Chapter 10: Say Something...

Seraphina

Dimitri filled the doorway as he casually leaned into the doorjamb. I could see the crackling of the predatory fire in his eyes as I bared my body in front of him. My nipples became erect just from his gaze and goosebumps traveled over my skin. I was aroused.

My gaze was latched to his, transfixed by the wildfire in his eyes. At that moment, he owned me. I’d do whatever he wanted and he knew it.

“I’ll meet you downstairs.” He shoved both hands through his hair.

My throat burned with the words I couldn’t speak. I stood half-naked and he walked away. I was thoroughly embarrassed at my own actions. I let out the breath I’d been holding since I realized he was there. I quickly dressed and gathered my pride.

“Put your address in the GPS.” he said with his eyes on his phone.

He was avoiding me. I guess I made things awkward, especially knowing that to him, this was only another business deal. The ride was quiet and the tension was thick. We arrived at my apartment and he escorted me up.

“You can just have a seat, I shouldn’t be too long.”

I felt myself wanting to apologize for the small space, but instead I started my morning ritual.

“Would you like some tea?” I said holding my tea kettle up in the air.

“No, I’m more of a coffee drinker.”

“Most people are,” I say trying to make light conversation. “My gran started drinking one cup every morning and passed it down to me. It’s become my morning ritual.”

“Is this your grandmother?” he said pointing at the picture on the wall.

“Yeah, that’s my gran. She was a fox back in her day.”

“I see where you get it from.”

The words were as smooth as the silk I had on my skin earlier. I couldn’t help but blush. He didn’t say it directly, but I knew what he meant. I gave him a sweet smile as I retreated to my room to decide what to wear.

I decided on a pair of high waist, skinny-legged khakis with a wine-red, lace short sleeve top, and my trusty mary jane heel. My cue to leave the room was the sound of my teapot whistling. He was standing in the same spot taking in my photos.

“I’ll get that and then we can go.”

“Is she the only family you have?”

“Yeah she is,” I said, putting the lid on my to-go cup. “Ready?” I said standing at the door.

“Of course.”

We walked the small hall out to his car that had all of my neighbors looking in astonishment. I mean, I’d never had a man over and then suddenly a handsome billionaire. We will be the talk of the town soon.

“Is the lease going to be a problem?”

“It’s month to month, but if it’s all the same, I’d like to keep it,” I said sipping my tea.

The light was red and so was the fire now burning in his eyes.

“It’s not all the same to me. We made a deal and you need to hold up your end of the bargain,” he growled. “They will dig, for sure and if they see you still have that place rented, they could suspect something isn’t quite right.”

“I guess I didn’t think of it that way. It’s not a problem to end the lease, but that means I need to be out by the weekend.”

“I’ll hire someone to do it for you.”

“I don’t want strangers touching my things.”

“Take your personal belongings and donate the rest.”

“If this is going to work and be believable, you need to be human for more than five minutes.” I snarled.

“I said donate, not trash.”

I rolled my eyes and could see the premise of a smile on his lips. He found my irritation amusing.

“We will need to be seen as a couple not just on paper. On Saturday, I’d like to take you out.”

“Like a date?”

“Yes, a date. There’s no way I’ll just marry anyone, we will need to show them by me courting you, so to speak. There’s a basketball game and I have front row tickets. That’s making a huge statement.”

“I’ve never been to a basketball game before,” I say shyly.

“Don’t worry, I'll fill you in,” he said with a wink.

“What about work? Will I still work for you?”

“I guess I didn’t think about that. We will work the details out later today.”

We pulled into the parking garage and I let out a sigh. The walk to the elevators was brief and discreet.

Dimitri placed his hand at the small of my back and steered me out of the elevator to our office area. Where Constance stood waiting for our arrival with a puzzled look on her face. Our body language spoke volumes. I straightened and his hand remained.

“Good morning, Mr. Valor.” She said sweetly, but her eyes weren’t as sweet when she looked my way. “Seraphina, I was looking for you to see if you would be attending the annual Valor luncheon?”

“Oh, I wasn’t aware of a luncheon. Do you need help with setup?”

“I’ll let you ladies converse. Sera, I’ll have lunch delivered,” he said before he retreated to his office.

“Playing with fire, are we?” she said with a raised brow.

I walked over to my desk to put my belongings away and put space between us. He knew exactly what he was doing and she read all the signs just as she should. Everyone would need to know, but I couldn’t help the scrutiny I’d face.

“No fire to play with here,” I said lying through my teeth. “So, about the luncheon?”

“This year it falls on Dimitri’s birthday and everyone here at the office was planning something special.”

“Like a cake or a surprise party?”

“Just something to show him that we appreciate him.”

“I think that would be rather sweet. Count me in.”

“Perfect! I’ll email you the details.” she waved a hand and was headed down the corridor.

I let out a breath before I sat down. My head was a jumble of mixed emotions.

Then there’s the attraction I have, that we clearly do not share. What am I going to do? Playing Dimitri’s fiancée was going to be my new full-time job. There was no way I was getting out of this clean and unscathed.

I realized there were things about each other we would need to know. Like, what’s his favorite cake or ice cream flavor? Instinctively, I went to search the phone for notes on his favorites but decided that would be a conversation starter.

I tried to focus on work and not on the thoughts of me standing naked in his home. I closed my eyes and took in a few breaths, trying to free myself from the thoughts. The thoughts of what could have or should have happened. My train of thought broke from the chime of my phone.

Dimitri: Thank you, by the way.

Seraphina: For?

Dimitri: The viewing of that beautiful body of yours. But the next time you bare yourself to me, I may not be so nice as to walk away.