Page 16 of Claimed By the Boss

He’d taken her for a bath,washed her hair, even cared for her. Yes, all the touching had led to themhaving sex in his large bathtub, but they were only human.

After making love in thetub, they changed the sheets, and she would offer to have them dry-cleaned, butthey were silk sheets. There was no way she would be able to afford them.Besides, Gabriel had assured her he intended to take care of it, and she wasnot going to argue with him. If he knew what he was doing, then she wasn’tgoing to interfere.

They made love a secondtime, and afterward, she had fallen asleep in his arms. Waking up next to him,still in his arms, Nora had to wonder if this would have broken any of hisrules.

She didn’t know if he wasa man who liked to snuggle. Much to her surprise, she’d been able to wriggleout from his arms and make her way back into his bathroom. She found a sparetoothbrush. After using the toilet, she washed her hands, brushed her teeth,and washed her face. Also, she ran a brush through her hair, which had seenmuch better days.

Feeling more like herself,she’d gone back into the bedroom to find him still asleep. She’d gone to hiscloset, grabbed one of his shirts, and snuck out of his bedroom. She needed tomake coffee and find a nice, quiet space where she could think about whathappened last night.

She couldn’t believe shehad sex with her boss. That was insane. And scary.

She found his kitchen.Gabriel hadn’t exactly given her the grand tour. She spotted his coffeepot, andwith a few guesses she figured out how to use it and got some coffee going. Thescent was amazing, and she had no doubt Gabriel knew good quality coffee. Norawas pretty sure she’d seen the same pot at the office.

With the coffee brewing,she glanced around his kitchen, and then located the fridge. It was hiddenwithin the same units as the cupboards, so it all matched up and looked equal.Finding the fridge, she opened it and saw the bare essentials. Some eggs,bacon, and it looked like there was some sausage. There were no vegetables, andjust about enough food to make a breakfast. She struggled to find some bread, andwhen she did, it felt like a miracle.

Nora rummaged to find somefrying pans and got to work on cooking the sausage. She hoped he didn’t thinkher rude for cooking breakfast. It was only a little after seven. She’d alwaysbeen an early riser, and that coffee was making her mouth water. She wanted itto finish percolating so she could enjoy a nice large mug herself.

This was insane. She wasat her boss’s apartment, after having a wild night with him, wearing one of hisshirts and cooking breakfast like it was a normal thing to do.

The moment the coffeemachinefinished,she grabbed some milk from thefridge. She loved her coffee dark, with a splash of milk and absolutely zerosugar. Giving a final stir to her coffee, she blew across the top and moaned.She just couldn’t help it, and took another sip.

“Good coffee?” Gabrielasked.

This nearly caused her tospill the coffee. She’d been lost in her world of coffee and pleasure and hadcompletely forgotten that she stood in his apartment. Crazy, because the onlycoffee she allowed herself was instant. She had some good instant, but nothinglike this.

“It’s amazing. Want amug?” she asked.

“Yep, for me, I have adash of cream and a sugar, as it’s a Sunday.”

She noticed he’d pulled ona pair of sweatpants, but no shirt. Still, he looked good. Even getting out ofbed, he looked good. She didn’t know how long he’d been awake. Maybe he’d wokenthe moment she left.

“I didn’t wake you, didI?”

He shook his head and tookthe coffee from her.

“Every other time I haveit black,” he said.

“Sunday is your treatday?”

“It’s rare I’m needed atthe office, as I allow all my places to close on Sunday.”

Nora knew that, and it waswhy he also allowed them to take two weeks at Christmas. This was also veryrare for a company to do. She was pretty sure she saw an interview with him, andwhen asked about this, if he found it reckless. Gabriel’s response had beensimple. “Grateful, well-rested employees are the best kind to have. I take careofthem,they take care of me.”

It made sense to her.

She’d been there longenough to see how people reacted coming back after the Christmas vacation.Everyone was well rested, and yes, grateful to be able to spend it with theirloved ones.

For her, Christmas was ahard time of the year. It was where she missed her parents the most. Theyalways went all out at Christmas. They would have a special party, which most peopleon the street where she used to live would attend. That was how much theyenjoyed it, that for months afterward, they would still be talking about it.Their house would be aglow, and she was sure it could be seen from space.Probably not, but her dad loved to decorate for Christmas. He loved to do itall.

Her mother would bakecookies and cakes. Never a festive moment went by for her mother. Nora hadloved it.

Now, in her apartment, shewould decorate as best she could, but that loneliness was there. Christmas wasthe hardest.

“How are you feeling?”Gabriel asked.

She felt her cheeks heatas she knew exactly what he was referring to. She was a little sore, but shedidn’t want him to worry.

“I’m fine. Would you likesome breakfast?” she asked, attempting to change the subject quickly.

---