Page 48 of Darling Obsession

Or how delicious he tastes.

Stand your ground.

“So now I’m being punished, because I broke the rules and slept with you? You’re the one in the position of power. And it’s not even true! Andyoukissedme.”

“It’s a better job,” he repeats.

“You said you’d protect me!”

“And this is me, protecting you,” he says calmly.

“How can I trust you? You already made me a promise, that I could keep the job at Velvet.”

“You want this job,” he says simply. “It means a pay raise.”

Okay, I’d love to tell him where to go right now. But, shit. I’m curious.

“What private club is it?”

“I can’t tell you until you’re officially hired and you sign the NDA.Thatprivate.”

I don’t want to be intrigued.I am not intrigued.

So he’s connected to other business owners in town. Who are probably just like him. Bossy. Manipulating. Endowed with big-dick energy and out-of-control god complexes. Thinking they can just walk into your life and tell you what to do…

“You know, you can’t just control other people’s lives like some puppet master.”

“Can’t I?” he says flatly.

“No. You can’t. And just because you’re handsome doesn’t mean you can demand whatever you want from a woman, and expect to get it.”

He stares at me, and I stare right back, unflinching, even as my cheeks heat.

“So you don’t want the job. Would you rather find your own new job?”

Ugh.I am not daunted by the prospect of job searching right now.

Yes, yes I am.And by his tone of voice, he knows it.

“That’s not what I said.”

“Good. You seem like a smart girl. Which means you understand that this is the best job offer you’re going to get.”

“Woman. You mean, I’m a smart woman.”

“Did I mention that you can set your own wage? Within reason.”

I’m not intrigued, I’m stunned. “How does that work? Who owns this club?”

“My brother Damian owns it. Just him,” he clarifies. “No one else in my family, including me.”

Okay, so I’m intrigued, just a bit. “And it pays even better than Velvet?”

“Yes.”

“So what’s the catch?”

“There is none. The job is already yours. But you do have to quit working for Vance Industries. To protect us both. Then we’ll just pretend that this”—his gaze rakes over me, like he’s trying not to look, but can’t help it—“never happened.”

---