Ceasefire by Scarlett Black Read Free Book Online Page B

head.
    “Buy
a couple of evening gowns, hire a babysitter, whatever you want to do with it. 
Let me see your hands.”
    “What?”
    “Give
me your hands.”
    I
scooted up to the edge of the chair as Roman reached across his desk.  When his
fingers touched mine, I felt a shimmer of excitement race all over my skin.
    “Decent,”
he said, examining my fingertips one by one.  “But get yourself a manicure,
too.  Maybe some color in your hair.  I’ll tell you what, I’ll send you to
Lana, she’ll get you where I want you to be.”  Roman teased my palm with his
middle finger, smiling.  “Would you like that?”
    I
felt warm.  I wanted to be touched.  I wanted that finger somewhere else.
    “Yeah. 
I mean, yes .  I’d love that.”
    “I
thought you might.”  He let go and leaned back into his chair.  In my head, I
begged him to come back, to put those warm, soft hands on my body.  Every inch
of it.
    “Roman,
I—I don’t know what to say.  That’s not—” 
    I
almost said, “That’s not necessary,” but it would’ve been a lie.  With that
kind of money, I could afford so many things I’d neglected for so long.
    “Not
what?”
    “Not
what I expected.  Thank you.”
    He
crossed his legs and tented his fingertips.  “Let’s not get too far ahead of
ourselves.  There’s still the matter of your situation.”
    “Okay,”
I said, hesitantly, worried he would take it all away, wondering what he meant.
    “Do
you really want this job?”
    I
didn’t waver.  “Yes.”
    “And
you’re willing to do whatever it takes to get it?”
    I
took a deep breath.  I’d been sucked in by the promises—I’d come too far—to say
no.  “I am.”
    “Good. 
Stand up for me.”
    I
pushed myself out of the chair and crossed my hands at my waist.
    Roman
tilted his head, pinched his lips together, and then motioned for me to twirl
around.  When my back was facing him, he said, “Stop.”  I waited patiently,
feeling his eyes on my ass, admiring it.  “Okay, face me.”
    I
spun around, unable to hide my timid smile.  I knew I looked good, but the
question was, had he thought the same?
    There
was more to come before I found out.
    Roman
said, “Take off your dress.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
    My
heart fluttered and the air got caught in my lungs.  It took me a few seconds
before I managed to say, “Excuse me?”  Not rude, not questioning, but mostly in
disbelief.
    Roman
put his elbows on his desk and leaned forward.  He shrugged.  “If you don’t
want the job…”
    “But—but,
why?”
    “It’s
a professional formality, Kim.  And to be perfectly honest, you’ve had a baby,
and I need to examine what it is that I’m about to invest my time and money
in.  You wouldn’t purchase a Ferrari without taking it for a test drive, would
you?”
    “No,
but you have to pay for it before you take it home, too.”
    “Are
we going to have a problem?”
    “I
guess not.  Or…maybe.”
    “There’s
no maybe to it.  I have a reputation to keep.  You probably didn’t do any
research before you came here, did you?”
    “No,
I didn’t have time.”
    Roman
stood and walked around the desk.  Stopping in front of me, he moved close
enough that I caught a hint of cologne.  It smelled crisp and clean, like
everything else about him.
    He
was at least six inches taller than me, even while I was wearing my platform
pumps.  I had to tilt my head back to look up into those beautiful blue eyes,
into a face asking me to undress in a locked room.  He put his hands on my
shoulders, softly and reassuring.  “Midnight Fantasy is absolutely the top service of its kind here in the city—you won’t find another one with our
level of quality within five hundred miles.  Governors, senators, celebrities,
billionaires, they’ll fly here specifically to have a night out with
some of our ladies.”
    He
stepped away and began strolling through the office, admiring things he’d
already seen thousands of times.  He