Page 60 of The Deception: Hercules Valentine and I
I laugh. It's still pretty surreal that I'm in the presence of Hercules Valentine as he makes a joke. I probably shouldn't get used to being so casual with him. It won't last.
He cups his large hand around my chin and cheek. “Hey,” he says sympathetically. “Is everything okay?”
I could get lost staring into his eyes.Tell him now, Paisley. Tell him before it goes on too long and becomes too late.
“I don’t have food in the refrigerator.” I couldn’t say it for fear that if I did, this moment—our night—would end abruptly.
“No food?” he asks.
“I mean, I have sandwiches from Monday that are probably the source of that awful smell in the fridge. I was going to go shopping this weekend. I do cook sometimes. Well, a lot.” I grunt, frustrated at further embarrassing myself. I just don’t want him to think I’m still a high school kid who has rich parents and can’t fend for herself. But as far as he knows, he never knew me back then.
“Come on. I’ll take you to dinner.”
Hercules helps me to my feet. My legs are like jelly when we stand face-to-face. I’m certain that we’ll leave soon. But first, our mouths devour each other with deep, sweeping strokes of our tongues in an extensive lust-rousing kiss.
* * *
Somethingelse I can hardly believe…
I’m riding shotgun alongside Hercules Valentine. The inside of his SUV smells like him. I think I can pick out his scent in a crowded room.
Raindrops pelt the windshield, and a sultry French song plays in the background. I’m not surprised by his taste in music. Hercules has always been unique.
“Your music’s sexy,” I remark.
He steals a glance in my direction. “So are you.”
I look down at my lap, blushing. That was another surreal moment—Hercules Valentine just said I was sexy.
“I wanted to take you to an all-night deli in your neighborhood, but it’s too close to the job. So…”
“So someone might see us. Good call,” I say.
His eyebrows are pinched when he glances at me again. “Does being out in public with me make you nervous?”
I smooth the material of my dress across my lap, not sure how to answer that question. I'm more than nervous to be seen with him—I’m scared. But I can't say that, because then he'll ask why.
“You're afraid to be seen fraternizing with me?” he asks.
I look up and at him. He's smirking.
“You are my boss. What rules have you made about consorting with the man in charge?” I’m shamelessly flirting, and it feels so liberating.
Hercules snorts a chuckle. The SUV stops, and now I’m being detained by the power of his hypnotic eyes. “My employees are adults. They can have sex with whoever they want to have sex with.”
“Is that what we’re doing? Having sex?” I can hardly believe I asked that.
A loud honk makes me jump. We tear our gazes off each other to look beyond the windshield. The light has turned green. He starts driving again. By the way he’s looking straight ahead, I don’t think he’s going to answer my question. Maybe he doesn’t want to make me feel cheap.
“It’s okay if all we’re doing. As you’ve said, you hired me, and I’m an adult.” Actually, it’s not okay. Just the thought of Hercules using me to get his rocks off and falling in love with another woman pains my heart.
He steals a glance at me. “You’re more than sex to me.”
That is a huge revelation. My heart goes from hurting to soaring. If only he knew the truth. He’d know why I feel so strongly about him. Our connection goes way back, and it’s solid. That’s why we’re not merely screwing. What’s happening is that the past is being actualized.
“I thought something was going on between you and Lilith Cope,” I say in an attempt to learn why it looked as if they were a couple only a few days ago.
His eyebrows shoot up as a light turns from red to green. “Oh yeah?” He sounds surprised.
