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He led me by the hand and took me around the side of the balcony, to the northern edge.
“Look,” he said, and I turned to see him point to a spot on the rooftop to my right.
My jaw dropped.
In ten feet was a beautiful, pristine white bed with a lacy canopy around the edges. A string of fairy lights encircled the top, and the bed was surrounded by roses.
My hand flew to my mouth, and I turned to him for an explanation.
He smiled. “I had this set up just in case our date went spectacularly well.” He broke off and kissed the back of my hand. “Which it has for me at least.”
A warm, fluttery feeling swelled up in me. “It’s been spectacular for me too,” I muttered in a daze.
Was this really happening to me?
“And in that case, well, I knew we couldn’t go back to either of our places tonight, and I wasn’t ready to take you to just any hotel room?—”
I wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him to me as I hugged him tight. This scene, being with him out here in the gentle breeze, the wine—it already seemed like the best night I’d had in ages. Knowing that Sean had put so much thought into this just brought tears of happiness to my eyes.
I swallowed hard. “Do we keep this … this relationship only between us? What happens to our jobs if anyone finds out?”
He looked like he hadn’t thought that far ahead. “It isn’t completely against the rules for us to date each other.” His eyes were reading me intently as he spoke.
“Just frowned upon?” I asked.
He nodded.
I considered that, wondering how I felt about it.
“Does it make you uncomfortable, others knowing about us?” he asked.
I nodded.
“If it makes you feel better, we could keep it just between us for now.”
I closed my eyes for a moment. “It doesn’t necessarily make me feel better. But it’s the only solution I can see for the present. And I want to talk about it with you now, before it’s too late.”
“Regret and you shouldn’t have anything to do with each other,” he said, taking my hand in his. “But I’ll be honest with you, Chloe,” he promised. “I’m not looking for a seriousrelationship, and I’m not sure what this is. But I also know this: I can’t resist you. This feels real. More real than anything I’ve had in a long time, and I’m ready to give it a chance.”
“I can’t resist you either,” I said, clasping my hands around his neck. “But we’re going to have to be careful about it. I don’t want to be branded as the person sleeping around to get ahead at work.”
“You’re right; if the news of us seeing each other ever got out, it would unfairly be worse for you than me.” His voice was heavy.
When my eyes drifted upward, Sean was looking at me plainly. His face was so rugged in its handsomeness that I felt a tingling in my stomach. I’d never been with such a man before.
“And I still want you, Sean,” I said as my legs trembled.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
I answered him with a kiss.
As the kiss deepened, Sean’s fingers rose to my shoulders, tugging my dress down. The elastic band of the sleeves gave in to him far too easily. The dress lowered to my waist. Cool air rushed over my bra, and Sean paused, stopping to devour me with his eyes.
His expression was feral, and I knew the dominating man in him had woken up.
“I want all your clothes off,” he commanded, a new edge to his voice.
I bit my lip as I considered resisting. It was useless. Tonight, I was going to relish giving up control.