Page 53 of Guarded King

I’m not reckless. I never lose control. But I’m on the edge of it now. My cock is hard and throbbing, pressing against her stomach. There’s no way she can’t feel it, but she doesn’t draw away.

My blood pulses through my veins in a violent rush and every sense is focused on Chloe. I want to taste her. I want her bare skin against mine. I want to hear her moaning my name.

And for once, I’m not thinking about anything else.

She clutches my shirt, and I splay my free hand over the small of her back, using it to drag her body flush against mine.

As I lower my head, her increasingly ragged breaths wash over my lips. Anticipation is a hot spark up my spine.

Between one heartbeat and the next, there’s a jolt, then the lights flicker. We freeze, still wrapped around one another for an instant. But as the lighting stabilizes and our surroundings are fully illuminated again, we quickly break apart.

As the elevator jerks and begins its descent once more, I can’t help but drink her in. Her cheeks are pink, and her hair is mussed from my hand. Wide eyes search mine in fast, dazed flicks.

Then her expression shutters, and she rubs her palms against her skirt. “That was a mistake.”

Every part of me demands that I tell her she’s wrong.

All except my head. And it’s my head that’s back in control now.

Before I have a chance to respond, the elevator stops, and the doors slide open. She quickly brushes past me and steps out into the foyer, where a group of men wearing concerned expressions are hovering.

I follow her out and snap at them. “What the hell happened?”

One turns to me, his eyes going wide. “Mr. King. I’m so sorry. A lightning strike short-circuited a sub-station.”

“And the backup power?”

“We’re recalibrating the system now.”

With a grunt, I stalk after my assistant. “Chloe.”

She stops at the exit, staring out at the still-torrential rain for a second before turning to face me. “The weather?—”

“I’m not worried about the weather.” I pull out my phone and message Phillip, asking him to meet us out front, then usher her through the door, guiding her to a dry space underneath an awning where we can’t be seen from inside.

I shift closer, studying her expression. “What’s going on in your head right now?”

She wets her lips, her gaze sliding away from mine. “You were trying to comfort me, and things went too far. I promise it won’t happen again, Mr. King.”

I might have regained control, but holding onto it is harder than it should be. “It’sRoman,” I growl. “What happened is not your fault. But you’re right, it won’t happen again. I won’t allow myself to lose control again, I promise you that.” I take a deep breath and force myself to continue. “If I made you uncomfortable?—”

She shakes her head quickly. “You didn’t. I understand the situation. I…” Head angled back, she looks skyward for a moment, then meets my gaze again. “It’s not like I didn’t respond.”

I curl my hands into fists in an effort not to drag her to me again—to find out how well she’d respond to all the things I could do to her.

She labeled our encounter correctly, though. It was a mistake. One that takes me a step too close to becoming someone I don’t want to be.

The knowledge has ice trickling into my veins. But even that does nothing to quell the fire still leaping and sparking deep in my gut. The burn that tells me that if I were in that situation again, I’d do the same fucking thing over. If those lights hadn’t come on, I would have done more.

Raking a hand through my hair, I lock my gaze on her face. When I speak, my voice is rough. “I need you to know I didn’t hire you for that. I never intended for it to happen.”

Understanding blooms in her eyes, and she reaches out, her touch gentle against my arm. “I know that.” Then, as if to ease the tension, she gives me a hint of a smile. “You didn’t want to hire me at all.”

That beguiling expression heats my chest while simultaneously causing unease to slice into it. Because the warmth washing over me feels like more than lust. It’s a heat that feels… dangerously addictive.

Before I can allow that thought to sink in, Phillip pulls up and breaks the spell. I gesture at him to stay in the car, since the rain is still coming down hard, then I strip off my jacket.

“Hold this over your head,” I tell Chloe.

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