Be With Me

by Gabrielle Sands

“I’m not a chew toy,” he said through gritted teeth. “Fucking behave.”

The cutest meet cute

“Trust me, I got it. If I get dementia and forget everything, your name will still haunt me. Your not-girlfriend’s moans are burned into my brain. Rooooh-moooh-lo. Rooooh-moooh-lo.” His eyes widened slightly beneath the dark slashes of his brows, like he hadn’t expected that from me. I hadn’t expected that from me either. But I was spent, scared, and it was starting to feel like he was playing with me. A rough chuckle. “Not bad.” “Can I go now?” “I think I’m going to need you to moan my name a couple more times just to make sure you’ve got it right.” My mouth formed an O. He was playing with me. “You know, most men have to earn a woman moaning their name, and you definitely haven’t done that.”

“I saw you on TV. You’re all over the news.” I winced. Damn it. “It’s a shame I didn’t place you right away.” His voice dropped lower, became silkier. “If I’d known you were the enemy, I would have enjoyed having you beneath me even more.”

“The door was locked for a reason. We’re busy. Get out.” His voice was so cold that Kassandra visibly recoiled. She sputtered. “I-I didn’t realize⁠—” He stepped forward, crowding her. “A word of advice? Look somewhere else for your assistant. Given the astronomical rate I’m paying Mia, I doubt you can afford her.”

“Do you think it’s a burden? Taking care of people?” She tried again to pull away. “Because it’s not. I like doing it.” “Oh yeah?” I inched forward, closing the distance between us. “Tell me…who takes care of you?” Her lips parted, but nothing came out.

While she wasn’t looking, I swiped her lip gloss off her desk and shoved it into my pocket. Why? Fuck if I knew. Probably because I was losing my goddamn mind.

"Romolo, please," she whispered, clutching the phone to her chest. I should’ve said it. I should’ve told her I’d delete the picture in exchange for her father’s secrets. But instead, my mouth—completely disconnected from my better judgment—said, “I want you to kiss me. And not just some fucking peck. I want you to kiss me and mean it.”