He quickly dresses, and I’m pleasantly surprised when he takes my hand, pulling me behind him from the bedroom and into the living room area. There is no sign of Rose, so I assume she is either staying the night with Jake or has stopped somewhere on the way home. Lucian surprises me further when he drops my hand and quickly walks to the table to pick up our leftover pizza and drink cans. He makes short work of throwing them in the trash. “Maybe I should be the one hiring you as a housekeeper.” This surprises a laugh out of him, and I smile in return.

His hand again takes mine, and I am pulled into his arms. His kiss this time feels more as if he is giving me comfort, rather than the fire of earlier. I think he is embarrassed by what happened and wants to make sure I’m not upset, which is sweet but unnecessary. I wrap my arms around his waist and hold him tight for a moment, giving him the reassurance I feel he needs. “Goodnight, baby,” he sighs against my neck. Pulling back, he raises a questioning brow. “I’ll see you in the morning?”

“Yep, I don’t have a class till after lunch. I can come for a few hours in the morning so you can show me around, and then I’ll be back in the afternoon.”

“What time shall I have Sam pick you up?” I’m helpless to suppress a giggle at his question. He looks for the world like someone who missed out on the joke and is running through the conversation in his head. I decide to put him out of his misery.

“I don’t think the cleaning lady typically gets chauffeured to and from work unless she is Cinderella. I have a car, and I’m driving myself. Besides, I need my car for my afternoon classes.”

Stubborn, Lucian insists. “Sam can drop you and pick you back up.” Shaking my head, I open the door and push him bodily through it.

“Don’t even think of sending your car. I’ll ignore it and drive myself anyway. Sam doesn’t want to deal with that.” I see he wants to argue but instead turns on his heels, looking like a spoiled child for a moment as he mutters under his breath and stalks off. Declaring victory in our battle will have to wait until morning; I’m not confident he won’t ignore me and send the damn car anyway.

Chapter Seven

Lia

“What’s going on with you? I thought you were going to stroke out when you ran out of here yesterday.”

In a pathetic attempt to change the subject, I ask, “So, how was dinner with Jake’s parents? Since you did the walk of shame this morning, not even an hour ago, I’m assuming it went well?”

As I suspect, she is not that easily deterred. “It was fine, but let’s get back to you. Did you really leave your job at Date Night? How did you get another job so soon? I had no idea you were even looking? What is the position? What will…”

“Whoa…take a breath, for God’s sake.” I set aside my bowl of cereal and prepare to give her enough information to satisfy her curiosity. Shit, there is no way I can tell her the truth; she just wouldn’t understand. How could she; I don’t even know what I’m doing. “Er…well, I didn’t really apply for another job. You know the date I had with the guy I sent you the picture of?”

She thinks about it for a moment before smiling. “Oh, yeah, the hot one. I couldn’t say a lot in front of Jake, but seriously, what a freaking hot piece of a wet dream.” My laugh comes out more like a snort. Rose has a way with words, and ogling men is her favorite pastime; she is like June Cleaver with a dirty mind.

In this instance, she is right on the money. Clearing my throat, I continue, “Anyway, he owns Quinn Software, and he sort of offered me a job.” About the only things true within that sentence are Quinn and job; Rose doesn’t really need to know the rest at this point.

“Shut up! You lucky bitch, I can’t believe that.” Wiggling her eyebrows she asks, “Does Mr. Wet Dream provide any extra benefits?” I feel my cheeks bloom, and I hope she assumes it’s just embarrassment and not guilt.

“Don’t get excited. I’m just his new housekeeper.” Unless I want to dress up every day to clean Lucian’s house, I have to confess to my new position. She would think it odd if I wore shorts to an office job.

“Yikes,” she visibly cringes. “Why in the world would he offer you that kind of job? You probably make more money with Date Night than sweeping some hottie’s floor.”

Feeling the need to defend Lucian, I say, “He pays really well and is willing to let me keep a flexible schedule.” The memory of Lucian’s cock pounding inside my pussy has me jerking like I’m having some sort of attack. Rose gives me a curious look before shrugging her shoulders.

“If someone is going to be grabbing your ass, it might as well be a babe.” Using her best stern tone, she adds, “I expect you to be able to answer a burning question tonight: boxers or briefs.” I catch myself at the last minute before blurting out the answer I have already discovered. Looking at my watch, I grab my purse and rush toward the door. Mr. Wet Dream is waiting, and suddenly I need to see him. Skipping the elevator, I jog down the stairs and am relieved to see Sam is nowhere in sight; maybe there’s hope for Lucian after all.

The area around Lucian’s home is busy and congested. I am absurdly grateful for the parking pass his secretary Cindy has given me. because without it, I would have been walking from a mile away. Instead, I pull in beside a sleek, black Range Rover. Obviously, it belongs to Lucian since it’s one of four spaces with his apartment number. On the other side of the Rover, there is some sort of black sports car. The man certainly likes that color. There is no sign of the Mercedes Sam drives.

There is an elevator right off the parking garage, and I use the card Cindy has given me to access the penthouse. Somehow, referring to Lucian’s home as an apartment is probably a gross understatement. When the elevator stops, I step out into a hallway with a double set of doors directly in front. A quick glance shows no other doorways, so I am reasonably sure this is the right place. A sudden case of nerves immobilizes me, and I shift uncertainly from one foot to another, trying to force myself to ring the buzzer.

When the door opens, I jump back, blinking in surprise. Holy moly, Lucian—in nothing but dress pants and a sexy grin—stands before me. I can’t take my eyes off his muscular chest and those flat nipples I licked just hours before. He clears his throat and an apology is on the tip of my tongue before I am quickly pulled in the doorway. “I was just pouring a cup of coffee; would you like one?” I manage to squeak some kind of agreement out as I follow him through a massive foyer and into a bright and airy kitchen. The space is made up of granite, stainless steel, and gleaming hardwood floors.