Page 15 of Hidden Heart

“You can’t tell me love is a requirement,” she pushed on. Shouldn’t her statement be a relief to him?

“This has to be the strangest negotiation I’ve ever been involved in.” He scratched behind his ear. “Love isn’t something you plan,” he informed her.

“I know. I just wanted to be sure you knew I wasn’t seeking it. So, you don’t have to worry. When we are done, we are done. No hard feelings.” She folded her hands over her coffee cup and grinned.

“Let’s put the topic of love on the same shelf as anal. We’ll come back to it some other time.” He took a deep breath. She didn’t think he rattled easily, but his expression made her think he wasn’t sure what to make of her. Which was fine—the less mind reading he did, the better.

“Do we need to sign a contract or something?” she whispered across the table.

He chuckled. “No, I don’t think we need to do that. I think we should ease into things and reevaluate in a few weeks.”

She agreed. She peeked at her watch, and her eyes widened. She had a big deposition in the morning and knew her boss wouldn’t be ready for it if she didn’t get the file in order.

“I need to get going.” She gulped down her coffee.

“I’ll walk you.” He stood with her.

“No need.” She slid her arms into her coat.

“Rule one. When we are together, I decide how and when you go home. I’m walking you home.”

She hadn’t realized how deep his voice was before. She rolled her eyes and tossed her purse over her shoulder. “Fine.”

“Rule two. No eye-rolling.”

“You really like counting.” She stepped out into the brisk air ahead of him.

Chapter 4

Jeremy Wilson became partner at the age of thirty-one. His record as a lawyer impressed anyone who sat long enough for him to tell it to. His specialty included finance and fraud cases. He was intelligent, decent looking, and could be a snake charmer if needed. He was also a prick.

During her second year at the firm, Jessica was assigned as his paralegal. Jeremy, with all his brains, was lazier than a fat cat sitting on a sunny windowsill. She hadn’t gone to law school, but she knew finance law nearly as well as he did. This was an asset, because if she didn’t do most of his work, his work wouldn’t get done. He was great at schmoozing the clients and pulling in big cases. His presence in depositions and courtrooms couldn’t be denied as flawless, but if Jessica didn’t hand him his arsenal before heading into those depositions and courtrooms, he would fall on his face every time.

Alex tried to convince her repeatedly to go back to school. To get a law degree and wipe her ass with guys like Jeremy. Jessica had her reasons for not trying to obtain a law degree. For starters, school cost money—a lot of money—and she was already struggling to keep her head above water. Besides, as good as she was at her job, law wasn’t her passion.

She’d settled with being a paralegal. The work was enjoyable. Although Jeremy was a pain in the ass, she learned a lot from working for him. If only he’d keep his eyes above her neck when he talked to her. She hated turtlenecks, but resorted to wearing them whenever possible.

Since Jeremy would be out of the office for most of the day, she decided to dive into the next pile of files to sort and compile the data he would need the following week. It would keep her mind from turning to Royce.

They had seen each other nearly every night since their coffee four days ago. Since they both worked pretty late, they met at his place for dinner. He cooked every night and was excellent at it. Not once had he let her bring food or allowed her to help.

There hadn’t been any more sex, and it was beginning to drive Jessica a little cross-eyed. She suspected he was doing it on purpose. He had to know how hot he was making her with all his little caresses. She did her very best not to pout when he pulled away from a kiss and turned the subject to something else.

Each night he gave her another rule about being at his place. He didn’t like her to wear shoes. She thought it odd, since he kept his on, but she complied. When she entered his apartment, she slipped out of her shoes and placed them neatly by the front door on a small mat he kept for her.

She was to clear the table after they ate their meal. He was specific in how he liked it to be done. She knew well enough how she liked things done to her own preferences, so she didn’t see anything wrong with complying to this rule. If she was going to be honest, having him show her how to put the dishes into the dishwasher, and correct her when she did it wrong, was hot.

Their conversations didn’t delve into deep sexual topics or even anything related to the new submissive role she was taking on, as she originally had assumed. Much like when he walked her home that very first night, he appeared to be interested in her for her. She did her best to evade his questions by turning the topic to him. He in turn would bring the conversation back to her. When she had tried again to turn the tide, he gave her a warning, his eyes stern.

“If you keep attempting to control this conversation, you will end up in the corner with your pants down around your knees and a very sore backside.”

She swallowed and nodded. She wasn’t sure what to say at that moment. She’d felt completely chastised and small. She wanted to yell and sit silently at the same time. He had said punishments would be a part of their arrangement, but she was in no hurry to try one out. Luckily, he returned to the conversation with a calm, relaxed voice, and she did the same.

Royce had kept his word. He didn’t bother her while she worked, at least not with demands of any kind. He did send her a text once a day asking how her day was going. She always waited an hour before responding.

Friday finally arrived, which meant she would work late and then join her friends for dinner. The text from Kelly informing her of where dinner was taking place hadn’t arrived yet. Jessica hoped against all odds Kelly would pick a place that served food on real plates, and one where she could read the menu.

Jeremy sauntered into her small office adjoining his and threw himself down in the chair in front of her desk. She looked up from her laptop in surprise, then checked her watch.

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