Page 64 of Beneath the Blindfold

But all I felt was excitement.

“Great,” he said. “Finish what you need to do, clock out, and when you’re ready, come back upstairs.”

With that settled, he opened his laptop and his focus returned to his screen.

For a long beat, I sat rooted to the chair, stunned at his response. I’d just agreed to a threesome, but you’d never be able to tell it by his reaction. How was his body not buzzing with electricity like mine was?

This was typical Joseph. He controlled everything, including his emotions.

I’d been dismissed and couldn’t stay. The longer I took downstairs finishing my closing duties, the longer it’d be before I could return, and so I climbed to my feet with eagerness.

“See you soon,” he tossed at me when I was halfway out the door. The words were relaxed, but his tone promised sexiness, and my chest tightened with anticipation.

Lily was the only other employee left in the place when I made my way back to the bar.

“Everything okay?” Her gaze rolled toward the stairs I’d just come down. She’d tried to act natural—but failed. She knew I’d come from Joseph’s office and was obviously curious how the conversation had gone.

I’d bet my life she’d been the one to tell on me, not Noemi.

“Yeah,” I said in an overly friendly tone. “Everything’s fine.”

“Oh.” She couldn’t have sounded more surprised if she’d tried. “That’s good.”

I went back to my closing duties, and tried not to be distracted by thinking about what was going to happen when I was done. But I was so fixated on it, I barely acknowledged Lily when she said goodnight, and it took me longer than ever to finish up.

At least, it seemed like it.

Maybe it was my excitement making it feel that way.

For the last few years, I’d wanted to participate in a threesome, but I’d never gotten the chance. When it came to sex, as far as I was concerned, the more, the merrier. Plus, it felt like it would be challenging in a fun way.

A few minutes after I finished polishing the glassware, I passed Noemi when I was on my way to the stock room. She wasn’t an employee, but sometimes she’d help out when she came by to visit her boyfriend.

She didn’t say anything to me with words, but there was zero doubt in my mind that she knew what I’d agreed to. Her gaze snagged on me, and she blinked rapidly, eking out a knowing smile before hurrying up the stairs to his office.

It made my pulse kick.

When I finished for the night, I swiped my card in the system and clocked out, and then turned to face the stairs. The electric buzz was back, pumping through my body even stronger than before, making me feel unsteady as I climbed each step.

The door to the office was open like last time, and Joseph was still seated behind his desk. The only thing that had changed from last time was Noemi sat on the couch, but this . . . it felt wildly different now. The air in the room was taut with the promise of sex, pleasure, and power.

There was no doubt who held it all, either.

Her gaze was locked on his, pulling my focus in that direction too.

“Did Lily head out?” Joseph asked.

“Yeah.” I hovered awkwardly in the doorway, unsure of what I was waiting for. Permission? An invitation?

His attention swung my way, his gaze drilling right down into the center of me.

“Noemi looks lonely,” he said. “Why don’t you lock the door and join her on the couch?”

THREE

It was posed as a question, but Joseph’s command was clear, and if anything—it helped me take a breath. We were getting started right away, with him being in control, and I was grateful for it. Normally, I wasn’t anxious when it came to sex, but this was so . . . new. I felt like the kid who showed up late to the first day at a new school.

I did as instructed. I strode across the room and took a seat on the end of the couch opposite Noemi, because it seemed too soon to sit right beside her.

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