Falling Under You: A Fixed Trilogy Novella (1001 Dark Nights) by Laurelin Paige Read Free Book Online Page A

The work situation only makes it trickier. I know your job is your priority, and it’s mine as well. You are a priority to me. I don’t just care about sex. Every aspect of your life is important to me. The relationship we have right now is important to me. I don’t want to lose any of that. I want to add to it. I want more.”
    Well, those were words I’d replay a million times in my head. I was the oldest of three kids, and with my mother’s death and my father’s asshole version of parenting, I’d become the person who supported my siblings. I’d sheltered them and fed them and clothed them and consoled them. At work I’d quickly climbed the ladder to chief financial advisor where I managed and directed others. I’d never been the one being managed or cared for. I’d never been anyone’s priority.
    If I were the type of person who cried, I might have gotten teary then.
    But I wasn’t, even with the wine in my blood. I was moved, though. Then I realized what deep words like Boyd’s meant. “That sounds like a boyfriend.”
    He tilted his head. “Is that a problem?”
    Romance as well as sex? It was both appealing and terrifying. I was good at quick decisions when I had to be, but this one needed time. If we added emotions to our relationship, how much harder would it be to break it off when it inevitably grew sour?
    On the other hand, what if that risk was worth it too? “Maybe that’s one of those things we can work out as we go.”
    “I can accept that. Just know that I’m going to romance the pants off of you.” He grinned, and had I been wearing panties, I was pretty sure they would have melted.
    With a laugh, I said, “You obviously don’t need romance to get my pants off.”
    “You just don’t realize how much romancing I did to get you here.”
    It was my turn to tilt my head and study him. “You’re a totally different person from the one I know at the office. It’s like, you wear your glasses and you’re one guy. Take them off and you turn into this.”
    “I assure you they’re both the same person. The guy who puts the contracts on your desk and screens your phone calls thinks about you naked as intensely as I’m thinking about it right now.”
    His brazen declaration was such a turn-on. It made me feel unusually coy, which I hoped read as flirty rather than bashful. “You think about me naked?”
    Again, that grin. “Don’t you think about me naked?”
    All the time . But all I could manage was a nod.
    Silence fell, and this time it wasn’t an awkward space waiting to be filled with words. Instead, it begged for action. In each aching second that passed, the tension stretched between us and the electric charge in the air grew hotter. I twisted my hand in Boyd’s so I could lace my fingers through his and wondered if other parts of our bodies would fit so perfectly together. So snugly.
    Just when I thought I couldn’t take the yearning a moment longer, Boyd withdrew his hand from mine. “It’s time you go back to your room.”
    Oh, yeah. He’d said something about not touching me tonight. I’d hoped that was simply a statement to put me at ease. My voice felt husky as I said, “I could stay.”
    He stood and came to me, extending his hand to help me up. “No, you can’t.”
    “Why not?”
    He was so close now, standing right in front of me, his eyes pinned to my mouth. I swept my tongue across my lips, wetting them.
    His expression grew stoic, controlled. “Because I said so and that needs to be enough when we’re in my court.”
    I cocked my hip. “It’s my first day. I’m new. Throw me a bone and tell me why anyway.”
    “Because I need to take my time with you, Norma, and that will take mental preparation on my part.”
    Besides excelling at negotiation, I was very skilled at persuasion. I took a confident step toward him. “You were perfect that night at the office without mental prep.”
    “I prepped long and hard for that night, believe me. It just took a