Beneath Her Bastard Boss

Chapter 159

Her brain was frying itself. He’s a man, right? Men get hard over anything and everything. A stiff breeze. A suggestive text. With Alexei, even a fly landing in the right spot. So, it means nothing. Right?

The way he was looking at her… that didn’t feel like nothing.

He had never made a move on her before… True, the invisible sign that appeared above her head with “Back Off” written on it might have something to do with it… She had never seen it, but both her sisters had told her it often appeared high, bright and in flashing neon. It didn’t really, but it was the vibe she gave off. It was a standing joke in their family.

But their cousin Laura was totally the opposite; she was a lifelong member of Sluts Are Us.

“Alexei,” she whispered, not sure if she was warning him or asking for something she couldn’t name.

He drew in a sharp breath at the sound of his name on her lips. His hand tightened on her waist, drawing her infinitesimally closer.

“We should stop,” she said, but made no move to pull away.

“Yes,” he agreed, his voice rough. “We should.”

Neither of them stopped dancing.

Around them, the music continued, people were oblivious to the silent battle taking place on the dance floor. Keira felt caught in a current, pulled toward something both terrifying and inevitable. This was not safe.

She’d set professional boundaries with Alexei. But those boundaries had never accounted for this. For the way her body responded to his

touch, for the electricity that sparked between them when his gaze met hers.

“The song’s ending,” he said, a hint of regret in his voice.

Reality crashed back in. Keira stepped back slightly, breaking the spell. “Good. I need a drink. A stiff one. Make it a bucket.”

His lips curved into a knowing smile. “Running away, Warner?”

“Tactical retreat,” she corrected, smoothing down her dress with hands that weren’t entirely steady. She just couldn’t look at him. “There’s a difference.”

the perfect prince once more. “Let me escort you to the

from very

lingering heat in her veins, the memory of his arousal against her, the dangerous way her body

Jines shouldn’t be crossed. She’d come to the gala as his assistant, nothing more. There was no

the bar. She ordered a whiskey neat, knocking it back in one swift

told the bartender, avoiding

line of sight, studying her

unresolved tension.

what happened on the dance floor-”

dance floor,” Keira cut him off. “Just some… biological reaction. Happens

“You felt it too.”

it. You’re a man. Men are basically walking hormones.

wasn’t just talking

felt a pull towards him, but she wasn’t going to admit that. “All I felt,” she said carefully,

jaw tightened. “That’s not what this

too quickly. “Just don’t make it weird. Monday morning, we go back to normal. You being all princely and demanding, me

the bartender discreetly move

said, voice dropping lower. “What’s

nothing between us,” she hissed, lowering her voice when a nearby couple glanced their way. “There’s you, there’s me,

closer, the heat of his body radiating

heart hammered against her ribs.

you’re afraid you might

not your plaything.” She set her glass down with more force than

eyebrows shot up. “Men like

waiting to serve their needs.” Her voice

“Keira.”

tonight, when suddenly you’ve got a

darkened. “You think I would destroy our working relationship

her arms. “Go put your power point into another woman’s socket, because I’m not buying what