“I can’t work for you,” she said.
Why wouldn’t he accept her resignation? He needed someone a lot better than her to work for him. Someone he didn’t want to sleep with—like Ross.
The vultures had already circled with their gossip about her position. Now as she was pinned against his wall, admittedly, exactly where she wanted to be, she didn’t want to give them any more reasons to question his motives.
“You can work for me. You signed a contract, and without Ross here, this position is yours, Rose. You’re not going to walk away from this, and I’m not going to play the gentleman with you anymore, so you don’t have time to feel any kind of doubt as to what I want.” He pressed his lips against her neck. “Today, you’re going to do your job, efficiently and without question, just how I know you can do it. Tonight, you will not be going back to your apartment, you’ll be coming home with me. Do you understand me?”
She nodded.
“Good.” He kissed her lips, and she moaned, wanting more, but within a matter of seconds, his entire body was gone, and she had no choice but to force herself to her feet, to remain standing.
****
Darius knew he should have talked about that kiss before now. Rose had too many insecurities, and he’d tried to be the gentleman. Leaving her at her door had taken great fucking willpower. He glanced up to make sure she hadn’t tried to escape.
Rose sat at her desk, on the telephone, working away as if nothing had happened this morning.
He wasn’t joking around. Tonight, she’d be coming home with him.
After taking her home, leaving her there, he’d gone back to his place, had taken a long shower, where he’d taken his cock in hand and brought himself to orgasm three fucking times. That was how much he wanted her.
Thinking of her soft skin against his own, imagining her body close to his—he was hungry for her.
Tonight, when he finally got her alone, he was going to love every single inch, relish the feel of her against him. Make her scream his name. He wasn’t going to take her for granted either.
As he looked back down at his work, nothing made much sense to him because he simply couldn’t concentrate. Not a single word.
He glanced at the clock on his desk and saw he still had three hours left of work.
If he left now, people would be wondering, and even though he didn’t give a flying fuck what people thought, Rose did. She cared.
Gritting his teeth, he couldn’t resist another glance in her direction. Her head was bowed. No telephone this time. Pen in hand, running her gaze across whatever file she worked on. How could no one have wanted her?
He didn’t get it.
There was so much pain inside her gaze. Almost always expecting the worst. It was classic trauma, and he wanted to be the man to unravel her.
Rose was wrong about him though. Darius could imagine she assumed he only wanted her for a quick fuck. She was so far from the truth, it was laughable.
He wanted her. To take her cherry and to stake a claim all of his own, but that wasn’t all he wanted. Hell no. He wanted to fucking claim her. To make her his. To put his baby inside her. He watched her, thinking about how her body would look heavily pregnant with his child, and his dick hardened at the thought.
She already had a body he dreamed about, but full of his kid, now that was a dream come true. Rose would have no choice but to stay with him.
He tapped his fingers against his thigh and decided he’d waited long enough.
There was always a reason for him to leave the office early, and to take his PA with him. If rumors started circulating that made Rose self-conscious, he’d put an end to them. After shutting down his computer, he put several files away in his briefcase, not that he had any intention of looking at them tonight.
His only focus was the beauty at her desk. He loved the way the perfect little ringlets hung at the side of her face as she worked. She looked like an angel.
After grabbing his keys, he locked his office and approached Rose’s desk.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
Her eyes went wide. “For … for what?”
“We’ve got that two thirty I don’t want to be late for.”
“Sir, I don’t see an appointment.” She frowned, and he couldn’t help but be charmed by her nerves.
There was no other appointment, unless she counted having her body fucked and loved all at the same time, then that was indeed one.
“It’s something Ross organized some time ago,” he said. The lies were easy to spill from his lips. He needed her to believe it, at least until they got out of the building.