Page 41 of Ruby Mercy

I’ve got to get out of here.

“Well, you said I deserve some fun, and I said we all do. I meant it more generally.”

I try to keep my voice even and conversational. If I don’t let him know I’m scared, then maybe nothing will happen. He’ll walk away and I’ll go back to work and this conversation will be a weird blip in our otherwise normal working relationship.

“Oh. A simple miscommunication then,” he says with a smile.

My hopes jump. A miscommunication. That’s all this is. I start to nod and respond, but before I can, Steven takes one step forward. The room is so small that that’s all it takes for him to be pressed against me.

He dips his chin and drags his hand up my arm. “Because I had one person in mind. You, specifically, need some fun. And I’m happy to provide.”

All of the red flags and warning alarms that were going off before are silenced. My brain is like a radio suddenly switched to a dead station, nothing but static and fuzz. I can’t think with Steven’s hand on my skin. Can’t move when his hot breath is on my face. I’m paralyzed with fear.

“You do so much around the house. The cleaning, the organizing, the tidying. You’re great at what you do,” he says as casually as if this were a standard work review. “Martha hired you to ‘pick up her slack.’ Her words, not mine. So I’m not sure she’d mind if you picked up this slack, too.”

I’m not sure what he means until he juts his hips forward, and I feel his erection jabbing into my thigh.

“But when you're around, there’s nothing slack about it,” he breathes heavily in my ear.

All at once, my senses come back online. I press my hands to his chest and angle away from him as far as I can. The rice and pasta shelf is digging into my spine so hard I feel like it will end up severed, but that would be a relief at this point. Anything would be better than being here.

“Stev—Mr. Linley,” I course correct, pretending there’s any sliver of professionalism left between us, “you’re having a bad day. That’s all this is. I don’t want you to do anything you’d regret.”

“That’s just the problem. I don’tdoanything. Martha and I never fuck anymore. She’s always too busy or too tired. And you’re here, every goddamn day… looking like this.” He squeezes my waist, pinning me even harder against the shelf. His nose brushes across my cheek, and I have to bite back a whimper. “Watching you work every day, strutting around this house like such a tempting little slut… It drives me fuckin’ crazy.”

I wrap my fingers tightly around his wrist and pry him off of me. His hand drops to his side, but he doesn’t move away at all.

“It’s okay to think someone is attractive,” I say. “But acting on it is different. It’s wrong.”

“How can anything that feels this good be wrong?” He twirls a strand of my hair around his finger and pulls tight. I wince as he jerks my head forward. “I know you feel it, too, Rayne. You don’t have to lie.”

“Steven, I—” I look up in hope, but the man I thought I knew is gone. His eyes are dark, his expression flat and lifeless. Shark eyes. Dead eyes. I can’t believe he actually feels anything for me when he looks like this. Whatever he does feel, it isn’t love or even attraction. It’s desire, but a possessive kind.

He doesn’t want to touch me.

He wants toownme.

“I’m sorry,” I say, creating an inch of space between us. I edge around him towards the door. He keeps his body molded to mine, but if I can get my back to the door, maybe I can slip away from him. “I just… I need time to think about this. It’s a lot to consider.”

He grabs a handful of my shirt. “What is there to think about? You want this. We have a couple hours to do whatever we want.”

My skin crawls. How can he look at me and think I’m into this? I feel like I’m turning green. But I try to keep my face neutral as I edge another couple inches towards the door.

“I need some time to think about this. This could ruin everything—for you and for me. You could lose your wife. I could lose my job.” I know I’m pleading with a man who is beyond logical thinking. I just need to buy a bit more time.

He shakes his head and dips closer to me, his lips brushing across my neck. “Martha is too busy to notice what I’m up to. She won’t fire you. Once we’re together, I wouldn’t, either. Why would I? You’d be giving me everything I want.”

“What if I don’t give you what you want?”

He stiffens, his hands turning to stone on my skin. When he draws back, his eyes are narrowed. “Why wouldn’t you?”

“Because I… I’m not sure this is a good idea, Steven. Maybe I don’t want to. To do this, I mean. With you.”

The moment the words are out of my mouth, I know I made the wrong choice.

Steven smiles, but it’s a devilish mask. His hands trail up my sides, hooking around my shoulders. He jerks me against his body and crushes his hips to mine. “Don’t lie to me, Rayne.”

I push against his chest, but he’s stronger than me. He doesn’t even move.

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