Page 76 of Forbidden Boss (Manhattan Billionaires)

“Is your friend okay?”

She shrugged. “She’s pregnant, and the guy is a jerk.” She pulled away, eyes narrowing on me. “He was her boss.”

I took her chin in a gentle hold, brushing my lips against hers. “Are you worried about us?”

“Sometimes,” she admitted.

“Why? I’m taking you to my family Thanksgiving, after all.”

She gave me a flat look, and it made me want to push her down to the couch and spread those thighs apart so I could watch her expression transform to something softer. “That’s my job, Rome.”

“Ouch.”

She rolled her eyes and grinned at me. “I’m sure your ego will recover.”

My nose brushed the side of hers as I said, “Maybe you should make it up to me.” I let my hand slip down to squeeze the curve of her ass and was rewarded with the slight catch in Nikki’s breath.

“Do you ever worry about what happens to us after?”

“After what?”

She pulled away, her hands on my shoulders as she frowned at me. “We can’t go on like this forever, Rome. You must know that.”

My throat was tight when I said, “I try not to think too far ahead.”

She pursed her lips, and I nipped at them to make them soften. I couldn’t stop touching her. If she was in the same room as me, I wanted my arms around her. If there was a frown on her forehead, I wanted to kiss it away. If she gave me any kind of sass, I fought the urge to fuck her until she smiled for me.

I pulled her onto the couch on top of me so she straddled me, her skirt falling around us in a flutter of fabric. She sat back on my thighs and plucked at a stray thread on my collar, a deep fold between her brows. I touched the spot, and she smoothed it.

“When I’m with you, I can’t think straight,” she admitted, lifting her gaze to meet mine.

I huffed, my hands on her hips. “I know the feeling.”

That made her lips kick, and a tightness in my chest eased.

“What do you want, Nikki? Do you”—I cleared my throat—“want to stop…”

“Having sex with you?” She arched a brow.

I jerked my chin down in a rough movement.

“No,” she admitted, “and that’s the problem.”

My hands slid up her thighs, relishing the warmth of her skin. She closed her eyes briefly, and I rumbled in satisfaction. “Good,” I answered. “Because neither do I. And I don’t think it’s a problem.”

“What are we, Rome?” Nikki asked, eyes wide. “What is this between us?”

“You need a label?” My hands found the line of her panties where they cut into her hips. I dipped my thumbs under the elastic, stroking softly. “What’s that going to change, Nikki?”

Her lids fluttered at my touch. “It would make this make sense,” she whispered. “And then maybe I wouldn’t be so scared.”

“Scared of me?” My voice was rough. I was struggling to understand what she needed, and I didn’t like the pinch in my chest at the thought that she wanted to end this. But she was on top of me, and it didn’t feel like she wanted to pull away. Did she want to be my girlfriend? She basicallywas. Did she want to stop working for my company? Quit?

That made the pinch in my chest turn painful. She was here because she worked for me, but if she wanted to walk away…

How would I be sure she would stay by my side? How could I ever be sure she wouldn’t abandon me entirely? She was employed by my company, and that meant she’d be here. That was all that mattered. That was what I wanted—what I was sure she wanted too.

“I’m not scared of you,” she said softly, brushing her lips over mine. “I’m scared of my feelings for you. Scared that you’ll wake up and realize you don’t want me, and you’ll just shake me off like a stray piece of lint.”

---