Page 15 of The Exception
I cleared my throat, thinking of the change I’d witnessed in her on her YouStream channel. The lightness I saw that was different from when she’d been my assistant. Seeing her now, though, she seemed withdrawn. Closed off. Tired.
Dark circles lined her eyes, and her arms were crossed over her chest. Because of me?
“Are your reviews based on something I did?” I hadn’t even realized I was going to ask that until the words left my mouth.
That wasn’t me. I didn’t talk first and think later. But something about Liliana had me doing all sorts of things that were out of character.
I tugged at my shirt, the wet material clinging to my skin. I felt as if I might explode if I didn’t get it off soon. The temperature. The texture. It was all wrong.
She jerked her head back. “What? No. Why would you think that?”
Maybe, as my siblings would suggest, I was paranoid, cynical. Considering recent events—the escort scandal that had rocked stock prices and investor confidence, a disgruntled former employee who had threatened my sister—my vigilance felt justified.
I told myself I was asking for the brand. To protect the company. But I knew that wasn’t completely true.
And the longer we stood there, the more my agitation grew. It felt as if my clothes were suffocating me. I couldn’t think straight. My heart was racing.
I started unbuttoning my shirt, unable to handle the feel of it on my skin a second longer. It was heavy and cold, and I couldn’t get it off fast enough. But I was so irritated, my fingers weren’t working fast enough to loosen the buttons.
“I—” She frowned, her brows drawing tight. And then she seemed to snap into action. “Let me help you.”
I couldn’t push her away. Couldn’t hide this. Couldn’t think of anything but getting out of my wet shirt as quickly as possible.
Liliana unbuttoned my shirt with quickness and efficiency. When her hand lingered on the bare skin of my chest, I felt…remarkably calm. Or at least calmer than I had even a second before. It distracted me enough, momentarily, that I forgot about the grating sensation of the wet material on my skin.Strange.
As soon as she’d finished unbuttoning, I stripped it off and tossed it aside, feeling a little lighter. It flopped to the floor in a wet mess. I tore off my undershirt as well, and it hit the tiles with a smack.
“Thank you.” I shuddered, grateful to be free. “Thanks.” I felt as if I could breathe again.
I inhaled deeply and let it out slowly, trying to center myself. When I finally chanced a glance at Liliana, she didn’t seem surprised or disgusted by my outburst. Her expression was quietly thoughtful. Concerned. And while I appreciated her assistance, I hated that she’d witnessed such a vulnerable moment.
Her dress continued to cling to her skin, and my eyes bounced from her thighs to her hips to her breasts. When I finally returned my attention to her face, I realized she was staring at my chest with a dazed expression. My body heated from the inside out, and I gritted my teeth.Focus, Graham.
“How did you…”
“You’re sensitive to textures,” she said, practically stripping the words from my mind. Responding as if the answer was that simple. As if it simply was—not bad or good. But part of me.
She was right; I was sensitive to textures. But most people didn’t realize that. I didn’t let them see it. See me.
But Liliana had.
She’d always been observant, often anticipating my needs when she’d been my personal assistant. And I was in awe of her now. Her ability to understand what I needed and spring into action without judgment.
“You looked as if you were on the verge of a panic attack if you didn’t get that shirt off,” she added.
I studied her once more and realized she was shivering. I turned away, heading for the closet to grab us each a robe. I needed to check on her cut as well.
“Here. You can change in the bathroom.” I held out a robe to her before wrapping mine around me and tying the belt firmly.
Liliana chewed on her bottom lip, and it was damn distracting. She’d always been distracting. Beautiful. Smart. Stubborn. Some things might have changed since the last time I’d seen her—but her beauty wasn’t one of them.
“Thank you,” she said, heading down the hall and closing the door softly behind her.
While she was gone, I stripped out of my pants and put on fresh clothes before heading back to the living room.There.That was better. I felt more in control again. A sensation that evaporated when Liliana emerged from the bathroom, her body encased in the robe.
It felt even more intimate.Fuck.
I’d been so good about avoiding these situations in the past. Situations where I was tempted to cross a line I shouldn’t. Where it was easy to forget that she was off-limits.
