Page 133 of Boss of the Year

How he barely remembered what I did for his family.

The fact that, contrary to what I’d always believed, Daniel had never really seen me at all. And maybe that I hadn’t seen him either for what he was.

That was what Paris had done for me, I realized. And this trip too. As my world broadened, I had learned that fantasies were nothing but ideas that could never happen. Dreams, however, could.

And there was one standing in front of me, tall and true.

“I don’t think I was ever in love with Daniel.” Each word seemed to lighten something in my chest. “I loved the idea of him. The fantasy. But I didn’t know him, not really. How can you love someone you don’t actually know?”

I could feel the tension in Lucas’s body, the way he was holding himself back. His erection was apparent, and he was shaking with the need to touch me.

Still, he waited. There was more that he needed to hear.

I looked up at him, held as captive by his slate gaze as I had been by his body or hands. Loving it. Desiring it even more.

“But I do know you.” I leaned back on my elbows so he could take in all of me, laid bare before him.

Three weeks ago, I never could have imagined doing this. I would have covered myself up. Hopped under the sheets.

But under that unyielding stare, I felt perfect in my own skin.

“I know you learn the names of every person who works for you, even if it’s only for a few days,” I said. “I know you care about your family more than you would ever admit, and that you stay chained to a job you hate out of an obligation to them. I know you spend most of your time actively working to make people’s lives better, not worse.”

His eyes widened. “Do you now?”

I nodded and took a deep breath. “And I know that when you kiss me, I forget my own name.”

“Marie…”

“Please, Lucas.Youare the one I want to do this with. If you’ll have me. If I’m safe with you.”

“If I’ll…” He trailed off, like the very suggestion of an alternative stunned him. “Marie, I will dream of this moment for the rest of my fucking life, do you understand? You areonlysafe with me.”

Warmth bloomed in my stomach as I reached out to tug him down to me. “Show me.Please.”

Like a puppet cut from its strings, Lucas collapsed over me, a broad, heavy tent that sheltered my exposed body, arms braced on either side of my head. He stared down as if he’d forgotten how to breathe. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”

I looked away, suddenly bashful despite my bold gesture. But his fingers caught my chin.

“You would have been a muse in another life. You would have inspired masterpieces.” His thumb traced my lower lip. “I don’t deserve you.”

I kissed him softly, trying to silence his guilt. “I said I want you. I meant it.”

“Thank God for that.”

His mouth captured mine again like it had never left, then drifted down my throat, kissed the pounding pulse there, and began a gradual quest to map my body with his lips. Every few inches, he paused, looking up through thick lashes, those hurricane eyes brewing with a delicious combination of mischief and awe.

“Can I kiss you here?” he asked as his lips brushed my sternum.

I nodded.

His mouth traveled to one nipple. “And here?”

When I nodded again, he took it deep into his mouth, sucking hard enough that I arched up from the bed.

“These…” He shook his head in wonder before he traveled to the other side. “These were made to be worshipped.”

I couldn’t help but giggle. “Lucas Lyons is a boob man. I never would have thought.”