Chapter 1 : Big Mistake
Sarah's POV
When it comes right down to it, there should be no thoughts about him at all. Not even when I stood lonely in the towering, glass-walled lobby of Dante Enterprises, waiting for my interview. Not when my hands laid slick with sweat, clutching my resume for dear life. Oh, and not after my body was put through torture by what happened last night.
I swallow hard, shifting my feet as I cast glances around the sleek intimidating space. Polished black marble lined the walls, and the light polishing the floor glowed just above me. Everything in this place screamed power, like the man who owned it.
That was not the man whom I slept with.
Not even close.
I inhaled shakily and recalled Mr. Rude's words from this morning. One night, one reckless, foolish mistake. I won't ever see him again.
And then someone's call of my name suddenly interrupted my whirlwind thoughts.
"Ms. Whitmore?"
I jumped and turned to the receptionist, who hardly bothered to look up from her computer. With a nod, she gestured toward the huge double doors behind her.
"Mr. Dante will see you now."
I nodded and smoothed my blouse, straightened my skirt, and laid back the nerves in my mind. This position, between executive assistant, could be the one I point to for turning my life around—proving myself. I won't let one dumb mistake made last night happen.
One step at a time, Sarah.
I swung open the doors and walked forward.
The entire world stopped.
The view is vast, flanked with walls of floor-to-ceiling windows over the Manhattan skyline. In the middle of this room is a sleek black desk; behind it stands a man, wearing a crisp suit whose cuttingness of his jaw contrasts the blue of his burning eyes full of knowing amusement-
Lucian.
That man ruined me last night.
The man who whispered "Angel" against my skin as he ruined me.
The man I should never, ever meet again.
Except now?
He is my new boss.
And judging by the slow, lethal smirk stretching across his lips,
He knew.
He fucking knew.
"Well," Lucian murmurs, voice dripping with sin, "look who walked into my office."
A shiver ran through me down my spine. My fingers were gripping onto my resume tighter and tighter, while frosting their words went through my head.
No. This isn't happening. This can't be happening.
I open my mouth to speak, but no words came out.
Lucian's smirk widened, his gaze running slowly over me, dragging out and deliberately tracing his memories of all that he had put me through last night.
And judging by the glint in his eyes, he had savored every second of it.
"You look like you've seen a ghost, Angel."
I gasped at that. Angel. The same word he had whispered low in my ear as he pinned me against that hotel bed.
My stomach clenches. The heat and humiliation swamp me all at once.
"Uh-there's been a mistake," I manage to stammer.
With a casual tilt of his chair, Lucian settled down just as effortlessly as he had commanded the situation last night. "Oh?" His tone is teasing, challenging. Dangerous.
I nod fast. "I um, should go. This was unexpected—"
"Sit."
He ordered it as if it were a physical blow.
I should walk out of here. I should run. Instead, my legs move of their own accord, complying with his order before I even get a chance to think it through.
Lucian watches me intently as I sit down in the chair across from his desk. The atmosphere is thick, and the silence stretches like a live wire between us.
"You're here for the executive assistant position, correct?"
I nod stiffly, pulse hammering.
"And you are fully aware of what the job entails?"
I make myself breathe, "Yes, Mr. Dante."
Something dark flickers behind his eyes. "Mr. Dante," he repeats, as though tasting the words. His lips curl into a grin somewhere between a smirk and a snarl. "That's not what you were calling me last night."
My heart stuttered to a halt.
Heat rushed to my cheeks. "I-"
"Something about moaning my name." Lucian tilted his head, a predator surveying very much alive prey.
I wish I would die, right here, right now.
I nearly choked on my resume as I gripped it so tightly that my knuckles turned white. "This is inappropriate, Mr. Dante."
His eyes darkened. "No, Angel. What was inappropriate was you leaving my bed without saying goodbye."
I swallowed hard. The walls closed in around me.
And the worst part?
I feel hot.
Because the brutal memories of last night absolutely assailed me.
YESTERDAY EVENING
"One drink. One dance. One bad decision. That's all I'm asking."
Brielle, my best friend, smirks and downs another tequila shot, and I narrow my eyes at her.
"I don't do one-night stands," I say, stirring my drink.
"Dirty little but bitch, that's the problem. Do it just once and get it over with." He leaned in closer, her eyes sparkling. "Find some bad boy. Then wreck you, just once."
I roll my eyes, but her words echo inside me.
One night. One reckless decision.
Perhaps she's right. Maybe it's time for me to step down from this pedestal I have kept for so long of being a good girl, untouched.
"Sarah—"
I catch my breath.
Because that voice? Deep. Sinful. Dangerous.
Then I turn. And every muscle inside me freezes.
Pure danger looms before me. Tall and built broader than my laughable view of myself, black suit probably costs more than my tuition, icy blue eyes penetrate his dark, fixed on me.
And the way he's looking at me now?
As though I've been preliminarily selected and stamped his approval for his own—already paying for me.
My pulse hammers. The knees threaten to buckle.
He smirked, approaching me, fingers brushing the rim of this whiskey glass.
"What is your name, Angel?"
My mouth was dry. I could hardly say it.
"S-Sarah."
His grin widened. "Sarah," he said slowly, as if he were tasting it. He lifted his finger to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
"You look far too innocent to be here."
I swallowed. "I am."
Lucian's eyes became dark as he tilted his head, stroking my chin with his thumb.
"Perfect."
He crooked a finger. Come here.
And God help me, I did.
PRESENT DAY:
"Did you have a good time last night, Angel?" Lucian's voice poured like molten chocolate as it dragged me back into the present.
I clenched my jaws to lift my chin. "That was a mistake."
Lucian's expression sharpened. Cold. He drummed his fingers on the desk, and the glint in his eyes turned murderous.
"Was it?" Again he used the deep tone.
I probably shouldn't have, but I nodded, and my pulse raced.
Then silence reigned. Slowly, Lucian rose up.
The atmosphere changed.
I stiffened my spine against the chair as he walked beside the desk, so tall he bridged the distance between us.
"So let me get this straight," he articulated darkly, his tone silky. One hand on the armrest, therefore entrapping me.
"You gave me your body last night." His fingers glided along the contour of my jaw, violently jolting me awake from the shock.
"You let me ruin you." His breath against my ear was searing, causing my thighs to instinctively clench.
"And now you want to pretend it never happened?"
I couldn't breathe.
Lucian leaned in, lips nearly touching mine.
"Tell me," he breathed, Angel. "If it was such a mistake ... why are you still shaking?"