Feelings. For the longest time, she’d hated them. Wanted nothing to do with them. They made her weak. Boss had gotten under her skin and as she kissed him, she knew she couldn’t run anymore. Not from him, not from the way he made her feel. She was smitten and there was no turning back.
****
Admitting the truth to Graciella had been easier than Boss expected.
He wasn’t lying to her. He didn’t want her to ever get hurt. Her past still clung to her like a second skin and all he wanted to do was to tear down the past, to show her a life with him wouldn’t cause her any more pain.
“Graciella?” he asked.
“Tonight,” she said, pulling away.
Her lips were swollen.
“Tonight?”
“Yes, you and me. Nothing else. Please. You’re not the king and I’m not the competition. We’re just Graciella and Boss. Two people who met. No promises. Can we do that?”
He wasn’t looking for a one-night stand, far from it, but with Graciella, he was more than willing to give her what she wanted.
Running his hand down her back, going to her ass again, he stepped back.
“Boss?”
He pulled his shirt over his head, throwing it to one side. He had two guns tucked into his jeans, and he put them on the chest of drawers beside the wall. Next, he rid himself of his pants and looked at her, standing in just his black boxer briefs.
“You approve?”
She licked her lips. “You’re a beast.”
Her fingers teased the edge of her shirt. He could have taken off her clothes, but this was for her. If she wanted to stop, they’d stop. He’d never force her, not once.
Boss waited with bated breath as she waited.
This was a tease.
She lifted her shirt over her head, showing her padded bra, but also that she carried just as many weapons as he did. She placed hers beside his and next worked on her jeans. Wriggling out of them, she stood in her underwear.
They were both without weapons.
Vulnerable.
Both at each other’s mercy.
Rather than wait for Graciella to take the next step because she’d already gone out of her comfort zone, he put a hand at her waist and pulled her close. “Tell me to stop.”
“No.”
“Damn it, Graciella.”
&n
bsp; “I want this, Boss.” She put her hand to his chest and slowly slid it down until she covered his boxer briefs. “I love the fact you wear black.” She squeezed him. “If you don’t want to, back away.”
In answer, he took possession of her mouth. There was no way he didn’t want to. He moved them away from the wall and took her to the bed. Slowly, he lowered her onto the top, still kissing her.
Stroking down her body, he went to her knees, holding them open.
“Don’t worry. I know it’s you. I won’t panic,” she said. “Please, Boss.”