18. Lila

18

LILA

I n the midst of all of the romance with Felipe and the surprising breakthroughs with Miles, I almost forgot about the not so great place things had left off between me and Aaron Pierce. But now that it was a day when I was supposed to go watch Jamie, the reality that I didn't know where I stood with him was staring me in the face.

I knew exactly what I had to do about it.

Well, I hadn't had any idea what to do about it until I talked it through with Felipe. We still texted constantly, though I hadn't seen him since our date, and in the face of my anxieties about losing my job, he encouraged me to confront Aaron about it directly.

Felipe: You are a very powerful woman, Lila Dawson. Pierce respects power. Go demand an apology & your job back!

So that was exactly what I was going to do.

Mr. Pierce worked the best in the mornings. I'd learned that from the time I'd spent in his employ so far. So, if I wanted to catch him off guard, my best course of action was to show up at his office at the earliest part of his work day. A lot of his other employees wouldn't be there as early as him, either, so that ensured some privacy in case I inevitably burst into tears and embarrassed myself.

Conflict wasn't really my thing. But hey, neither was sleeping with billionaires, so maybe I was a new woman now. No more sweet little virgin Lila.

The offices of Pierce Enterprises looked exactly like I expected, except for the general lack of activity at his hour. The subway had been surprisingly sparse, too. But Aaron's assistant was manning the sleek desk outside his personal office, talking into a Bluetooth headset. I gave her a perfunctory smile and wave, and clearly, she recognized me as the nanny, because she waved me right into the corner office with his name on the door.

He looked up from his work the second I came in, his handsome face less intimidating when it wore a surprised expression. "Lila? What in the?—"

"I need to talk to you, Mr. Pierce," I said curtly, marching right up to the very front edge of his desk. Even when he was sitting down, I didn't have a height advantage over him. Maybe I should have worn heels just for the confidence boost. But instead, I propped my hands on my hips and puffed out my chest.

"Now isn't really a good?—"

"It's the only time," I told him. Adrenaline seemed to pulse through me, bolstering my words. "I'm supposed to watch Jamie today, and I can't do that until we talk about that phone call the other night. Because you made me worry I'm losing my job over something completely unreasonable."

His face turned cold, his brows raising in his disbelief at my audacity, and that somehow made me angrier. I'd never had a very hot temper, but this man brought out all kinds of fiery feelings in my blood.

"You have no right to treat me that way. To treat anyone that way. I've been a great nanny for Jamie?—"

"I know that," he tried to interrupt, but I kept going.

"And I've been flexible around your insane work schedule the whole time, not to mention how I was willing to start right away."

"I appreciate?—"

I raised my volume to keep him from breaking in. "I deserve to be off the clock completely on the nights I've requested off. You don't have complete control over my time, my life, just because I work for you.

"I'm young, and I have a life. Or at least I'm trying to have one. And just because you're old and you've already lived yours?—"

"Lila," he seemed to warn me, and I backtracked instantly, perhaps overcorrecting.

"Not that you're a grandpa! Obviously, you've got the whole silver fox thing going on." I ignored the way his expression grew more interested at that, and the embarrassment that burned my cheeks. "But I'm only twenty-two, and I'm not about to work my entire youth away. Even you can't possibly pay me enough to do that."

His expression looked like he wanted to say, Really? Try me. He moved forward in his seat as if moving to stand, and maybe that made me panic a little, like he was going to shut this little tirade down before I'd said everything I wanted to through physical force. He did start to move slowly toward me like I'd feared. My mouth kept running, my words blending together in an anxious, angry stream.

"It was—it was so disrespectful of you to talk to me that way, and honestly, I think you owe me an apology and a guarantee that you're not firing me, if not also a raise. Because if I'm gonna be expected to—" With a final stride of his long legs, he was right in front of me, and I faltered. "To cater to your every whim, I?—"

And then, his hand was covering my mouth, effectively shutting me up.

It took a long moment for me to process what had just happened. That Aaron Pierce was touching me, and that he'd done something so utterly juvenile, so disrespectful as to physically stop me from talking. The indignation rushed over me in a heated wave, but at the same time, my body reacted with a different kind of heat. Why did my core seem to melt at this subtle act of dominance? And why, if he was just trying to shut me up, had his other hand found its way to the small of my back, where it was insistently pressing me against him?

My eyes were surely the size of dinner plates, and despite the slight embarrassment that contributed to my blush, they were locked onto his. Those dark, sultry irises were usually so obscure, but now, I was so sure that he was watching me with the same uncontrollable lust burning through his veins. My breaths came rapidly, and I was sure he could feel it against his hand, could maybe feel the race of my heart, too. I'd never felt such palpable sexual tension before in my life. My body was screaming for him to release me from his hold, but only so I could more easily get my hands on him.

"Now." Aaron spoke after what felt like a lifetime, his voice low and husky. "If I take my hand off your mouth, are you going to be a good girl and let me explain myself?"

Oh. Oh. Just the sound of those two words of condescending praise, good girl, had my knees threatening to turn to jelly. I could feel a rush of liquid heat between my legs, my nipples hardening to painful points beneath my clothes. A vivid fantasy fell into my brain—me on my knees in front of this very desk, sucking Aaron's cock as he called me a good girl again.

I almost forgot that he'd asked me a question. And normally, maybe I would have been more angry that he'd taken his chance to speak with force. But as stunned and turned on as I was, all I could do was nod.

Slowly, he released me, as if he worried I'd collapse into a horny puddle without his strong arms holding me upright. Or maybe it was harder to let me go than he wanted to admit. He did, though, freeing my mouth and taking a small step back from me. We weren't touching anymore, but we were still within a breath of touching again.

"First, I'll say that I had no intention of firing you. Your job is secure."

Oh, thank God. I hadn't expected him to say that, especially after I'd marched into his office to give him a piece of my mind, but I would take it.

"Next, I'll say that you're right. I owe you an apology, and an explanation," he went on, surprising me even more. Aaron Pierce did not strike me as the type of man who often had to admit he was wrong, and I reluctantly respected him a little more because he was willing to do so with someone anyone else of his station in life might think of as lesser.

"As I'm sure you've gathered, my job can be very demanding. Lately, it has been more so, since partnering with Rojas and Kramer has opened so many new doors for the company. I've been… spread a bit thin. I have to admit that I'm not great at delegating." He cracked a half-smile, the self-deprecation in it almost endearing. "It was the stress getting to me that led me to treat you so unfairly. It isn't an excuse, and I know I should never take out my own bullshit on someone else, much less someone like you."

I wrinkled my brows, unsure what exactly he meant by someone like me and maybe still in a fighting mood. But he went on to explain, "Someone in my employ who has saved my ass again and again."

"Oh," I let out, and his face softened into a barely-there smile.

"It's true," he reiterated. "You're fantastic with Jamie. A goddamn miracle worker, if I'm honest. And that night when I was alone with him… well, let's just say that after all of my career success, I'm no longer used to failing. It was because I knew you were the one with the skills to solve the problem that I felt desperate enough to call you, and I had no regard for what you may have had planned for your evening. So let me say that I'm very, very sorry for expecting you to come in on your night off, and if it's even possible, I'm sorrier for how abysmally I spoke to you on the phone. If you'll accept my apology, or even if you won't, I hope you'll at least allow me a chance to make it up to you, to show you just how much I appreciate all you've done for me and for my nephew."

There must have been something seriously wrong with me, some floodgate of depravity released by the mind-blowing sex I'd had with Felipe so recently, because my brain immediately went to the filthiest possible place. My body, still amped-up by the sexy take-charge contact he'd made with me moments before, wanted nothing more than to ask him to show his appreciation by fucking me absolutely senseless.

Of course, I'd never been good at hiding my feelings, and there was no reason for arousal to be the exception. He had to be able to tell what I was thinking. I could have sworn he was going to answer my horniest prayers when he opened his mouth again.

But of course, life wasn't some bad porno. So instead, embarrassing me to no end that I'd ever thought he'd say anything else, Aaron Pierce said, "I'm willing to give you a significant pay bump, and even a bonus. Think of it as repayment for your pain and suffering at my hands."

A few weeks ago, the prospect of yet more money would have had me jumping for joy, but now my stupid newly-awakened sex drive was disappointed. Please, don't mention your hands. My poor libido can't take it. I felt my cheeks flush bright strawberry red, and my lips barely parted on a tiny, sharp breath. Aaron's dark gaze fell to my lips, and for some godforsaken reason, I licked them.

I might as well have had a giant flashing sign over my head that said Fuck me against your desk right this second!

I could feel the scrutiny in Aaron's gaze like I was some poor amoeba squirming under a microscope. He was a cunning man, never missing a thing. So it shouldn't have surprised me when he called me out on it.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Dawson. Did you have a better repentance in mind?"

"No!" I said too quickly. I cleared my throat, ignoring the way I felt my embarrassed blush creeping all the way down to my chest. "No, I—of course not. That's very generous of you."

"Then why do you look so… forlorn?" he asked, staring me down like a predator with his prey. "Surely, you weren't hoping for something other than money from a supposed silver fox?"

Oh, fuck. Of course he hadn't forgotten that little slip-up, no matter how badly I'd wanted to do just that. If there were a way for all of the blood in my body to rush into my skin and cause some kind of major medical crisis, it would have been happening now. "I–I didn't mean… or, well, I guess?—"

Aaron moved with fluidity and grace that gave me no choice but to respond. In seconds, he'd nearly closed the gap between us again, pivoting me with him so that my hips were pressed into the edge of his desk and his strong arms were caging me in on either side, his hands gripping the edge of the wood with vise grips. His face, his mouth, was so close to mine that I couldn't breathe.

"If you want me to make it up to you another way, you can tell me," he nearly purred. My breathing was ragged, my chest rising and falling in such a way that he could clearly see my struggle. "I'd never want to offend you again, but I think we both know what you really want."

My silence, the way I licked my lips again and held his gaze, told him he was right. Without speaking a word, I'd clearly communicated to Aaron Pierce how badly I wanted his body.

"I'm very skilled at giving a woman pleasure," he told me, and God, I believed it. "And if I'm honest, I've wanted to taste you since the first day we met. But I won't do it unless you tell me you want it, too."

Aaron pressed his hips forward so I could feel the bulge of his partial erection. It pressed right against my pussy, and I gasped. Any doubt in my mind that I would follow his orders, ask him to repent for his sins by making me come in whatever way he wanted, disappeared. I swallowed my pride and said, "I… I want it. Please."

He didn't make me wait any more. In the next second, Aaron Pierce's mouth was meeting mine in a hard, passionate kiss that seared me down to the bone.