Page 1 of Lovesick

PROLOGUE

DEAN

She tasted like sin and surrender.

Emilia had given herself to me way too easily. My name had slipped from her lips like a confession so many times, breathless and raw.

I never should have touched her.

But I had.

Again. And again. And again.

She was intoxicating. Soft where I was hard, warm where I was cold. The way she looked at me, with a mix of hesitation and something she tried to hide, made it even worse. Emilia wanted more. I could see it in the way her fingers trembled when I touched her, in the way her breath hitched when I pulled her close.

She wanted promises I couldn’t give.

I didn’t do commitment. I didn’t do love.

I fucked. I dominated. I took.

And Emilia let me.

Until she didn’t.

Now, she walked through the office like nothing had ever happened. She avoided my gaze, never let her fingers brush mine when she handed me papers, never let herself be the last one in my office at night. She was trying to erase me, to bury what we did in the dark.

It pissed me off more than it should have.

Because she was still mine. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, whether she wanted to run from it or not, I had already taken her apart and put her back together the way I wanted. She could pretend all she wanted, but we both knew she still felt me under her skin.

And fuck if I wasn’t dying to remind her.

1

EMILIA

The elevator doors glided open on the lobby floor, and I stepped inside, smoothing down the front of my dress as I exhaled. It was early, but the office was already stirring with life—associates rushing in with coffee cups, paralegals exchanging last-minute details on cases.

As the doors began to close, a hand slipped through, stopping them. I glanced up and found myself looking into the familiar, kind face of Thomas Reed, a senior attorney at Rockwell Legal Group. Or, RLG for short. Thomas offered me a polite smile as he stepped inside, adjusting his suit jacket.

“Morning, Emilia,” he said, pressing the button for the thirty-second floor. The same floor I was going to. “Early start?”

“As always,” I replied with a small smile. “You too.”

He chuckled. “Not by choice. My wife thinks I work too much as it is.”

I didn’t doubt that. Thomas was one of the firm’s best litigators, a man who spent more nights in the office than at home. But unlike many of the others at RLG, he was polite, friendly even. He never looked at me like I was invisible. Or worse, disposable.

Especially as the CEO’s executive assistant, I didn’t have it easy. My job was stressful, yet I loved it. I liked working hard, and I was good at my job. But, of course, I enjoyed my free weekends where I could just hang out at home and watch movies all day. Eat frozen pizzas, even if I knew they were bad for me. I loved them. Just as much as I loved drinking Pepsi.

Those were two of my bad habits, but I made up for it by running on the treadmill every morning. And I mean every morning. I hadn’t skipped a day since I was twenty-five, and two years later, I managed to always get on that treadmill with no excuses.

I was proud of myself for that. For being consistent and determined. But maybe my determination didn’t always come as a blessing in my life.

Especially not when it comes to my boss.

“That’s because you do work too much,” I said, arching a brow at Thomas. “You should listen to her.”

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