I opened her file and read the first line. The next thing I needed to know was her. I wanted to know everything about her.
Her past, present, and whatever her future held, I wanted to insert myself in it. I’d be her want.
She’d see.
Chapter Five
Lucy
Holy.
Mother.
Of God.
This man was dangerously, irrevocably, and maddingly handsome. He reminded me of a fallen angel of sorts. He had a darkness to him, an edge, but no matter the depth of the abyss of blackness in his eyes, kindness was there. His black hair was nicely styled, and something about it made me want to run my fingers through it and mess it up.
He sat back, and I got a full view of his face for the first time, and my entire body responded to what I saw. His jaw was cut, reminding me of a Greek sculpture, and his nose was straight and defined, a bit square at the end like the rest of his face. His mouth parted, and I saw the red flick of his tongue inside. His lips were plump, a dusty pink color. His bottom lip was fuller than the top, and his high cheekbones caught the light of the room, proving the sharp lines of his face.
But it was his eyes that caught all the attention. They were calm, calculated, and the pupil and the iris blended together they were so black. They made my instincts quiver from the cold they radiated, but my body wasn’t telling me to run. Instead, it urged me to run into his arms so his flesh could warm me up.
No one should be built like this. It was unfair to the rest of the male population for a man to look this good, this deviant and holy all at the same time.
He flipped the file open, and my nipples pointed in my bra when I noticed the wide set of his palms and his thick fingers. Nothing about his hands said he was weak, no, he was strong.
Godrick Stoneridge was the kind of man a woman dreamed about and regretted the next day. He was the man that stole a little of your heart but left you cold in the morning. That I could tell, and I had been frostbitten once.
I refused to be bitten again.
“What brought you to New York, Lucy?” he asked in a velvety tone that hugged my skin. I needed to get out of here. His presence was stifling. It was like a weight on my chest, and every second I stayed in front of him, fighting the liquid heat pooling between my legs, the heavier the weight got.
I cleared my throat, wishing I had a glass of water near me. A piece of hair fell in my eyes, blocking my view of him and instead of moving it out of the way, I kept it there to use it as a barrier between him and I. “My brother got a job at your company, and since it was just me and him, he didn’t feel comfortable coming here without me, so I came with.”
“Did something happen to prompt this move? I need to know if you’re bringing something dangerous into my company.” He swiveled his chair until he faced me, and the pen in his hands danced over his knuckles as if he had done that trick a hundred times.
I wiggled in my chair. I didn’t expect to answer this question. I thought he’d ask me what my greatest weakness was or how I got started in the business of being a personal assistant. This was too personal though. He didn’t need to know that part of my life, especially since he was my boss. “I do not think that is appropriate. I’d never bring harm to your company or anyone else’s. You do not have to worry about that.”
“I do. I care about my employees. I care about what has happened to them.”
Yeah, something told me that was a load of shit. He wanted information out of me for some reason. I wouldn’t give it to him. I preferred to keep that part of my life locked away forever if I had any say in it.
“This has nothing to do with the interview.” There was a challenge in my voice, and it raised slightly from the pressure he put on me to answer something so personal.
The wrinkle between his brows was quick, but it told me he was unhappy. “So you have a brother, Logan?”
“I do.”
“And you live with him?”
“Yes, I do.”
He grunted in response and flipped another page of the resume. “Do you have anyone else living with you?”
“Um, excuse me?” I wasn’t too sure why he was asking that. Again, it had nothing to do with the interview. Maybe this wasn’t the job for me. When Logan told me he interviewed for the company, he said that it was a woman, not Mr. Stoneridge interviewing him. “That isn’t relevant either.”
“Your emergency contact is just your brother. If something were to happen and we couldn’t get a hold of him, is there anyone else we could call?” He pulled his suit sleeves up, and the watch on his right wrist caught my attention. It was a beautiful gold Rolex.
“Oh.” I guess that made sense. I twisted my fingers together and tried to relax. I was too on edge. I had no reason to be defensive with him. “No, there is no one else. It is just me and my brother, and it has been for a while.”