Page 82 of Nathan

Nate plunks a bag down at my feet and bends over to give me a kiss.

“Get changed, Titch. I’m taking you somewhere special.”

I glance at the clock. “I’ve still got thirty minutes to go.”

“No, you haven’t.” He takes me by the arm and pulls me upright. Pointing his chin at the bag, he says, “Dressed. Now.”

Excitement buzzes through me. As much as I’m a feisty, independent woman, I secretly love it when Nate brings out his dominance to play. I unzip the bag and frown at the contents as I take out a gorgeous ivory dress that has somehow remained crease free.

“This isn’t mine.”

“It is now, as is everything else in there.”

I narrow my eyes, then delve back inside the bag. Inside is a pair of ivory pumps by a well-known designer, my makeup bag, an emerald necklace with matching earrings that I think might be real gemstones, and a couple of straps of material that, I guess, is supposed to pass for a bra and panties.

“Why do I need all this?”

He rolls his eyes. “I told you. I’m taking you somewhere special.”

“Nate,” I say in a tone meant to chastise. “You know I hate those pretentious places.”

“Who said it was a pretentious place?”

“Well, if you were taking me to a diner, I’d hardly need this get-up, now, would I?”

Nate’s nostrils flare as he huffs. “Fuck’s sake, Titch. Just get dressed.”

I lay the dress over my arm, pick up the bag and, sticking my tongue out at him, slip away to the restroom. I return a half hour later to find Nate sitting in my chair, with his feet up on my desk, and Bernard looming over him. His eyes bulge in response to something Nate must have said, and I groan. I think Nate enjoys pushing Bernard’s buttons, but he isn’t the one who has to soothe his tattered ego.

As I get closer, they both turn to me. Bernard, furious. Nate, mischievous. He unfolds his tall frame, gets to his feet, and slides his gaze over me so intensely that I actually feel my body temperature increase.

“Bernard’s given you a week of vacation time, Titch,” Nate says with a wink that Bernard doesn’t see. “Isn’t that good of him?”

My eyes widen. “I haven’t got a vacation planned.”

“Sure you have,” Nate says as he comes toward me, snatching up my purse on the way. He takes the bag from my hand and brushes a kiss against my temple. “Ready?”

Mute, I simply nod.

“She’ll see you in a week, Bernard,” Nate says with more than a hint of glee in his tone. “Unless I manage to persuade her to jack in this shitty little job before then. She’s worth so much more.”

He clasps my elbow and steers me toward the elevator, leaving an apoplectic Bernard behind us.

“What have you done?” I hiss as the elevator doors close and Nate presses the button for the lobby. “I still need this job, Nate.”

“For now, maybe,” he says. “However, I meant what I said about trying to persuade you to leave.”

I narrow my eyes. “What would I do instead?”

He shrugs. “Me.”

I giggle again. “You’re something else.”

“You love it.”

“I love you.”

He presses closer, murmuring in my ear, “And I burn for you, Titch.”

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