AALIYA HAS BEEN ON my mind ever since the gala. I was determined to make her acquaintance again, but then the shooting happened and everything else took a backseat. Involving her in my life is definitely not safe for her; still, my body and brain don’t get that memo because now that she’s here, thrown in my path once more, I’m not sure I want to let her be.

She speaks of our dalliance in the library so casually as if she were impervious to it, when I know she was anything but. She screamed for me that night and she will scream for me again and again when I plunder that delicious body of hers. Every part of me welcomes that thought as I run my eyes over her.

The cream shift dress she’s wearing looks soft. It has a turtleneck with long sleeves and fits her chest snugly. It tapers on her narrow waist and then falls to just above her knees. Her perfectly shaped legs are tucked into brown thigh length boots, which give a glimpse of her thigh as she walks. I like the hint of pink on her lips and I love that her eyes are dark lined as usual. This morning her hair is tied up in a twist at her nape.

The same red shawl I’ve seen her in before is draped loosely around her neck. It fires my imagination with images of the red silk bound around her wrists. She’s gorgeous and I want her. But that has no standing on our current situation because I will never jeopardize my work over a woman.

“I don’t know you, Aaliya and I don’t work with strangers,” I tell her as politely as I can because none of this is her fault.

A flicker of some emotion crosses her face at my words but she blinks it away. She takes a step towards me. “Then perhaps you need to get to know me. Give me a chance, Damien. I am good at what I do. Spend this day with me, hear my ideas, see my work and at the end of today if you still think we’re not a right fit together, I will bow out.”

Her words sound sincere.

“Fine, let’s see how today goes. You’re already here and if you are as talented as you claim to be then who knows, perhaps we can make this project a success together. However, I’ll evaluate that only after I assess more of your work.”

“Thank you. That’s all I ask,” she responds.

Jonathan’s loud footsteps echo in the background. Entering the room, he looks from me to Aaliya and back at me before he asks, “Well, everything in order between you two?”