Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Don’t get your hopes up,” I said. “You closed the door so you could try to persuade me, right? I’m not budging. If you show up, my dad’s attention will shift to leveraging you directly. I need him to stay focused on me and the cards I hold, or I’ll lose those shares.”
“Miranda didn’t like the way your father was manhandling you last Friday.”
“Neither did I, but I didn’t react to it because I didn’t want to make us more of a public spectacle.”
“If he was willing to behave like that in public, what’s to stop him from doing the same in private?” Konni asked.
“Felix,” I said.
“Not good enough.”
“Then pick a better lawyer,” I said. “One you have faith in.”
“I have faith in him. He’s not me, though.”
“That’s a good thing.”
Konni stood and came around the desk. I didn’t retreat this time.
“Do you struggle with not getting your way?” I asked. “I think there’s a medication for that.”
He closed his eyes, and I could see he was struggling to keep it together. But in what way? Was it because I was annoying and not giving in, or because being this close was a turn-on and he wanted to bend me over his desk? I really hoped it was the latter.
No. Bad, Sophie.
“Since you don’t want me there, we’ll meet with Felix first. Go get your things.”
Before I did something stupid, like run my hands down his tailored suit to see if he was as firm and chiseled as I remembered, I escaped.
The trio looked up as I grabbed my purse from the desk.
“Everything all right?” Edi asked.
“Yeah. It’s fine. Mr. Steele wants me to go with him for an off-site meeting.” The muted rhythm of heels on carpet drew my gaze to Lianna’s approach.
“Off-site meeting? What meeting?” she asked.
“He didn’t say.”
She frowned and veered into Konni’s office.
The door shut.
I stared at it for a second, wondering what Konni would tell her. Hopefully nothing, but I wasn’t sure how close they were, despite his multi-name explanation.
“If he said you’re leaving for a meeting, he won’t cancel it,” Edi said.
“What?” I tore my gaze from Konni’s closed office door.
“Lianna might act as if she controls him, but she doesn’t.”
Interesting, but not really my concern.
The door opened a moment later. Lianna stalked out and left without looking back at us.
“Ready, Ms. Elmantas?” Konni asked as he emerged from his office.
I nodded and hurried to join him.
People tracked our progress through the different departments, and whispers followed in our wake.
It didn’t matter that I was walking half a step behind Konni and keeping a professional distance.
In their eyes, I’d committed a corporate crime, and Steele Corp’s statement exonerating me and my continued presence here, now so close to Konni, just meant I was already in bed with him.
In bed but without the in-bed good time.
So unfair.
We rode the elevator down in silence and walked out the main lobby doors, where a car waited at the curb. The driver got out and opened the back door for us.
Konni indicated I should go first. He did that thing where he put his hand up to prevent me from hitting my head as I got in. Why did I like that so much?
When I glanced at him, he motioned for me to slide over.
“I could have gone around,” I said, making room for Konni to join me.
“It’s a busy street and safer if you stay on the sidewalk.”
I glanced at the poor driver who’d walked around the car—where Konni hadn’t wanted me to walk—to get in again.
The older man grinned at me. “I’m used to watching for cars, Miss.”
“Sophia, this is Harlow, my family’s driver, who has nothing to do with Steele Corporation.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Sophia.”
“Likewise,” I said, glad Konni had introduced him the way he had before realizing what it meant.
Konni knew me well enough to understand that I would have kept a strict distance around a company driver. Just how well did Konni know me?
Harlow merged with traffic, and I turned slightly toward Konni, who was watching me.
“You’re feeling pretty smug right now, aren’t you?”
A small grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“To get dinner and confer with Felix about expectations before the meeting.”
I nodded, glanced out the window, and felt my stomach tighten when I realized we were headed in the same direction as Seventeen Twenty-One.
“Konni, I was serious. You can’t be there.”
“I won’t be. We’ll have dinner in my private room, talk to Felix, and then the two of you will leave while I stay nearby. No one will ever know I was there.”
I huffed out a breath but didn’t say anything. As compromises went, it was a decent one. I just hated having to compromise. However, it was Konni’s lawyer I was using for free to deal with my dad. And I had no doubt my dad would try to pull something, necessitating the need for one.
“Does your silence mean I’ve pushed too far or that you agree?” Konni asked.
His question shifted the direction of my thoughts.
“Does the reason really matter?”
“More than you know.”
It was my cue to retreat. But I didn’t. I wanted to understand why he was so persistent.
“Why do you think I’m your mate, Konni?”
He studied me for a moment before answering.
“My kind are like the wolves. It’s all about the scent. When I found yours, a feeling of rightness settled over me. It wasn’t like anything I’d ever experienced.”
“What if you’re wrong? What if it was just a sinus infection or something?”
His chuckle filled the car. Harlow cleared his throat loudly. I wasn’t sure whether it was to hide his laughter, too, or to make Konni realize I wasn’t as amused as he was.
“I’m not wrong, Sophia.”
I gave him a we’ll see look and stared out the window until we arrived.
The entrance of Seventeen Twenty-One was just as impressive as it was over a week ago, and I wanted to be there just as much as the last time.
Before the valet reached the car, Konni got out and offered me his hand. I peered through the windows first, looking for my dad before taking it. Then I practically dragged Konni to the door.
My focus was on getting inside before anyone spotted us together, so the soft rumble coming from behind me didn’t immediately register. When it did, I glanced back and saw Konni’s golden eyes gazing at our joined hands like a love-struck psychopath.
Or maybe just a dragon.
I tried to release him, but his fingers tightened around mine.
“Cut it out, or I’m not going in with you,” I whispered in warning.
“You started this,” he said a second before I was in his arms—at the entrance of Seventeen Twenty-One—and he was rubbing his cheek against mine and rumbling loudly.
I kneed his thigh hard.
He grunted and released me.
I scowled at him.
He looked like he was contemplating ways to get me back into his arms.
“I will bite you, Konni.”
He grinned, hope and anticipation lighting his gaze.
“There’s definitely something wrong with you.”
Turning on my heel, I went inside. His footsteps echoed behind me, and he caught my arm before I could approach the welcome desk.
“Our room is always ready for us. No need to check in.”
He tucked my hand around his arm and led me down the left hallway then up some stairs to the second floor.
A woman was waiting for us at the top.
“Welcome, Mr. Steele.”
As she walked with us down a hallway that had doors spaced much farther apart than the hall where I’d dined with my dad, she said, “Everything you’ve requested is in your room. We’ve made the kitchen and wait staff aware of your time constraints. Please notify us if you need anything else.”
“Thank you.”
She opened the door to Konni’s dining room and smiled at me as he drew me inside. The door shut softly behind us as I looked around.
Without question, Konni’s private dining room was a huge upgrade from Dad’s.
A large circular table with a lifted, rotating top took up most of the space on the right side of the room.
On the left side, a sectional leather sofa with colorful throw pillows ran along almost the entire wall.
Several low tables were positioned in front of it.
And the walls had actual decor, vibrant and luxurious, while still making the space feel cozy and welcoming.
“Would you like to sit at the table or the lounge?” Konni asked.
“The lounge,” I said, since the table was ridiculously big for two people.
He led me to the sofa, still not releasing my hand.
“It’s going to be difficult to eat like this,” I said.
“No, it won’t.” He sat first and tugged me forward so I fell onto his lap. He smirked as he cradled me. “I’ll feed you like this.”
He was ridiculous…ly cute. Damn him.
His scent wrapped around me. It wasn’t cologne or anything particularly identifiable, but something that just smelled good. Welcoming. Enticing. I wanted to lean in and breathe him in.
Keep it together, Soph.
“That’s going to be awkward for your lawyer,” I said.
Konni’s humor grew. “He’ll have to adjust.”
“Or you can let me up, and we can act like the two business professionals we are.”
“Or we could…” His gaze dipped to my mouth.
Oh, the things I wanted to do.
He started to rumble, and I realized my hand had settled on his shoulder.
Fuck it. Just a little taste wouldn’t hurt anything.
I shifted on his lap, bringing my mouth closer to his neck, and inhaled like I’d wanted to.
“You smell good,” I said. “What is it?”
“Pheromones. Dragons release them to help entice their mates. Is it working?”
It was, but I wasn’t about to admit that.
“Can you control it?”
“No.”
It was reason enough for me to get off his lap—and to reconsider my job at Steele—but I didn’t do either.
Instead, I let myself have what I wanted. Just a little taste.
My lips skimmed his neck, and I licked his skin lightly. That led to a trailing kiss. Several, actually, as I blazed a path to his Adam’s apple. His rumble grew more pronounced, vibrating from his chest and teasing my palms.