Page 5 of Midnight & Magic
It’s not like I’m at a heavy metal concert! God, how embarrassing!
He quickly shook his head at his own retort, which, if he was honest, looked just as bad. No one should have an internal argument with oneself, even if you are a child of the night.
“Yeah, I’m ready, Mr. Connel—er—I mean Camden. Sorry, it’s going to take some time to get used to calling you by your first name.”
He opened the door for her and gestured for her to go through. She smiled at his politeness and slid by him in one quick and flowing movement.
“Why’s that?”
Her eyes met his for a moment while they were at the elevator, and her brows narrowed.
“Well, everyone else seems to call you Mr. Connel, and I guess I can’t shake that because it’s respectful to call you by your last name or even sir. I mean—I’m only your secretary.” She said while she pushed the down button and stared at the numbers on top of the elevator door—probably hoping that the awkwardness would dissipate easier if the doors opened sooner rather than later. That made his dead heart sink to his stomach.
The door opened, and she slipped in quickly before he had time to respond. That would not do for him. He hit the emergency stop button on the keypad the minute they were both in the cart by themselves. He then grasped her shoulders with both hands and pulled her close to him. They were only inches apart, and his dick twitched, attentive to the warmth of her body so close to his. But none of that mattered—not at this moment. Right now, he needed to set things straight between the two of them because there was no way in hell he would have his secretary scared of him. And also? He didn’t want her thinking she was beneath him. The fact was, her job was important. He can’t function without an excellent secretary. As far as he was concerned, she and he were partners. She wasn’t his subordinate.
“Listen to me. You are not only anything! I’ve read your resume, and you’re a brilliant woman. You’ve been more successful with your careers. I am stressing plural, in case you didn’t hear me correctly. Most people can’t say they have two degrees! Never call yourself only a secretary in front of me again! Are we clear?”
Her eyes were like saucers, and they reminded him of the Puss N’ Boots character from Shrek, a movie he’d seen at least a hundred times with his niece. She began to shudder a bit underneath his grip on her. He immediately released his hands and stepped back to a more comfortable distance.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so bold. It’s just I don’t like seeing women belittle themselves so much. I have a niece, and I’m trying to do right by her. Sorry to have over-compensated with you.” He said, half looking away.
FUCK! Fuck, fuck, FUCK, fuck! That’s NOT how I wanted this to go!
“No! I’m sorry! Part of this is me. I assumed you knew nothing about my very publicized divorce. Frankly, I was hoping I didn’t have to explain myself for once. Eric was awful to me during the divorce. They say you marry one person and divorce another, though. Looking back after almost a year of being legally single again? I honestly wonder if there was a different man I married altogether. Because anyone who cheats and then uses that as leverage to have an open marriage simply sucks in my book. Marriage is supposed to be about the long haul—ya know? And the actual cheating didn’t really bother me! It was that he lied about it—that’s what made me mad! I mean, if you want two women—have at it! But that doesn’t mean you get to have me too!” Her eyes sparkled with a flare before they widened to saucers again. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have sounded like a sieve.” She squeezed her eyes shut before continuing. “My mom always told me I have a tendency to overshare.”
“You aren’t doing that. As I said, I already knew who you were and knew all about the divorce. I wouldn’t be a good boss if I didn’t do a background check or two when hiring someone.” He said as he placed his index finger under her chin and drew her head up, so she had no choice but to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry it got so bad for you. A woman as pretty as yourself deserves to be treasured.”
Fuck! Why did I say that to her?
She smiled.
Hmm. That I screwed up. Perhaps Cassidy likes me as much as I like her?
“Well, thank you. That’s very sweet of you.”
She squeaked out the words, and he still felt her body trembling beneath his index finger. He hated her feeling so nervous around him. It was the last thing on Earth he wanted her to feel.
“It’s unnecessary, though. I mean—it’s been a year, and I’m over Eric. Way over him so that won’t affect my work here.”
Now she was the one nodding like a bobblehead this time, and he met her gaze once her head was in an upright position. She sucked in her breath, letting him know his words meant something. At that thought, a smile formed on his lips, but he didn’t keep the smile there. He wanted to make sure his point about her being important to him was clear.
“Cassidy, please never assume that you can’t talk about your personal life. I’d like to consider myself as more than only your boss. Especially since you are more than only a secretary.” He said to her as he placed his hands on both of her shoulders once more.
The mere scent of her lavender perfume was making him weak. He decided the lavender was the perfume, the hibiscus was the shampoo, and those tempting scents made him want to kiss her. To claim her mouth as his. It was the only thing on his mind since the minute she walked through the door this morning.
“That’s very sweet of you. Really, it is.” She smiled up at him, and her eyes flicked to his mouth briefly before they gazed into his eyes again. “But it’s not needed. Again, you are my boss, and I want to be as professional as possible.” She sucked in a breath to cover up the hitching sound she was making.
He made small circles with his thumbs on her shoulders.
“I understand that.” He said as his eyes now played a dancing game with her lips. They were mere inches from him, and Camden was doing all he could to keep his composure with her, but he knew he was failing miserably. “I really do. But there’s something you need to understand.”
He pulled her closer to him and clicked the stop button on the elevator again. “I can’t stop thinking about doing this.”
He crashed his lips on hers. Cassidy’s lips were soft and inviting. She softened into the kiss within a few quick seconds and wrapped her arms around his neck. She moaned softly into his mouth for a moment as he pulled her even closer to him. His cock, now fully erect, pressed against her inner thigh. Her breasts pinned his chest as her hands played with the back of his hair.
Shit! What am I doing?
He pulled apart from her, and his body seemed to scream in pain from the separation from her. It seemed so right to be in her arms.
