Page 20 of Love Set Me Free

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you know how beautiful you are?”

Her breath caught in her throat. Kydrick had never outright told her she was beautiful before, and somehow, she always understood why. Crossing that line felt scary for them both, butthe more time she spent with Kydrick since he was released, the more she wondered if crossing that line was inevitable.

“I’ve been told,” she managed to mutter.

A frown etched on his face. “Who been telling you that?”

Paisley looked at him incredulously. “A lot of people tell me that, Kyd. You jealous?”

He peered at her for a moment before placing his hand on her cheek. “I don’t have a reason to be jealous.”

The cocky statement coming out of his mouth caused her pussy to clench tightly, but before she could fully process what was taking place between them, Kydrick leaned down and kissed her. She froze at first as her mind tried to conjure up many reasons this shouldn’t be right, but she quickly pushed those thoughts away as she leaned into the kiss. Their lips parted, allowing their tongues to do a slow, sensual dance.

When he finally pulled away, Kydrick smirked down at her, and as if they hadn’t just shared a soul-altering kiss, he asked, “You want me to plate up the food, or you got it?”

That kiss had stayed on Paisley’s mind all night and all morning. Here it was pushing noon, and she had barely gotten any work done on her first day back at the office.

Last night, they ate dinner, and Kydrick finally stopped teasing her for not being able to cook and gave her props for throwing down on their meal. After, they laid around on the couch and watched some movies since they’d already finishedBridgertonandQueen Charlotte, but Paisley didn’t miss the lingering touches and the stolen glances between them. Shewanted to kiss him again, but she had the feeling he didn’t want to take things further than a kiss.

They’d said goodnight and went to their separate rooms. She didn’t know about Kydrick, but Paisley had a hard time sleeping. Still, she woke up excited to see Kydrick that morning. He ended up driving her to work, letting her know he needed to run an errand on his lunch break and asking if he could use her car for the day and pick her up after work. She didn’t mind loaning him her car. The fact that he was slowly adjusting to the world again made pride swell within her. She couldn’t believe he was going to his second day of work without her and driving himself around. Kydrick was doing far better than most people in his position, and it spoke to the kind of man he was—resilient, adaptable, hardworking, and ambitious. Some important qualities she wanted in her own man.

Her thoughts turned to what it would be like to be with Kydrick in that way, with nothing holding them back. She wondered if they could get to that point. She wondered what her family and even Janelle’s family might say about it. She wondered how much time Kydrick would need before exploring what was between them. She desperately needed clarity on the situation.

Just when she made her mind up that she would put her big girl panties on and have a conversation with Kydrick about it that night, Steven popped his head into her office.

“Ms. Whitaker, have you been avoiding me?” he asked as he stepped into her office and closed the door.

Paisley stiffened. Steven had never really been rude to her before, but he made her feel uncomfortable. He was relentless in his pursuit, and he wasn’t shy about his attraction to her. She also wasn’t shy in her honesty that she simply did not like him in that way. She barely liked him as a human being because he abused his power as her boss.

With a deep sigh, she said, “How can I help you, Steven?”

He sat in the chair across from her sleek black desk and grinned. “I’m here to cash in on our deal. Today’s the day. We’re going on a date.”

“I—”

She couldn’t even get a full word out before he held his hand up and spoke. “I made sure Kydrick got out of prison, and it’s time for you to agree to a date.”

Paisley leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, her Cartier bracelet glinting off the sunlight coming in through her window. “Technically, you didn’t get him out. Annie’s confession got him out.”

Steven chuckled. “Come on. Would going out on a date with me be so bad? Am I ugly or something?”

He really wasn’t, physically at least. It was his demeanor and attitude that was a huge turn off for her. It had been since she met him.

“You’re not ugly,” she admitted with a heavy sigh. “But I’m also not interested in you in that way. I’ve told you this before.”

“And I’ve told you to just give me a chance. What’s the worst that can happen? I’ll even allow it to be a lunch date. We can go right now so you can get home to the man living in your home.”

Paisley’s brows pulled together because that sounded an awful lot like an insult. They stared at each other for several long seconds before Paisley huffed out a breath, realizing he wouldn’t take no for an answer this time.

“Fine, but I’m picking the place.”

She grabbed her purse from the hook on the wall behind her desk. Steven hopped up and gestured for her to walk ahead of him out the door.

“I’ll drive, princess.”

Something about him calling her that made her cringe, but she straightened her shoulders and sauntered out of her officewith Steven on her heels. She could feel him looking at her ass, which irritated her, but what did she expect? She had on a tight fitting white and black dress suitable for the office, but it still showed off her curves. The black pumps she wore only defined her legs and made them look like they went on for days. It was in her DNA to make sure she was on point when she went to work or had something important to do. She had her mama to thank for that.

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