Page 13 of Consumed By You

Letting go of the button, Benjamin lifts his chin and his mass of waves no longer shield his attractive features. “I hope you like sushi.”

“Benjamin, you don’t have to take me to dinner.”

“I would like to.” The edges of his expression crinkle subtly. “I treated you appallingly on your first day. You seem to stir up the worst in me.”

“Yeah, well, you do the same to me,” I reply bluntly, and he laughs. It’s a carefree, foreign sound that comes from him, a sound that metaphorically knocks me flat on my ass.

“See? You just did it again. No one speaks to me the way you do. It’s all ‘yes sir, no sir.’”

“I was told to speak to you that way.”

“I’m sure you were. Why don’t you?”

I shrug, twirling my fingers nervously in my lap. “I have no idea.I amsorry for my bluntness earlier, about the women you see. It was wrong of me to comment about them. I have no idea who you date.”

“No, you’re right. The women I date are not necessarily smart. I was just surprised you said it. It angered me that you…that you thought of me that way.”

“What way?”

“I don’t know. An ass? A womanizer?”

“Areyou a womanizer?” I respond curiously, with a harsh bite to my lip, knowing full well I should have ended this conversation a few beats ago. His angled brows rise, his full lips pressing tightly together. For a moment, I think he’s going to holler, but he just directs his attention to the window.

“I’m sorry. God, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s been a long day and I’ve—”

His warm, smooth hand covers mine to stop my rant, and if I were standing, my knees would have given out. The electricity flowing between us is unmistakably daunting. I know he feels it too, because his slender throat trembles as he swallows loudly and he immediately raises his hand off mine. “You could say I get around, Darcy. Don’t apologize. I like your bluntness. It’s refreshing.”

“You aren’t going to snap at me?”

“I was just surprised today. I won’t do what I did again. That was cruel of me to force you to do something you didn’t know how to do.”

I nod silently and turn to look out the window. The big city is bright and alive around us.

“How did you figure it out?”

“What?”

“The contracts.”

“I asked Kate and she found out that Jack knew how to do them. He showed me.”

“You finished them?” he scoffs. “All of them?”

“Yes.”

“I feel horrible now.” He laughs softly, turning to the window. “Well, thank you, Darcy. You did remarkably well today, considering.”

“Thank you.”

CHAPTER THREE

Dimitri opens my door and I try to climb out gracefully whilst giving him a quick once-over. He’s huge. He has a thick brown beard, and his nose looks as though it’s been broken quite a few times—badly. He’s the most frightening man I’ve ever seen, yet surprisingly, he has the kindest smile on his face.

“Hi, Dimitri.”

He nods politely. “Miss.”

Benjamin’s hand rests on my spine, guiding me into the restaurant, and the area goes rigid in response to the burn mark he leaves in its wake. I want to feel his hands all over my body, every last inch of me.