The mirror betrayed me.
I stood in front of it that morning, blouse buttoned, pencil skirt hugging my hips, blazer sharp across my shoulders. Professional. Immaculate. But the woman staring back wasn't composed. She was raw, flushed, her eyes still carrying the shadows of last night.
My lips still tingled from Liam's kisses. My thighs clenched at the memory of him inside me. I hated myself for it. I hated how my body betrayed my mind. I should have been disgusted, angry, at least resistant. But I wasn't.
I was starving for more.
The elevator ride up was too quiet, too smooth, too fast. The penthouse floor opened like it always did glass walls, marble floors, a fortress of wealth. But the moment I saw him standing there, framed by the Manhattan skyline, my chest tightened. Liam Knight, my boss, my sin.
His gaze lingered on me, slow and deliberate, as if he was already peeling away the clothes I had so carefully chosen.
"Miss Blake," he said, voice like velvet over steel. "You're late."
I wasn't. I knew it. The clock knew it. But Liam's time wasn't measured in minutes. It was measured in control.
"I came straight here from the lower office," I replied evenly, refusing to let my voice shake.
"Excuses," he murmured, brushing past me. His cologne hit me like a storm…..expensive, sharp, addictive. "Follow me. You'll be assisting in today's merger discussion."
Again?
A merger. High stakes. This was supposed to be business. But with Liam, nothing was ever just business.
The conference room was a fishbowl of glass, long table gleaming under the light. Executives in suits filled the chairs, papers laid neatly in front of them. I took my place beside Liam, trying to steady my breathing.
And then it happened.
His hand slid under the table, brushing against my knee. A light touch. Too light. Almost accidental. But then it stayed. Fingers tracing up, slow, deliberate, climbing my thigh beneath the tablecloth.
I nearly gasped. My pen scratched too hard against the paper, ink blotting the page. My body jolted like a live wire, but I forced myself still, nails digging into my palm.
He was watching me. Not the documents, not the executives. Me. Testing me.
His fingers pushed higher. My thighs trembled, every nerve lit up. I wanted to push him away and I wanted to drag him closer also.
"Miss Blake?" one of the executives asked suddenly, drawing my attention. My head snapped up, heat flooding my cheeks.
"Yes," I answered quickly, praying my voice didn't sound broken. "The numbers align with projections."
They nodded. No one saw. No one knew. Except Liam.
The meeting dragged on, each second torturous as his hand teased, retreated, then returned. By the time it ended, my skin was fever-hot, my breath shallow.
When the last man left, Liam leaned back in his chair, eyes dark with wicked amusement.
"Control is everything, Miss Blake," he said softly. "You did well."
Then he stood, buttoning his suit jacket, and walked to his office. He didn't look back.
But I followed. I couldn't stop myself.
The door closed behind me, locking with a soft click. The tension snapped.
"Why do you do this to me?" I whispered, the question torn from my throat.
Liam turned slowly, his expression unreadable, his tie loosened just enough to expose the hard line of his throat. He moved closer, every step heavy with intent.
"Because I can," he said.
And then his mouth was on mine.
It wasn't gentle. It wasn't careful. His lips crashed against mine with the kind of hunger that devoured every rational thought I had left. My back hit the desk, papers scattering. His hand tangled in my hair, yanking my head back just enough for his mouth to trail fire down my throat.
I moaned, the sound spilling out of me without permission. His hand slid under my blouse, palming my breast, thumb circling until my knees buckled.
"You're mine here," he growled against my skin. "Even at work. Especially at work."
Buttons popped. Clothes became obstacles, tossed aside with reckless urgency. He bent me back over the desk, spreading me open for him like I was his private possession.
The city was right outside those glass walls, but in that moment, it was only him. Only us. His mouth, his hands, his body claiming me with no hesitation.
"Say it," he demanded, his voice rough in my ear. "Say you belong to me."
"I….." The word stuck, pride choking me. But then he thrust into me, and all I could do was cry out his name.
"Yes," I gasped, nails raking his back. "I'm yours."
And the world disappeared.
Liam's POV
She didn't even realize it yet. She thought she was resisting me, thought her spine was steel and her heart untouchable. But Alicia Blake was already mine.
From the moment she walked into my building, I knew. She carried herself like she didn't belong here, like she was forcing herself into shoes too big for her feet. But I saw the fire in her eyes. The hunger she tried to bury.
And I made it my mission to bring it out.
In the conference room, I watched her break in silence. Her thighs trembled under my touch, her pen shook in her hand, but she never pulled away. That was the beauty of it she wanted to resist, but her body betrayed her.
When she followed me into my office, I knew I had her. She could have walked away. She didn't.
Now, with her spread across my desk, her cries filling the air, I felt the satisfaction of absolute possession. Her body clung to mine, every gasp, every arch of her back fueling my control.
She wasn't like the others. The women who came to me knew the rules, accepted the boundaries. Alicia didn't. She fought them. She tested them.
And it made conquering her even sweeter.
Her nails raked across my shoulders, her voice breaking as she whispered, "I'm yours."
The words were gasoline. I thrust harder, faster, until the sound of her cries blurred with the pounding of my own heartbeat. She was trembling, breaking apart under me, and I knew this was only the beginning.
Because Alicia Blake wasn't going to be just another night.
She was going to be my new addicted life and habits.
When it was over, when her body lay shuddering beneath mine, I pressed a kiss to her swollen lips, softer this time. Almost gentle.
Then I leaned close, my breath hot against her ear.
"Tonight," I whispered, "you'll see what it really means to belong to me."
Her eyes widened, fear and desire warring in their depths. She didn't know what awaited her. She didn't understand the world I was about to drag her into.
But she would.
And when she did, she'd never escape.