Page 20 of Dirty Arrangement

His eyes grow stormy. The woman gulps, then she retreats with one final, curious look at me. The door closes, sealing us in. “Alice,” he starts.

“Tell me what I did wrong.”

“What?”

“Tell me what I did wrong!” I repeat, throwing my arms out to the sides in frustration. “Didn't I do every single thing you asked, no matter how perverse it was? I signed your contract, I wore your uniforms, I baked the things you asked, designed them, perfected them! I let youpunish mefor being late to work, I even went on a date with you!”

“You're angry,” he says softly.

“Of course I'm angry! I'm angry as hell, Thomas!” Breathing heavily, I take a step towards him. I'm on a roll and I won't let him interrupt me until I'm done. “Was I so awful that night in your car that I didn't deserve a proper goodbye?”

“It wasn't that.”

“Then tell me what I didwrong!”

“Nothing!” he snaps, his voice scalding like fire. “You did nothing wrong, Alice.” He looks anguished, his shoulders scrunching upwards.

All the air leaves my lungs. “I don't understand...”

“You were perfect,” he says softly, no longer looking at me. “In every sense of the word, you were flawless. That was the problem. I never meant to let our game go so far but everything you did... it drew me closer to you.”

“Thomas...”

“The night in my car,” he says, bracing himself on the desk. “You thought you messed up, but it was me. That was the moment I realized what was going on.” He tilts his head and looks at me through strands of his dark hair. “I was falling in love with you.”

My temples thrum. A single word rebounds in my skull.

Love.

Love.

Love...

“That's why I voided the contract,” he says, standing straight. He grabs his forehead like he's in pain. “I can't forgive myself for torturing you so much. Who would do that to someone they care about?” He sees the doubt in my face, I think, because he tightens his jaw and says, “I told you about my mother, but not my father. After her accident, she was stuck in a wheelchair. My father was terrible to her. Cruel. I hated him for that, hated watching her never divorce him.” He searches my face with raw anguish. “The shame of acting as cruel as him is burning me up, Alice. Get out of here. You're free from my fucked up mess.”

So much suddenly makes sense. My heart splits all over again, hurting for him... aching at the idea he thought he was as bad as his own father.

“Are you blind?” I ask. “Do you think I hate what you've done to me?” Thomas watches in disbelief as I round on him. Putting my palms on his desk I push my body towards his. “You've changed me too much for me to go back to a life without you in it.”

“Alice,” he whispers, before I kiss him and take his words away.

I pull back, looking at him through hooded eyes. “I told you. I belong to you, heart and soul. I meant it.”

Gripping my upper arms he draws me back to his mouth for a firm kiss. He's panting when he speaks around our lips. “You're making a mistake.”

“I'm not.”

I feel his warm lips curl into a smirk. “Why do you always want to fight with me?”

“What's the point of living if you don't fight for what you want?”

Thomas growls huskily in his throat, kissing me on my jaw, my temple, then my mouth again. I'm buzzing with pleasure.

He moves behind me, ripping the hem of my tee-shirt up my back, deftly unclasping my jeans to pull them over my round ass. His erection nudges against my crease forcefully. This is what I hoped he would do the first time we met in his office. We'd come so close to kissing back then. It feels like years ago, but it hasn't been two weeks since Thomas Volt has entered my life.

“Thomas,” I whimper. “What are we now? You're not my boss anymore, so then...”

His teeth graze my earlobe—I see flecks of light. “I love you, Alice. And to be loved by me means you're mine. What's happened so far is only the start. There's no contract to slip out of. This... us... means forever.”

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