“I’m a good fucking boss,” I continue. “I want all of my employees to be happy. I want them to be satisfied. I want them to know that they’re in good hands. And above all, I want them to ask for what they want.” My lips are so close to the skin of her neck that there are a few moments of accidental contact. “Ask for what you want, Jenny. If what you want is to keep torturing me, then do it. Walk around the office all day like you can’t tell you’re driving me crazy. Ask me to go in the pool again and pretend it’s only for photos that you’re never going to use.” An expression flashes across her face then, so quickly it’s gone before I can read what it is. “I don’t think you want that. I think you want more than that. But maybe you’re not willing to admit it.”

Her pulse hammers beneath the pad of my thumb. “I never said that.”

“You never said much of anything except get in the pool, Roman. Wear this swimsuit, Roman. Don’t watch me as I dive under the water and then climb out again, Roman.”

“Please.”

It’s one word delivered on an exhale, so soft it could be carried away by the breeze, but we’re so close that it lands on my lips instead.

The first time I kiss Genevieve Starlight, who has transformed herself into the irresistible Jenny London, she tastes like possibility and summer and wine. The first time a tiny moan escapes her throat, I swallow it whole. She parts her lips and lets me in to explore like she’s been waiting her whole life for this. I’ve been waiting my whole life for this, and I didn’t even know it.

Her arms snake up around my neck, holding tight like she’s dangling from the balcony and not standing with her feet firmly planted. I release her jaw but only so I can put my hands back where they’re aching to be—at that sweet curve leading from her waist to her hips. I’ve been seeing it in my dreams ever since that damned yoga class and I know it now. I know that I can double down on being in charge in the office and let go of some control when it comes to her.

Breaking my own rules has never tasted so sweet.

My own lungs betray me, forcing me to come up for air. “God.” It’s the cleanest, clearest breath I’ve ever taken. Jenny leans back in my arms, trusting me not to let her fall. She looks a little dazed. “That should make it easier.”

She wrinkles her nose, confusion intruding on her expression. “Make what easier?”