Page 134 of Plus Size Player

“And we won’t,” he said with a quiet intensity. “I’m not losing you. I’m not losing what we have. I’m not losing my company. I’m not letting you lose this job.” He brought my hand to his lips again. “I don’t get a lot of off time. But when I do, I want to spend it with you, focused on you, enjoying you. Let’s have fun this weekend and then on Monday, I’ll put things in motion.”

“Okay,” I relented.

“You good with that?”

“Yeah.”

He scooted closer to me and leaned into my personal space. Hisbeautiful brown eyes bore into mine and he put my hand against his chest. “Do you trust me?”

I felt his heart beating under my palm. The spell of his gaze caused my stomach to flutter. Overwhelmed with a flood of emotion, I answered honestly.

“Yes,” I breathed.

20

For the life of me, I couldn’t understand how we could get around the fraternization policy. I read the clause backward and forward. The language was clear. But because Russ was the CEO of RLF, I had hope that he’d figure something out. He asked me to trust him, and I did. But the reality was that I didn’t want to lose my job and I didn’t want Russ to lose his company. It scared me to think that one or the other would need to happen in order for us to be together.

I wouldn’t want him to resent me.

“Did I mention how good you look?” Russ murmured in my ear, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I rotated my ass against his semihard dick on the dance floor. Leaning back into his chest, my lips pulled into a smile. “You did. But I don’t mind hearing it again.”

His fingers gripped my hips, and he nuzzled his nose into my neck. “You look so fucking good in this dress.”

I closed my eyes momentarily.

The mocha-tinted dress with crystal embellishment gave the illusion of sheerness and fit my body like a glove. The G-string that I wore was soaking wet as I listened to the complimentary words he whispered into my ear. My nipples strained against the fabric as I turned around in his arms.

I looked up into his handsome face and smiled. I placed my hands on his cheeks, gently scratching his beard before bringing his lips down to mine.

“Thank you,” I purred as our mouths connected again. “You should see what I’m wearing underneath it.”

“Why are you doing this to me?” he groaned, pulling me closer. “You’ve been trying to get my dick hard since we finished dinner.”

I wiggled my eyebrows. “Is it working?”

He laughed against my mouth, allowing me to taste his joy, to swallow his happiness. The happiness I felt in him and with him caused me to shiver. I couldn’t remember a more perfect night.

There were about forty or fifty people on the dance floor, so it was crowded but not ridiculously so. We had enough privacy that we weren’t overheard, but I was tipsy enough to not care if we were, and the other half of the guests were under a tent or by the lake.

“On the count of three, turn to the birthday girl and yell ‘Happy birthday, Aaliyah!’” the DJ shouted. “One! Two! Three!”

“Happy birthday, Aaliyah!” I yelled out with about a hundred other people.

“Now make your way toward the lake—we have something special happening in two minutes,” the DJ continued. “Two minutes.”

Russ intertwined his fingers with mine. “There’s more?”

“Yes,” I replied as he spun me in a circle.

Pulling me close, he tucked me into his side. “Your girl knows how to throw a party.”

“She’s been planning it for a year, and it’s turned out so good. The dinner was perfect—”

“The chef did the damn thing,” he interrupted, escorting me toward the lake with the rest of the guests. “Every course was good.”

“Every single one!” I agreed. “The food, the music, the vibe. Everything has been amazing. I hope she’s having a good time.” I looked around until I saw her with her date and smiled. “It looks like she’s satisfied with how the night turned out.”

---