“She is a kid. And wouldn’t three wheels be safer?”
I patted his arm softly before I thought about what I was doing. “You have a lot to learn.”
My hand on his arm seemed to wake both of us up to the reality of where we stood. He turned his attention from the computer to my hand. “We need to figure this out. Us.”
“Then I need to actually get to know you. More than just feelings and instincts. Or maybe real dates instead of business trips.”
Damon nodded. “Tonight at seven. I’ll pay your brother a thousand dollars to watch Luna for the night if that’s what it takes.”
“My brother would watch Luna for a ham sandwich, but something tells me a thousand dollars will do the trick, too.”
“Good. Then it’s a date. Also, your office is next door. Where Gary’s used to be.”
“What happened to Gary?”
“I promoted him so I could have the space for you.”
“I can’t decide if I should be disgusted or flattered.”
“Get used to it. I want you now, Chelsea. Before, I wasn’t sure what I wanted. Now I know exactly how this is going to play out. How it needs to play out.”
God, Damon could be so intense. It was hard not to believe every single word that came out of his mouth when it came to what he was going to do. I wasn’t sure the man was capable of failure. Except now he’d apparently decided failure would be if he didn’t get me for himself. “How is that?”
“By doing whatever it takes. By not giving a shit that you work for me or that I’m your boss. You’re going to be mine, and we’re going to be a fucking family. Luna deserves that. You deserve it.”
“Well, send Dick over at seven, then.”
“You can have dick right now.” He was completely straight faced, and I couldn’t tell if he was joking until his lips curved up at the corners a few seconds later.
I shook my head. “It’s unnerving when you try to be funny, you know.”
“I’ll work on it. Oh, and I don’t care if we are fucking. If you want to keep your new position, I expect you to have signed your first athlete by the end of the week. If you have any questions about where to start, you can ask Judy. Don’t ask David.”
“Why not? I thought David was one of the top agents here.”
“Because I don’t want David staring at your breasts. Those are mine, too.”
I felt a rush of heat spread in my stomach. Of course, there were the obvious workplace harassment arguments to be made. Except I didn’t find myself wanting to make a single one of them. I wanted everything Damon seemed to want, and I had a feeling he knew it. But we both knew I couldn’t just launch myself into a relationship blindly, not without being sure. Luna deserved that much from me.
“Got it. Show a little ass and David will be happy to help me with anything I need.”
“Don’t tempt me to use company time to fuck that naughty edge right out of your system.”
I raised my eyebrows, then swallowed. I wished I had been clever enough to snap back with something witty, but all I could do was hold back the flood of deliciously sexy images bombarding my consciousness. Damon tearing that silky black shirt open and then spinning me around to bend over his desk. His hands hungrily tearing at my clothes. The sensation of my arousal lubricating his thick length into me. My walls tight and—
“I’ll be good,” I said, cutting off my own desperate thoughts. This was bad. Self-control felt like a long-forgotten friend at the moment, and I knew my ability to resist jumping on Damon’s lap was only held back by the faintest thread of resistance.
“And if I so much as think David or any other man in this office is interested in you, I’ll abuse every ounce of my power to fire their ass straight out of your life.”
I gulped. This was new, and I wished I could say I didn’t like it in the dirtiest possible ways.
33
Damon
The workday was winding down in slow, painfully drawn out minutes. It was just after four—only three hours until I’d have Chelsea to myself off company property—and I was leaned back in my office.
Chris was sitting across from me with a thoughtful look on his face. “You know, at first, I thought you were constipated. You’ve got this kind of pent up, frustrated look on your face. Then I saw Chelsea walk by just now. You perked up like a fucking dog at the sound of popping bacon.” He smiled broadly. “Is my brother happy? Is he actually happy?”
I shook my head. “Happiness is an illusion. It’s the pointless moment after you reach a goal and before you set the next. Spending your life chasing happiness would be as productive as spending your life trying to ejaculate.”
Chris looked up at the ceiling, trying to process everything I’d just said. “Hm. Have you ever considered therapy?”
“I don’t want to listen to people’s problems. So, no.”
He snorted. “No, I don’t mean have you considered administering therapy to people. I mean, have you considered getting help. Because your brain is fucked up.”
“If what I am is fucked up and what you are is normal, then I’m perfectly content.”
“One of us has fun. The other sits in his office trying to reason with himself about why trying to be happy is pointless. Hmm. I wonder who has things more figured out.”
I sighed. I never really confided in Chris. He came to me with his problems and I fixed them. It wasn’t the other way around, even though I could tell he was trying to get me to open up and talk.
“Is there a