Free Tempted by Fate (The Fate Trilogy Book Two) by Sherilyn Gray

perhaps I would have accepted it. But things had taken a turn for
the better and I wasn’t sure I wanted anything to get in the way of that.
     
    “No, I don’t think I want to go back to him.
I don’t think my past is important to me anymore. My future is what matters
now, here working in this office, and being with you.”
     
    “Are you sure?”
     
    “I’m sure,” I said and reached for my top.
“That is, if I’m still working in this office tomorrow. I need to get back to
work!”
     
    Victor stood up, his chiseled body calling to
me even after such a satisfying release but I turned from him, quickly pulling
on my clothes.
     
    “Well,” he said once he had his clothes back
on. “I see things are running just fine here.” He gave me a devious smile and
left the office, giving me a moment to compose myself before returning to the
pictures on my desk.
     
    Marissa knocked on the door a few minutes
later and slowly opened it. I brushed my hands casually over my hair to smooth
down any wild ends as she stepped in. “I’m just checking in on you, in case you
need anything. How’s your work going?” If she had any idea what went on behind
closed doors, she did well to mask it. I silently thanked her for that.
     
    “I’ve picked out a few of my favorites.” I
pulled a thick portfolio from the haphazard collection of pictures on my desk.
“Their styles are distinct in nature, but I also think that the similar color
schemes could look good if we were to set up their exhibits next to each
other.”
     
    Marissa looked down at the portfolio I handed
to her. “Oh wow, very good. I was actually thinking the same thing when I
looked through these earlier.” She looked up and gave me a smile. “I think
you’re going to fit right in, Dove.”
     

Chapter
Eight
     
    “How are you feeling about tonight?” Victor
asked as I arranged and rearranged prints of the pieces for that night’s
exhibit on the dining room table. It had been two weeks since I began my job at
Lotus and Marissa had already asked me to help curate a new show in the city.
I’d changed the layout for the exhibit twice since she’d brought me onto the
project and there I was, on the day of the show, reconsidering it for the third
time.
     
    “Does this look right to you?” I asked,
ignoring his question in fear that I might unravel if I acknowledged the
pressure I was feeling. Although Marissa had been nothing but supportive of my
ideas for the exhibit, I was still determined to impress her. I hadn’t had
anything that was truly my own since I met Victor; I appreciated everything
he’d done for me but it felt good to be doing something for myself.
     
    “I thought it looked right the first time.
And then the second time,” he joked.
     
    “I don’t know, I think these—”
     
    “Dove.”
     
    I felt him plant himself behind me and settle
his hands on my hips, spinning me around so that we were facing one another. “I
think you need to relax.” I couldn’t help but feel a sense of calm resonate
through me as he leaned in and took my chin in his hand. Despite all the work I
had left to do, I couldn’t pull myself away from his touch. He drew his face
near mine, our lips brushing briefly before he pulled away, distracting me with
the tease. I bit my lip in restrained agitation and stood on my tiptoes in an
attempt to lure him back to me.
     
    “Do you want me to kiss you?” he asked in a
low growl.
     
    “Yes,” I breathed as I stared longingly at
his lips. His mouth met mine with greedy desperation, our lips parting as our
tongues slid over one another. I ran my hands through his hair, gripping it in
my fists as he pushed me up against the table and began untucking my shirt from
my jeans. I felt that familiar warmth begin to gather between my legs and
leaned back onto the tabletop behind me. But as my hands hit the prints I had
been arranging all morning I felt a surge of anxiety pulse through me and
quickly turned from