Page 34 of The Temptation (Executive Suite Secrets #4)

Pierce lowered his gaze to his plate, where he was picking out a mound of untouched squash.

“I try to garden. It’s very relaxing, but I’ll admit that I’m not very good at it.

Plus, work frequently drags me away, so I can’t keep up with things as I should.

Albert keeps up with all the plants and cleans up after the messes I inevitably make trying to care for the plants. ”

Nooooooo! Why does he have to be so cute?

My heart squeezed as I immediately imagined Pierce in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, a smudge of dirt on his cheek, trying to plant vegetables he didn’t particularly like, and then a gray-haired man coming in behind him, grumbling as he did it all the right way.

“I’ll admit, most of the time, I ask his permission to water my plants in the greenhouse. He stands behind me the entire time, telling me when I’ve watered them enough. I tend to under-water if I’m left to my own devices.”

There’s no hope for me. I’m going to expire from his adorableness, and no one can possibly save me.

We chatted comfortably throughout dinner. He never brought up anything about the concerto, music, or the situation that we were in. I could relax and forget for a short period of time.

It was only after the last of the plates had been taken away and the chocolate from the tiny dessert pastry was done melting on my tongue that Pierce dared to mention anything about music.

“Do you want to work tonight, or would you rather start fresh in the morning?” he inquired.

I frowned at my empty wineglass. Deep down, I knew I should work. I was more awake now that I’d showered and properly eaten for the first time in days. If I tried to sleep or even watch something on TV, my brain would wander to that damn concerto.

“I should work. Even if it’s just to go through and try to organize the notes that I have.” I forced a smile as I lifted my gaze to meet his worried one. “Do you have a room that’s sort of remote from the rest of the house? I don’t want to disturb you or anyone else.”

Pierce folded up his napkin and rose. “No, you’re going to work in my bedroom.”

He was leaving the room as my brain caught up with what he’d said. I jumped out of the chair and jogged after him. “What? I can’t do that. What about you? You were working in there. Aren’t you tired? There’s no way you can sleep with me making such noise.”

Pierce stopped at the bottom of the stairs and glared at me. “Don’t ever call what you do noise. When you hold a violin and play, it is never noise.”

My breath caught in my throat, and I froze under that harsh stare. “I just meant…”

“I know what you meant.” Pierce sighed and continued up the stairs to his bedroom.

His shoulders slumped, and I got the impression that he was frustrated with himself, not me.

“I’m not tired. I’m a night owl, and I stay up late reading or working.

My plan is to work for a few hours. You can work on your concerto. Then we’ll go to bed.”

My brain was still struggling to piece everything together.

I was very excited about the prospect of going to bed with Pierce, but he also wanted me working in the same room as him.

I couldn’t compose music without playing it.

Yet, that would mean Pierce would be able to hear the rough draft.

All the messiness. I couldn’t allow that.

He loved my playing. If he heard this disaster as I wrote it, he’d lose all respect for me and my skills.

“I can’t work this way. I need to be alone.”

“No.” Pierce didn’t even stop walking as he slammed down that decisive edict.

“What the hell do you mean, no?” I stomped along beside him to the top of the stairs.

“What I said. No, you can’t. You will either compose with me in the room, or I will take your violin away and you won’t compose at all.”

I gasped. My legs stopped working, and I remained locked in one spot. No one had ever threatened to take my violin away. Not even my parents. Well, it had been a close thing once when my grades were tanking, but we’d come up with a compromise.

But there was no compromise in Pierce’s tone. How could he be so warm and adorable at dinner and a fucking dictator now?

“You can’t treat me like a child. I’m an adult, and I can make my own decisions. Just because you can’t see me as anything other than Sawyer’s little brother doesn’t mean you can dictate my life.”

Pierce stopped after a few feet and turned to me.

His expression was stern, but there was also worry in his eyes.

“This has nothing to do with your relationship with Sawyer. It’s about your health and well-being.

” He walked to me and lightly placed his hand against my cheek, cradling my face while running his thumb across my cheekbone.

“You struggle to set boundaries for yourself. You push yourself until you’re overwhelmed or utterly burned out.

If this continues, you will make yourself very sick, and I refuse to let that happen.

You’re too precious to burn out at such a young age. ”

“But…” I wasn’t even sure what I was going to say to argue with him. The words died in my throat as a soft smile formed on his lips.

“Can we try it my way for a few days? If you find my presence too disruptive after a few attempts, I’ll leave, and you can go back to working on your own. I promise.”

“But what you hear, it won’t be perfect. It will be noise.”

“True, but no one has ever written perfection on the first try. I want to hear the noise. I want to watch you create something. That’s the magic. Please. I would like to help.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to say no, but I couldn’t. He was evil and sneaky. There was no way I could deny his request.

And fuck it. Maybe he was right. I’d been trying for years to compose all alone. What if I needed an audience to create something? Or maybe I simply needed Pierce….