Page 113 of Not Safe For Work

“Liv, I told you. I never planned to tell him anything?—”

“I believe you, that you didn’t go to Daanesh by choice, but you didn’t have to tell him everything. You just wanted to fix it.”

I pin him with a stare, daring him to lie to me.

“Of course, I did! How do you expect me to stand by and watch as these guys take advantage of you?” He throws up his arms, his voice laced with vitriol. “Do you think it’s easy for me to see the texts from Mitch disrespecting you? The ones from Tristan? How could you expect me to see that and not want to do anything about it? I love you, for fuck’s sake.”

I’ve never felt so conflicted. Everything he’s saying has me wanting to run to him, to let him wrap me in his arms and make everything better.

But would that mean I’m giving up on myself?

“I love you too,” I whisper in reply. “But I’m done feeling like a possession. I don’t want you to fix everything for me. You’re not my keeper. I don’t belong to you.”

“You think you belong to me?” he asks incredulously. “Is that a joke? I belong toyou. I lied to one of my best friends for weeks, foryou. I was—Istillam on board with you figuring this situation out on your own, and I told you I’ll be there to help as much or as little as you want. I would do anything for you. Don’t you get that?”

He’s been inching closer to me with every word and suddenly he’s right here, sharing breath. His hands reach up to cup me face as he says, “You’re in charge, Sparkles. I’m just along for the ride.”

“Really?” I ask, trying not to grin. It’s impossible with the way he makes me feel, sunlight begging to pour out of me. “You’ll let me do this my way? No fixing?”

“I only have one request,” he adds.

I narrow my eyes. “What?”

“I got your text. This thing in Sonoma you have planned. Whatever it is, let me be there. I’ll keep my distance, won’t say a word. I just can’t stand the thought of him near you. I want to be close if you need me.”

“I guess chivalry isn’t dead,” I muse. I like the idea of him being close. There is always a solid possibility of me getting in over my head. Again. “I can work with that.”

“One more request.”

“Really, Scottie?”

“What if I said my life depended on it?”

I scoff, dropping my head to the side. “Fine, what is it?”

“Kiss me.”

His request surprises me. But my body reacts instantly. My eyes dart behind him to the door of the conference room. Luckily, we happen to be in one of the two rooms without windows and glass doors.

“It’s just us, Sparkles,” he whispers against my lips. He drops one hand to my waist and lets the other thread through my hair to cup the back of my neck. “Please,” he begs. “Put me out of my misery.”

My lips curl into a grin. “I thought we agreed to keepthisout of the office. Getting caught in the elevator was bad enough.”

“This doesn’t count,” he says, pressing into me until my back’s against the wall. “Didn’t you hear the part about my life depending on it? Don’t you care about my survival?”

I shake my head, still grinning, and pull him toward me until I’m perfectly sandwiched between Gavin and the whiteboard. “If your survival’s at stake…”

I know we should stop this before it starts. I know this. I’m just too turned on to care. Gavin’s hot, and he’s really good with his mouth, but the lack of control he places over me is what’s really doing it for me right now.

I grip the shirt at his chest, and pull him even closer, our lips finally coming together. His hands roam from the hem of my dress up, up until he’s fiddling with my bra while his lips move to my neck.

I wrap an ankle around his calf and tug, positioning his leg between mine. He quickly takes the hint and presses into me, his lips forming a grin I can feel under my jaw.

“Am I still in charge?” I ask, tilting my head back to give him better access.

“As long as you want to be.”

“Good.” I grab his hand and pull it under my dress. “I have a ton of work to do, Scottie. Let’s make this quick.”

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