Page 115 of Possession

A little black bag was tied to the hanger. I unhooked it and peeked inside. Lingerie—high end stuff. How the hell had he managed to get LaPerla on such short notice?

“Since I’m your assistant, who did you have shopping for you, buddy?”

“I have quite capable fingers and contacts, Ms. Copeland.”

I tossed the silk bag on his desk. We so weren’t going there with the fingers.

He gathered both garment bags and the small bag of unmentionables as he crossed to his secret room. He leaned into an almost imperceptible panel and suddenly, the door slid open.

So,thatwas how it worked.

“How very Bond of you, Blake.”

“The room has a shower and a bed. It’s very handy when I have to work late at night. I seem to remember mentioning it to you prior to our night when we were locked in the vestibule.”

I sailed in after him. “I remember.”

The room was small, but small in the way that an apartment is in New York City.

Anothersecret room.

The view from the room was incredible. The infinity edge from his office space ran in here, as well. An unparalleled view of Boston Harbor stretched out before us. White twinkle lights had been added to the arbors along the inlet.

Various boats had been decked out for Christmas, as well. We were experiencing an incredibly warm winter, and people seemed to be combating that by increasing their decorations.

I actually didn’t mind. It was my first Christmas without my grandmother, and it helped to see that life was going on, even if my own felt like it had somehow both been in stasis and moving at fast-forward at the very same time.

As my breath stuttered, I lifted my fingertips to the window and let myself soak in the cheer. A little bit of normalcy in my very changed world.

Would anything ever seemrightagain?

Blake came up behind me. “Are you okay?”

I reached behind me with my other hand to link our fingers. “We’ve been so busy and focused I didn’t have time to realize this would be my first Christmas alone.”

“You’re not alone.” His voice was low and barely above a whisper.

“No. I didn’t know this was how my year would end up when I walked into this office a few months ago.”

He brushed his lips over my temple. “You’re a miracle I never thought I’d be worthy of. I still don’t.”

My fingertips went white as I pressed them harder into the glass. What the hell could I say when he came up with stuff like that? Just when I was prepared to write him off as the least romantic soul on the planet, he came back with a comment likethat.

His fingertips slipped across the band of my skirt to just above my navel. “Late at night, I’d look out on this waterway.”

“King of his castle style?”

“I never looked at it that way.”

My breath hitched when his fingers coasted lower over the silk of my blouse to the edge of my panties. “You should have.”

“By the time I had a view to be proud of, I was more alone than I’d ever been in my life. Until you.”

My skirt loosened and pooled around my ankles.

“Now, I have this view and finally someone to share it with.”

My pulse shot up. “Aren’t there cameras all over?”

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