His forehead rests against mine. “Okay?”
I breathe out shakily. “More than okay.”
He begins to move, setting a rhythm that has me clinging to his shoulders and gasping his name. Every thrust hits exactly the right spot, and another climax builds embarrassingly quickly.
He groans against my ear. “You feel incredible. So tight, so wet, and so perfect.”
I groan. “Harder.”
He responds immediately, snapping his hips against mine with increased force. The new angle makes my pussy clench and ache at the same time. Instinctively, I rake my nails down his back as pleasure builds to an almost unbearable peak. The knowledge that his business associates could arrive any moment only makes everything more intense.
He slides his hand between us to find my clit so he can send me over the edge. “Come for me. Let me feel you come around me again. It’s been far too long.”
I shatter around him, clenching my inner walls as another orgasm tears through me. The sensation triggers his own release, and he buries his face in my neck as he follows me over the edge with a muffled groan. His cum is warm but blocked by the condom as he surrenders to his climax.
We collapse together, breathing hard, with our bodies still joined. Awareness slowly returns, and I can hear the distant sounds of dinner preparation echoing through the house.
Reality crashes back over me in waves. We just had sex in his office while his staff prepared for an important business dinner. I’m supposed to be setting his formal dining table, not falling apart in his arms like a woman who has secrets he can’t know. “Your guests,” I manage to say, still breathless.
He pulls back to look at me, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “I have forty-five minutes. That’s plenty of time for you to finish the table setting.”
How emotionless he sounds, switching back to the tasks at hand. I strive for the same, proud of how cool and calm I sound. “That’s also plenty of time for you to prepare for dinner.”
He nods slowly. “Yes.” He briefly alludes to what just happened. “I won’t have to undress before my shower now, since there’s an elevator that leads to my bedroom on the floor above.”
I glance at it, recalling swiping it down with the duster on my second day here. He’d been blessedly absent during the process. “Yes.”
He withdraws carefully and disposes of the condom while I try to regain my composure. Neither of us moves to separate completely, suspended in this moment of stolen intimacy that feels both familiar and completely new. “This doesn’t change anything,” I say finally, though my voice lacks conviction.
He tilts his head. “Doesn’t it?”
I shake my head. “It can’t. You have business to conduct, and I have a job to do.” I also need to hide Leo’s existence from him. I still can’t be sure how he’d react to that knowledge. If there’s even the slightest chance he’d try to take Leo—or if his world is as dangerous as he’s subtly implied—I can’t risk letting them know each other.
He nods slowly, but I see the conflict in his eyes. “The table setting needs to be finished, so you’ll have to hurry.”
I slide off his desk on unsteady legs. “I know.” I begin redressing with shaking hands. My polo shirt is wrinkled, my hair mussed, and I probably look exactly like a woman who just had desperate sex with her employer. I find my panties and slip them on, ignoring how uncomfortable they are with the crotch so damp, and slip on my pants.
He watches me smooth my hair. “There’s a powder room down the hall. Fix whatever you need to fix, and I’ll make sure the coast is clear.”
I nod gratefully. “Thank you.” I move toward the door, then pause. “Radmir?”
He looks up from tucking his shirt back in, and for a moment I see a flash of the man who just held me like I was precious.
“This can’t happen again.”
His expression goes carefully neutral. “I know.”
“I mean it. I can’t afford to lose this job, and you can’t afford distractions from whatever it is you really do.”
He straightens his tie. “I understand.”
I sound assertive and want to mean it, but as I slip out of his office and hurry to the powder room, I’m not sure either of us believes it. The attraction between us is too strong, and the pull is too magnetic. We’ve stupidly acknowledged a connection that’s been simmering beneath the surface since the moment I walked back into his life.
When I return to the formal dining room ten minutes later, it feels different somehow. The table where I need to set the china, arrange the silverware, and position the crystal glasses with perfect precision is exactly as I left it, but I feel fundamentally changed.
I work quickly, using the detailed instructions, including a picture diagram, Mrs. Yranda provided to create a table setting worthy of Radmir’s business associates. I place each piece of silverware with precision, fold each napkin to exact specifications, and position each water glass at the proper angle.
The work is meditative, allowing me to regain my composure and remember who I am in this house. I’m the hired help, and only the woman who cleans and sets tables. I must remain invisible to the important people, who make decisions that affect millions of dollars. I’m not the woman who just fell apart in Radmir Vetrov’s arms, and I can’t be. It was never more than a transitory illusion both times, and I have to resist further temptation.
