Page 45 of One Bossy Date

Lord help me, that was amazing.The kiss was, without a doubt, the best I’d ever experienced. Soft and sensual, yet eager and fierce. Just like the man himself.

I struggled to stand by myself, and Anders kept his hands on my hips for support while I cleared my throat and found reality again. I straightened my dress and then finally looked up into his dark eyes again. He stared back down at me with a small, lopsided smile and gently brushed a wayward strand of hair behind my ear.

“Goodnight, Zoe,” he murmured softly, touching my cheek. “Give me a call, if you want to”—I half-expected an invite to his bed—“keep the ruse up and move in.”Oh, right.“You’re welcome to.”

With that, Anders backed away from me.

He watched me as I reluctantly headed to the store entrance on wobbly legs, with impossibly drenched panties.

With uneasy hands, I unlocked the boutique door and let myself in, just in time to see Anders turn away and get into the limo.

Now that I’d had a taste, I wanted him more. So much more.

18

ZOE

The kiss was playing in my head on repeat all night. Why did he have to be a good kisser?

My body was awake with need, my lady bits were awake with desire, and my mind was awake with thought. Everything that had happened throughout the evening somehow seemed unreal. Anders’s sexy black suit, his unexpected touches, and his charming way with my family. If only it didn’t make Granny Dottysodamn happy. And his mother. And me.

With a sigh, I turned onto my side. I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t want to stop it.

What should I do?Oh, Granny.It wouldn’t be right to use my granny or Anders’s mom as pretense to be near him. If only I could talk to Gran and tell her the predicament I’d gotten myself and Anders into.

She had raised me after my parents had died in a car accident when I was twelve. She’d taught me how to be a woman throughout my teenage years, had allowed me the freedom to be whoever I wanted to be, and befriend whoever I wanted to. However, I soon came to learn that her idea of freedom was different than mine when it came to my love life. She desperately wanted me to marry and build a family, as soon as physically possible. Yes, I’d love a husband and kids—one day. When I was ready. When my business was truly off the ground, and I’d fallen in love with a man suited to my way of life.

Was Anders that man? No.

I had no idea who that man was.

What I did know, however, was that Granny Dotty thought he was. And for the first time in a long time, she’d looked at me with pride and happiness. I’d thought one evening with a handsome date would save me from the questions and condescension from my family, and it had, but I hadn’t realized it would turn out so…well. Too well. Because now—and for good reason—they would expect more from me: they’d expect news of my blooming relationship, they’d expect me to move in with him, and they’d even expect a baby, or three.

I groaned and rolled onto my stomach, burying my face into my pillow. Had I made my own situation better or worse? Both. So, which did I prefer: to have them fret over my future or be smothered by their excited expectations? Obviously, the latter, except that it was a lie.

Continuing the ruse was the best option, if only to get out of the closet space for a while. Just a little while, until my business was profitable. Until I was happy with my own life. Anders’s living situation was certainly a lot better than my current one.

But was it worth what I was expected to do?

To move in with a client?

With my boss?

Because that’s what he was—my boss. I was working for him as his dog nanny, and he was paying me for it.

Whatever weird, push-and-pull kind of personal relationship I had with him didn’t matter when you looked at it that way. I’d be living withmy boss. My utterly dominant, ludicrously hot, stupidly rich boss, who accidentally also happened to have an absurdly arousing cock. And yes, I did wonder what it looked like and how girthy it was, how its length would feel in my mouth, or what dirty things he’d say before he came all over my tongue. It was a thought I had to deny myself.

What I couldn’t deny, however, was that it would be a dream come true to get out of this broom closet. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I could see the walls around me. The room was narrow, and I could just about touch both walls with my arms stretched out. When I reached out from my bed, I could touch my clothing, my small dresser, and the stack of Jim’s smutty books I had next to my bed. Compared to my previous apartment, which was small in its own right, this was a jail cell. Again, I wasn’t complaining, but on days like today, the thought of escaping automatically overshadowed everything I’d been working hard for.

And to think, I had the opportunity to not only move into an apartment but a full-on mansion-sized penthouse with views for days. It was a dream. Why the heck couldn’t I just say yes?

I knew the answer even as I asked myself the question.

I couldn’t “just say yes” because: Anders.

It was Anders’s penthouse. It was his personal space. After our unbelievably intimate encounter, I couldn’t imagine being that close to him—every. Single. Day.

Maybe even in that towel of his, after his showers, in the kitchen, eating strawberries…Urg! Stop!I slapped my hands over my eyes. Too many conflicting aspects! Making the decision based on how sexy he was, or on how he made me feel, or how much I wanted to be around him wasn’t the right approach.