Page 38 of Sensual Games

“See? It’s possible for me to play nice in the office. I’m not even going to say anything about how incredible your ass looks in that dress,” I added as hunger threatened to unfurl in my core. The pale yellow sheath highlighted her small waist, full hips, and drool-worthy rack to perfection.

Rolling her eyes, she whispered, “I should’ve known.”

“You love it,” I told her as we fell in step on our way to the small conference room. “By the way, if you have any plans tomorrow night, cancel them. I’m taking you out.” If anyone deserved a night on the town, it was her.

“Are you trying to get us in trouble by being seen together in public?” she whispered back. “Not that you’d get in trouble. I would.”

“You have nothing to worry about,” I assured her. Not that I gave a fuck, I didn’t care the cost. I needed to spend more time with her. Besides, what were the chances in a city as big as this?

“Well… I’m free tomorrow,” she concluded, trying and failing to cover up her smile. That smile stole my breath, leaving me momentarily speechless before I exhaled it away.

“Good. Look nice,” I added. Raising my voice, I asked, “How did those reworded headlines treat us last week? We set up split testing, right?”

Her head bobbed as she fought back a smile. “You almost sound like you know what you’re talking about,” she told me, winking as we rounded the doorway and entered the conference room.

“Nobody is more surprised than I am,” I admitted.

16

IVY

Was this what Cinderella felt like? If she was real, anyway, being whisked away in a carriage on her way to the ball. Only I was in a limousine instead of a carriage, and instead of a ball, we were supposed to have dinner at a three-Michelin-star Italian restaurant. I was in no way financially solvent enough to afford a meal there, and even I knew it took nothing short of an act of God to score a last-minute reservation there when waitlists were months.

If anybody could handle it, Lucian could.

I pulled a mirror from my clutch and checked the makeup I had so carefully applied, catching a slight smudge of eyeliner on the tip of my finger before holding the mirror farther away so I could fuss with my hair. Everything seemed to be in place. I wanted to look perfect, or as close to it as I could manage.

I wanted to look like the sort of woman who belonged.

Nerves gripped me, but I ignored them, looking down at the only nice black dress I owned. It was modest but sexy, with a V-neck that revealed the swells of my breasts and cut low in the back. The hem barely flirted with my knee, and I kept adjusting it as anxiety wreaked havoc on my nerves. It was just a date.

Sure, I’d been on dates in the past, but not with a man who was my boss, even if he had never actually come out and used the term. Not with the son of a billionaire. And certainly not with someone I’d ever been this attracted to. The stakes had never been higher. I still couldn’t shake my fears over what might happen if anybody found out.

So why was I doing this? Sitting in the back of a limo, smirking to myself, I remembered the looks on the faces of people walking past my apartment building as I crossed the sidewalk and slid inside. Okay, so that was a lot of fun, but otherwise… why take this risk?

It was more than the sex. As amazing as it was, it wasn’t enough to risk my reputation and future. Was it? What about Mom’s future, which lately had overshadowed mine?

By the time we reached Greenwich Village, the answer was clear. It was in the way my heart leaped when I caught sight of Lucian waiting outside the restaurant. The smile I couldn’t suppress as I looked him over. He was sophistication personified in a dark suit, one that had clearly been tailored for him, but even the best tailoring couldn’t substitute for his confidence. That was what stood out the most about him. The sort of thing that couldn’t be faked. He was a man on top of the world, and he knew it, and that knowledge revealed itself in his slow grin and the way he insisted on opening the door for me rather than letting the driver do it.

He extended a hand without looking in at me. This was it. After taking and releasing a deep breath, I placed my hand in his and relished the little thrill that ran through me as I stepped out.

“Wow. I mean…” Lucian’s mouth hung open while his dark eyes traveled every inch of my body, “… I told you to look nice, but you look incredible, Poison.”

It was completely expected and sort of adorable, the way he said that. “Hey, I only followed orders.” I gently laughed while trying to ignore the thrill of his slack-jawed appreciation. All the time I spent applying my smoky makeup, blowing out my hair, and pinning it up in loose curls had been well spent. Thank you, random YouTube tutorials.

“You look very handsome…” I murmured, tucking my hand in his elbow and letting him lead me inside, tingling all over, caught up in the magic of the moment. Walking in on the arm of the most handsome man I’d ever met, who happened to think I was incredible.

This was why I took the risk. This feeling. Him. Me. The thrill, the magic.

“It smells amazing in here,” I whispered as soon as we stepped inside, where the tantalizing aroma of garlic teased my empty stomach. I had been too nervous to eat and didn’t want to ruin my appetite, anyway. I would never get the chance to dine here on my own, and I didn’t want to waste the opportunity.

“You smell better.” Leaning in, he acted like he was going to murmur in my ear but instead brushed his nose against my neck. My knees almost turned to jelly, and I had to hold onto him to keep from hitting the floor. “You’ll have to let me know the perfume you use. I intend on buying you a case.”

If only.I couldn’t take him at his word. Even if he meant it, he could afford to live in a fantasy world where we had a future. One of us had to be realistic, and if there was one thing life had taught me to deal with, it was reality. I had no other choice.

We were led to a table near the back of the dining room, and the soft candlelight wasn’t the only thing that made my heart flutter. “For me?” I asked, admiring a bouquet of white roses in the center of the table. I hadn’t seen them on the other tables as we walked through the room.

“For you.” He held out my chair, and I took a seat, shuddering slightly when his hand brushed my bare back and sent heat sizzling straight to my core. Everything about tonight was more intense, more special. I was like a kid on her first date, unsure of myself and giddy. I could only hope I didn’t do or say anything hopelessly gauche.

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