weeks, but I honestly don’t know. I’d rather not take the risk.”

“So what do you propose?”

“Professionally, things stay the same. Personally, we have fun with each other.”

“You want me to be your friend with benefits.”

“Boss with benefits,” I corrected.

“And what if I say I don’t want that?”

I shrugged. “Then we leave it. I’m prepared to put this weekend aside and continue working as we have been. I know you need me for Monk.”

A sardonic smile twisted his lips. “You’re not entirely powerless, then.”

“Maybe not.”

His shoulders softened, and he reached over to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “I also have rules.”

“Oh?”

“We’re exclusive. I’m the only man in your life from this moment onward.”

He’d been the only man in my life for a lot longer than that, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. I nodded. “Fine. As long as that goes both ways.”

Rome nodded, then stood and extended a hand toward me. I slipped my palm into his and let him pull me up to my feet. He took my glass of wine and set it next to his, then faced me. His hands slid over my waist, and his gaze was steady on mine.

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