Page 9 of Never Bed the Boss
I swallow hard and my stomach twists into knots as Asher ends the call and moves slowly but confidently toward me. Measured. Each footfall echoes in his cavernous penthouse and reverberates throughout my body.
Goosebumps flare as I try hard to catch my breath along with my running thoughts.
This can’t work, right? Working for a man like Asher would be hard enough given everything I’ve heard about him today. Throw in our first encounter. Our second encounter… and I’m sure every single encounter after that given how things are progressing, and it’s clear that this will never work.
…Becausewe’dnever work.
But I need this job so I can make sure I’m not living on the streets. The voicemails and messages from my landlord have made it clear that I’m running out of time.
I open my mouth to speak as Asher closes the gap between us but the scent of his cologne disorients me. His imposing presence surrounds me. And when his hand cups my face, every part of me ignites.
“Asher,” I mutter, eyes closed as though not being able to see his handsome face and his eyes burning into me will somehow give me the strength to tell him.
“Lilah,” he rasps, thumb burning my skin as he strokes my cheek.
I let out a soft moan as I open my eyes and receive the full force of his eyes on me. God, he’s so handsome. How can someone be so devastatingly handsome?
He slides a hand around my waist and pulls me against his solid frame. I crumple against him as I breathe in his heady scent all the while the tiny voice in the back of my head keeps growing louder and louder.
“This won’t work,” I say, finally drumming up the courage as I back away from him.
But when I see Asher’s expression, I know he’s not going to accept my resignation so easily.
4
ASHER
Lilah,Lilah, Lilah…
I know we’ve only known each other for a short time, but she can’t possibly believe I’d let her go so easily. She has to know that once I set my sights on something, I won’t stop until I have it. And let there be no mistake, Lilah will be mine.
“What isn’t going to work, angel?”
I take a step forward and she takes two back. I smile, allowing her the space for the moment. You can try to build up the wall, Lilah, but I’ll dismantle it, brick by brick.
“Working together.”
Her voice is hoarse. Strained. And I can’t help but latch onto the one thing she didn’t mention: Us. Working together might be a challenge, but us? We’re seamless. Perfect. Meant to be.
“And why is that?” I ask, closing the gap before angling my head to taste the slender curve of her neck.
My nose brushes against her skin as I kiss her softly, resisting the urge rocketing through me to claim her lips again.
Lilah huffs out a long sigh as her fingers dig into my back.
“Because you can’t keep your hands off of me.”
I pause, my tongue frozen in place in the middle of her neck. I pull back slowly. “Do you want me to keep my hands off you?”
Lilah’s cheeks, neck, and chest are nearing crimson as she stares at me for a long moment. “No,” she says, finally, “but that’s the problem.”
I pin a stray tendril behind her ear as she blinks up at me.
“I need this job, and I don’t want to risk losing it when you move on to your next conquest.”
Lilah’s head and shoulders drop as I feel the full force of her words slam into me. Does she really think that I see her as some conquest? Something I’d discard so easily? She has no idea what she means to me.
“Lilah,” I rasp, cradling her face between my hands. “Is that what you think?”
