Page 18 of Fortress of the King

RAYNE

“Miss Michaelson.”He looms in the doorway of my office, looking ever the handsome, devilish bachelor in his expensive suit and tie. He could have stepped off the front of G.Q. magazine.

I walk toward the front of my desk and lean my ass against it as he watches me. He towers in the doorway, taking up all the space. There’s tension between us, as much as I don’t want to admit it or believe it. And I don’t like it one bit.

Instead, I sip my champagne and smile up at him. “That was a lot of money for a few bottles of wine…” The lavish display did not go unnoticed by anybody in that room.

“Twenty-four bottles,” he corrects. “And it was worth it. I like my wine a lot like my women; smooth, uncomplicated, and a little spicy.”

His words roll off his tongue like silk.

“It’s a pity I’m complicated.” I shrug like it’s too bad.

He smirks. His face is so much more pleasant when he’s not frowning. “You make up for it in other ways.”

“Oh? How so?” This should be interesting.

He moves toward me like a panther, and I swallow hard. My hands grip the desk behind me, as if it can save me from his onslaught. He’s like a dark cloud about to throw down a thunderstorm.

I’m not here to be affected by him but fuck me, he’s making it very, very difficult. The situation I’m in makes this really sick,I need to get my sister back.

His voice has a hard edge when he says, “The way you bang that gavel down, the way you commanded the audience out there…I like a woman who can take control of a mob with poise and grace, it’s quite becoming.”

Mobbeing the operative word.

I laugh. “Well, I’ve been doing it for a while. I worked at Christie’s for several years, and you’re probably not wrong about the mob, but that’s just a fancy name for most of the hierarchy in Boston, isn’t it?”

His lips twitch as he stands in front of me, blocking my exit, blocking any chance of escape.

“Are you seeing anybody?” His voice is deep and masculine, and it’s not hard to figure out he’s got sex on his mind.

I’m sure to shake my head, but at the same time, I say, “That’s a very personal question to ask your employee.”

“Technically, I’m not your boss, Patricia is.”

I bite my lip as his eyes shift down. “Any more questions?”

“You didn’t answer the first one.”

“Well, it wasn’t a noteworthy question.”

His eyebrows quirk. His jaw clenches. I doubt he’s used to a woman speaking to him this way. It almost makes me laugh.

Being a woman with so much to lose, I sure am acting cavalier.

He stares at me. “Are you fucking anybody?”

I roll my lips inwards as he assesses my reaction. “Wow. Direct.”

He waits, his striking blue eyes not letting me get out of it. He’s completely serious.

“Well, are you? Answer me,” he demands, his nostrils flaring.

Fucking demanding prick.

“I am single right at this very minute, Mr. Medici.” I pause as I meet his gaze. I won’t tell him how long it’s actually been. “With no fuck buddy, if that answers your question.”

There’s a tug at the corner of his mouth.

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