Chapter Six
Penelope
I stepped out of the elevator doors into the lobby and the smile dropped from my face. Standing there, looking gorgeous and perfect, was Dristan. He appeared to be waiting for someone, so I tried to hurry past him. He didn’t allow it, blocking my path. I stared at the muscles bunching in front of my face as he kept me from leaving. The urge to lean forward and bite the smooth skin of his neck was hard to resist, but I managed. Barely. What was it about this male that got under my skin? Why were thoughts of him constantly popping up in my mind?
“You look different out of uniform,” he told me, his eyes sliding over my simple clothes—an old t-shirt and jeans. The jeans had seen better times, but they were holding together well, with a few peekaboos of thigh from the holes that I’d widened to look fashionable.
He swiped his wide tongue over his lips and I cursed myself as I felt my temperature rising with the movement. I wanted to feel that tongue on me. In fact, I’d dreamed exactly that the night before.
Dristan’s yellow eyes meeting mine as he tucked my legs over his powerful shoulders as his tongue swept out—
I stopped my thoughts in their tracks, staring helplessly ahead before trying to pass by him again. “Good night, sir,” I called, but he kept step with me, waving at one of the security guards as he did.
My mind was in full avoidance mode, so I waved, trying to outpace him. His big hand froze me in place as he wrapped those thick fingers around my wrist.
“It’s late. Let me drop you off at home.”
My eyes were bugging out, I was sure, but I shook my head firmly. “No, I’m fine. It’s not far.”
“Even better,” he drawled, shrugging those broad shoulders I’d just been picturing draping my legs over. “My car’s this way.”
He dragged me along behind him and I put up a pitiful fight, barely arguing with him out of shock. His hand over my wrist sent heat through me so fast I thought I was going to start sweating even though the air held a nighttime nip.
The SUV was huge and I imagined it was one of the few vehicles he could fit in comfortably. He opened the passenger door for me and some of my common sense spoke up.
This is insane. He could be a mass murderer and I’ll never be seen again.
“I’m fine, really—” I couldn’t get anything else out, because he was orc-handling me into the seat, his hands moving to strap the seatbelt over me. I was effectively trapped within a minute. His fingers brushing over my hip made me breathe faster. I looked up at him as he loomed over me, losing my breath over how big he was. This much sexy orc in close proximity to a female should be illegal. His gaze held mine as he adjusted the strap between my breasts and I almost swallowed my tongue.
He paused, releasing my stare and surveying his work before nodding with satisfaction. He was over to the driver’s seat before I could even think about unbuckling myself and escaping. He settled in, his bulky body shifting the entire SUV with his movement.
“My name’s Dristan,” he said, as if him driving me around was an everyday occurrence. “And you’re Penelope.”
I blinked at him but nodded, not sure what he was trying to get at.
“We can use each other’s first names. You’ll call me Dristan from now on,” he commanded and I could feel my hackles rising. “And I’ll call you Penelope.”
My anger died a quick death as my name rolled off his tongue. He said it like he owned it—owned me. I should hate it. I told myself I hated it, but deep down I didn’t.
Deep down it felt right for my name to fall so easily off of that tongue that I wanted to suck on for hours. I wanted him to scream my name. Bellowing it to the ceilings while we—
Damn it, my panties are wet again.
His head snapped in my direction and I saw his nostrils flare. Humiliation rushed through me.
Can he smell me? How aroused I am for him?
I wished I could just sink through the seat and disappear from embarrassment. I turned my face from his, pretending I was fiddling with my bag.
“Where do you live?” he muttered, starting the SUV. The way he said it made me feel like we were tucked away in a bubble of intimacy he didn’t want to burst.
Determined to pop the hell out of it, I rattled off my address as if he was a rideshare. He glanced over at me but didn’t say a word.
He didn’t even set the GPS as he drove off. My apartment was nearby, but how did he know how to get there? It was in a bad part of the city and I was certain this exceedingly rich male had never been there before.
When he pulled up to the front of my building, I looked up at it, wondering what it looked like from his eyes. He’d probably see a shithole that was barely taken care of—crumbling walls and rusted fire escapes and broken windows. Even as heat flooded my face, I told myself that his opinion didn’t matter.
“Thank you,” I chirped, struggling to seem unaffected by him. I reached out to open the door, but his big palm on my wrist stopped me.
Startled, I turned to face him. His yellow eyes seemed to glow in the darkness of the car.
“I have a proposition,” he declared.
My brow furrowed at the words, but I held back the caustic remark that popped into my head. At the end of the day, this male was still my boss.
“There’s another job that I think you’ll be very interested in.” He released me, leaning back in his seat, but keeping me pinned with his gaze. “I’ve been watching you for the past few weeks and you’ll be the perfect candidate.”
My eyebrows swept up and my jaw dropped, but Dristan didn’t stop speaking.
“I like things a certain way,” he said, as if that wasn’t the most obvious thing in the world. “And I need someone to take some of the load off of Fionel before he murders me in my sleep.”
I hid a smile. I hadn’t met the male yet, but he was the one who usually took care of keeping Dristan’s space neat. He left me a note on his desk, thanking me for whatever magic I was working on the boss that meant he didn’t have to come in as early as he usually did.
I definitely wasn’t working any magic, but I could imagine how difficult it was to deal with this male all day every day. Searching his face for any hint that he was trying to trick me or get rid of me, I realized he seemed earnest.
“I need a Personal Assistant,” he asserted. “And you’re going to take the job.”
“I am?” I asked, not able to help the snarky tone. “Because I don’t even know anything about the position.”
He narrowed his eyes and I could tell he was getting worked up, but I watched as he carefully exhaled a slow breath. I hid my smile, knowing that I annoyed him as much as he did me. I didn’t want to admit to myself that I looked forward to seeing him every day so I could spar with him, but it was getting harder and harder to deny it.
“I’ll have the details of everything e-mailed to you,” he snapped and then stopped himself to inhale slow and deep again. “But the compensation will be much higher than what you’re paid now.”
My eyes widened to the size of saucers as I asked, “How much more?”
His gaze narrowed as he studied me and I knew that he’d sensed my weakness. “ Much more. I’ll e-mail you the offer.”
I swallowed hard, struggling to not let my desperation show. If I could make a little more, I might be able to find an apartment I could afford where I didn’t feel threatened every time I stepped into the shared space. “I see.”
The urge to scream yes was almost overwhelming, but I held it back, knowing that there were other things to consider. “And what would the hours be like?”
“Full-time, twenty-four seven. If you haven’t noticed, I don’t take breaks,” he admitted.
My lips curled at his words. “Yeah, I noticed. But that’s fine. I can work as long as you need. I don’t live far from the office and—”
“It’s a live-in position,” he cut me off. “And I’m not bending on that.”
It was time for my impression of a carp. “Live-in?”
“Yes.” His eyes twinkled with some emotion I couldn’t decipher.
“With you?” I whispered, feeling every ounce of blood rush to my face. I didn’t know how well I would do being around him so much. I was already aroused enough just seeing him during my working hours. If I added every other hour of the day, how long would it be before I mauled him?
He grunted, typing on his phone—which was almost the size of a tablet. “You’ll get the e-mail in your inbox now.”
My phone chimed and I realized this male had my personal e-mail somehow. I picked up my phone and opened the first pdf. Dristan was the epitome of patience while I read. Chewing on a nail as I did, a nervous habit that I’d never been able to give up, I scrolled slowly through the pages until I got to the compensation package.
My gasp was loud in the silence of the SUV and I looked up at him right away, my impression of the carp firmly fixed on my face once again. “I—I—”
“I understand that this is something you might need to think about, however I’m going to need your answer immediately.”
“I—Immediately?” I stuttered, but my mind was whirling and I didn’t know how to react.
With a firm nod, he gestured toward my phone. “As you can tell, this is an important position to me and I need it filled right away. You’re the first person I’m offering it to because you seem competent. If you don’t think you can do it, I understand, but I’m going to have to start the search in the morning. So—”
“Wait!” I shouted, not meaning to, but everything was happening so quickly I needed to take a breath. I held my hands out in a placating gesture. “I totally understand that you can’t wait very long for me to decide, but I haven’t even read the entire document yet.”
“By all means,” he drawled, leaning back comfortably in his seat, a small smirk playing on his thick, delicious-looking lips.
I think I hate him a little.
He was right, that smugness was going to get him murdered in his sleep. Only not by Fionel. Especially if we were going to be staying anywhere near each other. I could pick a lock with the best of them. Something I’d learned from my dad, who was a handyman.
I glared at him for a second, but then I focused on the documents he’d sent, reading the offer letter and the contract as closely as I could. The legalese was a bit much, but I understood the general information. This could be the answer to my family’s prayers. Without paying rent or utilities for myself, I would save so much—along with the fantastic pay—that within a year, I could pay off the medical debt that we’d accrued over the past three years while my mom fought her disease. And even more than that, we might not lose the house.
“Yes,” I whispered, voice firm, looking up into his yellow eyes.
“You’ve read the entire thing?” His eyes were glittering again—but in a way that I wasn’t familiar with. Something predatory gleamed back at me from their depths. My breath went shallow and there was a tingle in my extremities that I knew were my instincts telling me I was in close proximity to something that could take a bite out of me.
I might enjoy that bite.
Mentally bitchslapping the intrusive thought, because this male was going to be my direct boss, I forced a smile on my face. “Yes, I’ve read the entire thing, and I accept.”
“Good,” he said, his tone smug. “Then I’ll come up and help you with your things.”
He was out of the door before I could blink. “What?” I squawked, struggling to open my own door and jump out— literally, since his SUV was so high up from the ground.
Dristan was standing outside the entrance to my building, his head tipped back and his nose wrinkled. “I don’t like this place.”
Offended, I struggled with my bag as I searched for my keys. When they were in my hand, he took my bag from me, heading back to his SUV and tucking it inside the backseat.
“It makes more sense to leave any extra load behind since we’ll be bringing everything down here anyway. I can get movers tomorrow for anything too big,” he called, his voice reaching me easily in the quiet night. I watched with my lips parted. When he returned, he gestured for me to enter.
“You’re probably the pushiest person I know,” I huffed and he shrugged as we walked inside.
His eyes took in every inch of the lobby, narrowed at the elevator that had a hastily taped “Out of Order” sign that was almost brown with age.
I led him to the staircase, opening it and holding my breath as I always did. While the stairway itself wasn’t physically dirty, there was always the lingering odor of urine when you first opened the door. I hid a grin as Dristan gagged behind me.
That should teach him a lesson about being too pushy. If he’d waited in the car or allowed me to figure out my own moving arrangements, he would have been spared the stink.