Page 10 of Boss Daddy's Girl

I raise my brows and take a sip of my drink, determined not to show how excited I am at his words.

His hand slides to my waist, pulling me close. Immediately, I can feel the difference in our interaction, the intimacy in his touch that wasn’t there before. It feels like everyone in the room is staring at us, but I don't care. "Let's get to mingling, sweet Ellie. I've paid a pretty penny to show you off."

I roll my eyes, trying to ignore the way my stomach flips when he says my name. "You're so annoying."

It's not a lie. Drake is annoying. But being on his arm as he moves through the crowd, shaking hands and making connections with the most powerful people in attendance, makes up for the annoyance. He introduces me like I'm royalty, the word "assistant" never being uttered once.

This is a game, and I'm having fun. The night is going well. We laugh and joke with the other guests, and Drake's hand never leaves my body in any fashion for long, always on my hip or linking his fingers with mine. He treats me like something precious, and it's addicting. I like being on display. Even better, I like how people react when they see us together. They'resurprised, to say the least. And if I'm being honest, a little jealous. I wonder if they think Drake is off the market now. The thought makes me giggle.

Drake turns to me, raising an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," I say, "Just enjoying myself."

He opens his mouth to say something, but then his gaze catches on something over my shoulder, and his expression falls. I try to turn around to look, but Drake holds me in place. When I meet his eye, he hisses, "Don't look, but Kate Nott is here. How in the hell did she get a ticket?!"

My mirth flees at his words. Kate Nott is what people call a ‘super fan’. In my opinion, ‘stalker’ is much more fitting. She comes to every event Drake attends and does her damnedest to run into him in public, too. Kate is obsessed in the worst way possible. In her mind, Drake is her soulmate, and nothing will stand in her way.

"Quick." His hand flies up to cup my face while his other hand pulls our bodies together. "Kiss me so she'll leave."

I have less than a second to process his words before my mouth blurts, "Okay."

I barely have time to blink before his lips are on mine. Drake is kissing me, and I'm standing frozen, eyes wide in shock. His mouth is hot and insistent, his body so close I can feel his heart beating. I'm stunned, but after a few moments, my hands reach up to tangle in his shirt. The kiss deepens, Drake's tongue running across my bottom lip. A groan escapes him, and I'm sure I'm about to go up in flames.

Eyes fluttering shut, a little whimper escapes my throat. I've wanted this for so long, and it's better than I ever could have imagined. Kissing him feels like falling, but the best kind. The kind where you know someone will catch you.

This could go on forever, and I'd be happy, but our location is suddenly brought back to my attention when someone yells, "Get a room!"

My eyes fly open, and I see Drake glaring at the man who spoke. His jaw is clenched tight, but when he glances over my shoulder again, he relaxes. "Good. She's gone."

Oh, that's right. We were kissing to get rid of Kate. Not because of some pent-up sexual tension between us that has been growing minute by minute. When his lips touched mine, my brain forgot about Kate Nott, mixers, or even the convention.

I feel like a fool.

But that didn't feel like a kiss for show. Not even close. The passion, the desperation. That didn't come from nowhere.

Pulling away from him, I meet his eyes. He's staring at me like I'm a puzzle he can't quite figure out. My breath catches in my throat. This is it. A question rises in my mind, but my lips refuse to form the words. I can't bring myself to ask what this means.

Luckily, I don't have to. Another one of Drake's acquaintances, this one drunk, comes from behind him and slaps him on the shoulder, dragging him away from me and into a conversation I don't even bother to pay attention to. Feeling lost, I start to step away, wanting to just go back to the room, but Drake's hand reaches out and twines his fingers with mine. It stops me in my tracks.

This simple touch says, 'I'm here. Stay with me.'

So I do.

When the mixer starts to wind down, he keeps his hand linked with mine, and we head towards the elevators. I'm exhausted, but the second the elevator doors slide closed in front of us, that exhaustion evaporates and turns into something else entirely. It's just Drake and me in this small space, holding hands, the very recent memory of our kiss making my lips tingle.

He doesn't break eye contact as he pushes the button for our floor, and the elevator lurches into action.

"That went … well," I offer, wondering which of us is supposed to pull our hands away first.

"Well enough anyway," he agrees. "I think we scared Kate off pretty good."

I smile at that. "Good. Maybe she'll finally get the hint."

I've said too much. His eyes flick down to mine, and my stomach swoops.

"Good, eh?" he repeats slowly, a hint of a smile on his lips. "I'll have to improve my technique if that's all the praise I'm getting from you."

The elevator doors open, and he steps out, tugging me behind him. I'm grateful for the cool air in the hallway. It chases some of the fog from my head, making it a little easier to think. He leads me to our door and fishes out the key card. My eyes linger on the place where his shirt gapes open, giving me a glimpse of his chest. He catches me staring, and my face heats.

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