Page 28 of Possess

She turned her head to find Zeke so close her cheek brushed his. Heat flooded her body. The retort she had on her lips died, and her mind went blank.

“Tell me, Allyson, are you interested in being more than friends with me?”

Yes, her body yelled. “I need some space, please.” She placed her hand against his chest trying to ignore how soft his shirt felt beneath her fingers, and how hard his chest was, and how she wanted to slide her hand up into his hair and tug him down for a kiss.

Zeke leaned back, and she took a breath. Now his question. Was she interested in more than friendship? She was, but fear of him leaving her surfaced. What to tell Zeke? The truth. She promised herself a long time ago to always tell the truth.

“Yes and no.” Fire flared in his eyes, making them glow.

“Explain.”

“The no revolves around people seeing us working together and having a relationship as a conflict of interest. You do realize that my boss could remove me from all your jobs?”

“We’ll deal with that if it happens. But I won’t cross that line between professional and personal from now on.” He lifted his hand and touched her cheek. “I mean it, Allyson. Work is work. When we’re on the clock, it’s professional. Off the clock? Well, that’s between us and no one else.”

“Can you keep them separate?” She could, but then there would always be people like Rudy who thought it inappropriate. Why did it matter so much to her? Rudy was an ass, and she had a right to a life outside of work. Heck, she knew of at least three couples. Two were married. One worked for the city, and the other contracted with the city. And one of the women in permits was dating an architect two cities over. First thing tomorrow, she’d let Wes know she was seeing Zeke outside of work hours.

“I can. At work, you’re Allyson Young from the inspection office, but at night, when we’re together, you are Allyson, my lady.”

“Your lady, huh?” Why did his words make her feel special? Cherished? How was it Zeke got beneath her exterior and turned her to mush?

“If you want to be.”

Allyson bit her lip to stop herself from saying,I’m already yours.The words wanted to burst from her lips, but now was not the time. “Let’s take this one step at a time. You’re being… What’s the word I’m looking for?”

“Dominant.”

“Yes. Dominant. You’re very dominant at times.” She hadn’t thought about it like that. A tremor of excitement went up her spine. Was he into the lifestyle? Oh, this could get complicated—in a good kind of way.

“I am.” He stroked her cheek, and she enjoyed the feel of his rough fingers against her skin. She wanted to melt against him.

Get a grip.Let tonight play out and see how things work out and go from there. They had time.

Their waiter set their beers on the table and walked away. Zeke shifted in his seat, giving her some much needed breathing space.

“Does your dominance go beyond ordering dinner and making sure my apartment is safe?” What prompted her to ask that? Because she couldn’t stop her runaway mouth, that’s what. And don’t forget about reading all those romance books. Yes, she admitted to reading them and fantasizing about a man coming into her life. Darn romance heroes. All the men she’d dated had failed painfully to measure up to her standards and ended up being not much more than jerks.

But those book heroes were the fantasy. In real life, if a man tried to order her around, she’d hit him over the head with a frying pan before she kicked him to the curb. Her lips curved up. She’d put a few Doms in their place when she used to attend play parties, especially when they assumed too much.

Zeke shifted closer, and Allyson gazed into his eyes, seeing fire there. She blinked. That wasn’t really possible, but damned if she didn’t think for a moment she saw flames.

“I’m going to be honest here. I’m dominant in the bedroom, if that’s what you’re asking. In other aspects, I’m protective of those I care about.”

His words sent a tremor of excitement and apprehension through her. Not because of the bedroom, but his protectiveness. She swallowed hard.

“I’ve scared you,” he said as he lifted his hand to cover hers where it lay on her thigh.

“Not really.” Okay, maybe she wasn’t telling him everything, but he didn’t scare her.

“This is a talk we need to have. We’re in a public place where I want you to feel at ease, but I also wanted us to have some privacy, which is why I requested the table be set up like this.”

Allyson glanced around. There were other couples sitting together like them, but unlike their table, the others four chairs, while theirs only had two. It was then she realized there was no one seated next or behind them.

“How did you get them to leave the tables closest to us empty?” He’d gone to a lot of trouble to make her comfortable.

“I’m not going to answer that right now. Just know I’d move heaven and earth to make you feel comfortable with me.”

Her breath shuddered in and out. “What kind of talk did you need us to have?”

---