“Come in,” he called from behind his desk. “Shut the door.”
He had a call on speakerphone. Since he was busy, I used the time to look around the place. It looked exactly the same. And it still had the ability to instill trepidation in me. Or maybe that was the Declan effect. He excited me, scared the hell out of me, and calmed me—all at once. I stepped toward the window and smiled at the city below me.
“Right, mate. Good work. I’ll talk to you later.”
“See you soon,” a man with a British accent replied then hung up.
Declan got up and joined me. To my surprise, he gripped my waist and turned me to face him. In the same beat, his mouth crushed into mine. “Fuck, Isla. You were not wearing that top this morning.” He kneaded my breast and thrust his tongue past my teeth.
Omigod. I had wanted this all day. Even when I was focused on work, I had a lingering thought buried in the back of my mind of Declan doing exactly this in his office.
“I was wearing a cardigan over it.” I slid my hands inside his suit jacket. “I got hot.”
“Hmm.” He lowered his head and captured my hard nipple over the fabric of my silky top. A short second later, he stepped back. “I swear this is not why I called you in here. I actually wanted to see if you were available for lunch.”
“What? Like a date?” I glanced toward the door and then down my blouse. “What about keeping a low profile?”
“I thought about it. I don’t think it’s fair to keep our relationship a secret. What’s the point of being the boss if I can’t even be with whoever I want?”
Butterflies—like a thousand of them—fluttered in my chest and my belly. He wanted me. More than that, he wasn’t embarrassed to be seen with me. I reeled it in though because I knew the tabloids would see this completely different.
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do. But I need a little time to get used to all this. The team is going to think the worst of me when they find out I’ve been living with you all month.”
“They’re not going to find out. But if you want to keep a low profile, I can be patient. I still would like to take you out and feed you a proper meal.” He smiled at me.
In the next beat, I was saying yes to his invitation.
“I know the perfect place.”
17
YOU'RE TRENDING
Isla
The lunch spot Declan chose for us was a rooftop pop-up restaurant not too far from the office. We could’ve walked, but he didn’t want another photographer intruding on our date. A server dressed in a white coat jacket met us at the door in the lobby, escorted us to the elevator bay and finally our table, which was under a small pergola with thick linen curtains on all sides.
I sat and the server immediately placed a napkin on my lap. “We could’ve gone home for lunch. This is too much.”
“It’s a lunch date, love. It’s supposed to be too much.” He nodded toward the server.
Within a few minutes, several dishes had been arranged in the middle of the table along with a bottle of champagne. I knew any place Declan picked would be great. But this was over the top.
“I asked him to do one of everything so we can sample a few things.” He picked up acanapé and offered it to me.
I considered doing something cheesy like taking the morsel in my mouth and lick his fingers but figured this wasn’t the time nor the place.
“Thanks.” I took the food he offered and put it in my mouth. The mousse melted in my mouth with savory flavors that were new to me. “Wow, that was delicious. What is it?”
“Smoked salmon, I think.” He popped a pastry in his mouth and closed his eyes. “Smoked tuna. It’s quite fantastic, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” I chuckled at how appreciative he was. “Maybe we should bring snacks to our status meetings. Food puts you in a good mood.” I sipped from my champagne glass. “Oh, jeez, I’m drinking on the job now.”
“Maybe that will put you in a good mood.” He reached for my hand and kissed my fingers. “Come here.” He pulled me off my chair and into his lap.
“Our server.” I managed to utter my complaint before his lips landed on my neck.
“We have everything we need. They know not to bother us.” His lips left a wet trail as they moved down to my chest. “You’re so gorgeous, Isla. I want you all the goddam time.”
