Page 15 of Ace of Swords

“Or maybe it was one of at least a dozen people who absolutely should not see me fingering my boss’s daughter,” I said through clenched teeth. I was fucking angry. Not at Tatiana, but at myself. What the hell was I doing letting my dick make decisions for me? Just days ago my life was under control, motoring along as planned and on schedule.

I had a great job where I was climbing the corporate ladder. I didn’t have any problem avoiding unnecessary complications. I had two worlds: work and my personal life. So what if my personal life didn’t have much actuallifein it? There was time for that. Later.

I sat on Tatiana’s bed and held my head in my hands. “Christ,” I snarled.

“Relax. It’s not like I’m a child,” Tatiana said, that teasing note in her voice again. She walked across the room and sat down next to me, leaning her mouth close to my ear. “And it’s not like I’m going to tell my father how talented you are with your hands and how wet you make me.” She started sliding her hand up my knee.

I jumped off the bed. This evening was over. It had to be. “Tatiana, this can’t happen. You of all people should understand the power your father has over me. I can’t risk my job, everything I’ve worked for, even if I–“

“Even if you what, Rolland? Want me? Because I know you want me. I know you do. And you wantedme, before you knew I was Sergio Montalla’s daughter, you sawme. This doesn’t need to be hard. Please, let me have this. Let me have this one thing.”

She was pleading with me, and she was breaking my heart. She was desperate for something of her own, and at this juncture in her life, she thought I could be it, the key to her freedom. I’d desperately wanted to make her come before, see her break apart in a million pieces, but I wanted to give her an escape, too. And now here she was, begging me for it, and I wanted to say yes. I wanted to finish what we started and see where it could lead.

She must have seen my resolve cracking because she walked across the room to me. Her cheeks were still flushed from before, and she started fingering the collar of my jacket. Her red silk robe was driving me wild. I couldn't stop imagining how it would fall into a puddle at her feet with just a pull on the belt and soft nudge at the shoulder.

Most decisions for me were black and white. I could weigh the pros and cons, risks and rewards, and come to the right solution for any problem. But standing so close to Tatiana, remembering how slippery she felt under my finger and how responsive she was to my touch, I couldn’t think past my most basic and primal urges.

“Just a kiss, Rolland,” she said. It was barely words, more like breathing. “Let’s just start with a kiss and see where it leads.”

I was hypnotized. I wanted this to be easy like she said it could be, so when her chin tilted up to me, and her mouth was so close to mine, I claimed her. I laid my lips against hers, firmly this time. I let her tongue sink into my mouth, tasting champagne and strawberries and so many erotic promises.

Her fingers twined through my hair; we were moving backwards, until her knees hit the bed and she sat down. She looked up at me with innocent eyes. I was so close. So close to taking that next step. To pushing her back on the bed and spreading her legs to taste her. Making her scream my name.

When she reached for my belt, I grabbed her wrist. It was all suddenly clear. “Tatiana, stop. I’m not what you think I am. You look at me and you think you see freedom, but you’re wrong. I’m tied to your father just as much as you are. I’m completely dependent on him. I’ve been working for years to get where I am in his company, to have him depend on me like he does. I amnotgoing to walk away from that. He won’t let me walk away, especially with his little girl. If you want freedom, if you want to break away from your father, you need to find some way to do that without me.”

I didn’t wait for a response from her because I knew she’d convince me to stay.

And I knew I couldn’t.

I turned away from her quickly because I couldn’t bear to see the disappointment on her face. This whole night had been a confusing mess, and if my professional life survived unscathed, it would be a small miracle.

I walked out of her room and to my car as fast as I could.

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