Falling Under You: A Fixed Trilogy Novella (1001 Dark Nights) Read Free

myself for the eruption of emotion, willing my assistant to ignore what I’d said and go away instead of attempting to console me.
    He didn’t try to console me. Instead, without missing a beat, he answered my hypothetical question earnestly. “Yes, actually, I do know what that’s like.”
    My breath caught, understanding instantly whom he was talking about. There was only one person he worked alongside, and before his current position, he’d been in graduate school.
    For the second time that night, my knees felt ready to give out. Something fluttered in my belly that I wanted to dismiss but couldn’t.
    Carefully—cautiously—I twisted my head back toward Boyd. I had no comeback. No words as I studied the strong sweep of his jaw, the intent tilt of his chin. Boyd had feelings for me ? It wasn’t something I’d ever seriously considered. Sure I liked to imagine what he looked like naked, but that was feelings-free. I was eight years his senior. I was his boss. It wasn’t smart to fancy a coworker, especially when the company emphatically disallowed fraternization between management and subordinates.
    Oh. Wait.
    Hudson could very well have had similar thoughts about me.
    And I’d been hurt by his brush-off, which was reason enough for me to hear Boyd out.
    But also, more enticing even, I wanted to hear more because of how his revelation made me feel. Unsteady and nervous and turned on.
    It was a bad idea, though. A wickedly delicious bad idea.
    Boyd interrupted my internal debate. “You’re thinking too much.”
    My lungs felt pressed as I tried to keep an even tone to my response. “That’s what I do.”
    “Right now you need to stop thinking and listen.” Again, his voice was weighted with a dominance that I had to obey.
    “Okay.”
    He bored his gaze further into me. “Hudson Pierce is not the man for you.”
    My mouth gaped. I’d never said I was talking about Hudson. I worked with a predominately male staff—had I been more obvious than I’d thought?
    Boyd didn’t give me time to dwell. “You’re attracted to him because there’s a part of your life that needs a strong, controlling man, but a man like him would never let you be the equally strong, independent woman that you are. He would always try to top you in your career and your relationships with others and you would always be unfulfilled.”
    His words were tiny pins, their truth pricking at the bubble of a fantasy I’d created about my employer and myself. I tried to hold the air in, covering the holes. “But maybe that’s what I need.”
    “It is what you need.” His raw conviction made me dizzy. “But only in well-defined areas.”
     “Such as?”
    “The bedroom.” He hadn’t moved closer, yet there suddenly seemed to be no space between us, and the air crackled with an energy that shot hot lasers to the skin inside my thighs. “There you need a man who will bring you to your knees.”
    “That’s very”— accurate— “vague.” My heart thudded like a drum in my ears, a thousand beats seeming to fill each second of time.
    He chuckled, a sound that itched at my desire like sandpaper. “Imagine this then. Imagine a man who never interferes with your business decisions. He stands by them. He takes your advice and direction readily. He admires the way that you take care of your siblings and everyone else around you. The way you keep everything in order and structured.
    “Then you bring him here, to this company party. After you’ve fulfilled your obligations and you’re ready, when you give the signal, he takes over.”
    “Takes over how?” My voice was so breathy that my words came out as no more than a whisper.
    He lifted a finger up to shush me, landing millimeters in front of my mouth without actually touching it. “I’m getting there.”
    It took every ounce of strength not to press closer, not to let my lips brush across his skin.
    His eyes twinkled as though recognizing and delighting in my struggle. He