“What do you want from me?” she asked.

He stared at her. His gaze went to her lips then back to her eye.

She waited.

“Well, first, I’d like you to kiss me.”

She burst out laughing. “Are you insane?”

“No. You know who I am and why I came here. I didn’t hold anything back from you. I didn’t hide. I’ve been open, honest, and this is who I am. You can hate me all you want, but it’s not going to change anything. I want you, Petra. I promise I won’t ever lie to you again.”

She didn’t move as he waded through the water. They were both at the shallow end, and she made no move to cover herself or to hide.

“I fired you.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not going anywhere. I signed a contract for a year to save your life. If you don’t like my services, I’ll consider walking away, but until then, I will protect your ass.”

“What if I offer you the money for the company?”

“I’ll take it, but it doesn’t mean you’re getting rid of me.”

Before she could make another offer, he slammed his lips down on hers, giving her her very first kiss.

****

Drake had been dreaming of kissing her for so long. Her inexperience showed, but he didn’t care if she hadn’t kissed a thousand men.

This was her first kiss, he just knew it.

Her hands stayed by her sides for the longest time. He sank his fingers into her hair, tilting her head back and ravishing her mouth, and she let out a little moan. It was such a tiny sound, but he heard it.

Sucking her lip into his mouth, he growled, wanting to sink inside her, to feel her virgin cunt around his dick.

Instead, he ran his thumb across her lip and watched her.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“What I should have done the day I met you.” He kissed her again, licking across her lip, plunging into her mouth, and tasting her. This time, she touched him, and it felt fucking amazing. Just her hands on his shoulders, but it was enough.

Deepening the kiss, he brought her body flush against him, but she shook her head.

“No, you lied.”

“I didn’t lie.”

“You didn’t tell me the truth,” she said.

“I didn’t know how to tell you the truth.”

“It doesn’t mean you can just kiss me and think it’s all going to be okay. It doesn’t work like that.” She pushed him away and he let her, but he didn’t stop following her.

She climbed out of the pool and he saw her hard nipples as they pressed against the front of her swimsuit.

He’d seen her swim several times, and she really was beautiful. “I know you’re angry and I’ll give you some time to come to terms with what happened.”

She laughed. “Come to terms? Drake, you’re fired. Pack your stuff and get the hell out of my house.” She stomped off and he watched her go.

Drake picked up his clothing and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He made a quick call to one of his friends at the precinct, letting him know there was a chance a call could come through and the location.

Once he made sure no cops were going to be stopping by to arrest him, he got dressed and went to her office. He’d made master keys of the house, and putting one into the lock, he found the file on her desk. All the details her assistant, Gale, had told her about him.

He wasn’t going to let this get in the way. On her desk was a picture of her mother. It was clearly taken before she’d gotten ill. Petra looked happy as well. No sign of the husband, which was good.

“I’ll take good care of her, I promise.”

Instead of leaving, he got to his feet, locked her office, and went to the kitchen to make Petra, her favorite meal. Meatballs and spaghetti. He’d found her weakness. She loved it with lots of cheesy garlic bread as well. Rolling his sleeves up, he set to work.