Page 39 of Of Blood and Smoke

Before I knew what I was doing, I had pulled him closer, my fingers gripping his sides. He’d awoken something inside me I never knew existed, the chemistry between us was that intense. It shoved away all the reasons I knew I shouldn’t be doing this right now. Orever, with my boss.

He pushed an arm behind my back and lifted me against him, not breaking our kiss. Josiah twisted us around, so he was lying with me on top of him, one of my legs placed between his.

“Josiah,” I said again, unable to meet his gaze. “What...” At a loss for words, I let my voice trail away. I had no idea what I was doing, what was going on. My brain was a scrambled mess.

I sat up, my hands smoothing along the hard expanse of his chest and marveling over the physique I could feel beneath the linen of his shirt. He was slim, but extraordinarily muscular, all hard lines and planes, all the way down his stomach. I heard him suck in a breath and I began to scoot backward a little and stopped when I felt a hard mound against my ass. My blood rushed to my core and my mouth opened.

Quickly, he lifted me from his lap and swung me down, so I was by his side before he lowered his legs over the edge of the bed. I sat on my knees and held my breath as I turned to meet his gaze, my hands shaking on my lap.

Our eyes met and I was trapped, a bolt of lightning coursing through me as I stared at the swirling charcoal glittering in his eyes. I felt compelled to reach for him, but I refrained, knotting my fingers together.

Every piece of him was a work of art—from his strong cheekbones to the elegant line of his nose, all the way down to his full, bowed lips. His thick, dark hair hung to his shoulders, swinging easily as he ran a hand through it. The moonlight through my window reflected against the strands as if they were a thousand mirrors.

I’d seen parts of his features before at work, but the sunglasses and policy had hidden them quite effectively. I now understood the need. Nobody would ever get any work done.

“All this time, it was you,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t understand. Didn’t you say you’re not supposed to want me?”

How would this ever work out? I couldn’t lose my job, and I had enough issues there with Christina. This was awful. There was no way I could stay, but I had no idea what to do.

“I can’t lose my job,” I said.

“I’d have to fire you for that to happen.”

“But you’re an asshole,” I insisted. “You’ve been nothing but a dick to me. Please explain what’s going on.”

Josiah stood up, grabbing his suit jacket from the top of my dresser. I wanted to scream at him not to go, a part of me deep inside railing at the very thought of his absence. I shook my head over the unexpected and unexplainable longing I had for this man.

He shoved an arm through a sleeve. “I have very good reasons for my behavior. As I’ve told you before, I shouldn’t want you.” His fingers went to fasten the buttons. “But I do.”

“But why?”

He licked his lips, the mental struggle apparent across his features. “It’s not allowed. I live under a set of rules you’d be unfamiliar with.”

“I don’t understand...” I moved to the edge of the bed, still trying to wrap my mind around howmy bosswas standing in my bedroom in the middle of the night. My incredibly hot boss. With an overly talented tongue. If I’d had a mirror to peek in, I was certain my face would be red.

Trying again, I asked, “Why do you want me?”

Josiah seemed uncomfortable for a moment, an emotion I never could’ve imagined him dealing with. “When I look at you, I can see it.” He waited a moment, licking his lips a second time. I decided it must be a nervous habit of his.

“Your kindness, your goodness. You have a pure heart.”

I snickered and he leveled a gaze at me. “You possess an unusual strength of spirit and coupled with those other traits, you’re unique. It compels me.”

“I’m anything but pure or good, you’ve mistaken me for someone else,” I stated. “Obviously, since you avoid me every chance you get other than breaking into my house at one in the morning, you don’t know me.”

“Your heart gave me permission to enter. I would’ve even if you hadn’t, but you invited me.” He stalked forward. “And only someone as pure and good as you would think they weren’t those things.”

Josiah loomed over me, all dark and gorgeous, and I reached for him, letting a finger glide down the smooth fabric of his suit coat. This all felt like a dream, a delicious nighttime stroll into a different dimension and here was my nightmarish god, standing in my bedroom.

His gaze flicked down and I met his eyes. “I know next to nothing about you,” I told him.

“Sadly, I must tell you I am neither purenorgood,” he smirked at me and my heart leaped.

“Well, you are a home invader.” His gaze narrowed and a sensation crawled over me as if I were being hunted but I held my ground. “So, what now? You still haven’t told me what you want from me.”

He smiled; the joyous expression more terrorizing than anything I’d seen of him before due to its novelty. I never could’ve imagined his facial muscles knew how to arrange themselves into such an ordinary gesture.

“It's quite simple. I want you. I want your body, your soul, and your love and I won’t stop until I have them.” He stared at me. “No matter, those things are already mine.”

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