Under His Cover-nook by Lyric James

Rhys said again with an edge to his voice.
    “Yes, sir,” he complied and hurried away, eager to remove himself from the situation.
    He pulled her to the side. “You came with me, you’ll leave with me.”
    “Who in the hell do you think you are?”
    “Your boss.”
    “Oh, now you’re my boss. A few minutes ago you wanted to fuck me.”
    He turned to her and said in no uncertain terms, “And I still do. If we weren’t standing here right now, I’d rip that dress off your body, toss you on a bed and push my cock so far inside you, so hard, it’d make you scream my name.”
    Tingles of desire slid all over her body. It almost knocked her off her feet. She wanted to be mad. Truly, she did. But every time he opened his mouth and said things like that to her, she wanted to lie back and spread her legs for him.
    No .
    This had to stop. She couldn’t work for him like this. The limo arrived, and he ushered her inside. Jade slid all the way to the other door, her arm practically glued to the leather. Having him so near was detrimental to her equilibrium, even sitting down. 
    After the driver pulled off, Rhys closed the partition. Thankfully, he allowed her the space she’d put between them and didn’t move closer. “Look, I want you. I think that’s clearly evident. But the only way this is going to work—”
    “It’s not going to work. I was hired to do a job for you. To find out who’s sending you threatening letters about someone you’re obviously trying to hide. Shit, you won’t even tell me the truth, and you expect me to just wash that under the table and get involved with you? Well, think again. I’m not stupid. I’m not a math whiz, but I can subtract.”
    “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
    “Her age . What is she, about eighteen or nineteen years old? Born when you were around fifteen or sixteen.”
    Jade was about to step over the line, but she didn’t care. She needed some distance. She needed him to leave her alone. She needed him to see her as a private investigator doing a job, not a woman. She needed him to forget about what happened between them. “What happened? Your parents didn’t want to ruin their reputation or your promising career?”
    When his eyes narrowed, Jade knew she’d pushed the right button. She had to keep pushing. She wanted to make him angry enough to talk about anything that would keep her mind off of the erotic thoughts careening around inside her head. She needed him to back off. She wanted to force him to admit what was happening between them wouldn’t work. Because if he didn’t, she feared she’d make a fool of herself by falling all over him, falling in love with him. All evident by the way she behaved not ten minutes ago in that damn hotel lobby.
    “Was she a girl from the wrong side of the tracks? She didn’t fit into your lily-white world?”
    His lips were pressed together in a tight grimace. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “And you won’t explain it either, will you?”
    He turned away from her and placed his elbow on the door rest, tucked his fist under his chin and looked out the window.
    Jade pulled in a breath then slowly released it. “That’s what I thought. You can’t keep secrets and turn around and expect me to fall in your arms. It doesn’t work that way.”
    He cared about her enough to want to have sex with her, but not tell her the truth.
    When the limo pulled up in front of her apartment, Jade waited for the driver to come around and open the door for her. The last fifteen minutes of the drive had been excruciatingly quiet.
    Why won’t he tell me?
    Because you’re not important enough.
    The door opened, and she hesitated. “What time would you like me to be there in morning?” She kept her voice flat, emotionless, refused to turn around and look at him.
    “Between eight-thirty and nine is fine,” he told her.
    Without another word, she exited and didn’t look back.
    When her head hit her