Three weeks later, as she dumped her purse into the desk drawer and powered up her computer, Livia knew that she was beyond silly. She had been without Stefan while he went out of town on another business trip, but after the last few weeks, the dinners and the conversations, his kisses and the way he touched her…already she felt as if her world was grey and boring just because she wasn’t going to see him tonight. How had he done this to her? He’d had to go out of town again and every time he left, she felt more than a little desolate, knowing she wouldn’t be seeing him that night.
“Livy, go get me a cup of coffee,” Chris called out.
Livia thought about that for a long moment. Chris had never asked her to get him coffee before, nor had he ever asked her to get his dry cleaning or take his car to get gas, both of which he’d also asked of her yesterday. And which she’d replied that she was his business assistant, not his personal assistant.
At the time, she’d simply walked out of his office after telling him no, but something wasn’t right.
Walking into his office, she looked down at his smug expression. “What’s going on?” she asked him with irritation.
Chris tossed the annoying baseball up in the air and caught it again before bothering to look over at her. “I don’t know what you mean. I just need a cup of coffee.”
Livia shook her head. “You’ve never dared to ask me for something like that or your other personal requests that you’ve been tossing my way over the past few days. So what has changed?”
Chris chuckled. “I guess I’m just impressed that someone like you could score with a guy like Stefan Kozlov.”
That sounded offensive and got her back up. “What do you mean ‘someone like me’?” she demanded.
He pushed his feet off of the desk and turned to face her fully. “You know. You’re a pushover. I’m simply pushing to see how far I can go.”
Livia just stared at the horrible man for a long moment before she snapped her mouth closed and walked out of his office.
She needed a new job, she thought as she sat back down at her computer. The man was horrible! What was worse, he hadn’t given her the promised credit for the last marketing presentation, even though the client had signed on for services. She’d done the presentation, answered all of the questions after the briefing, followed up on all of their changes by working late and coming in early, doing all of the work while Chris had sat in his chair, looking smug and irritating.
Yes, it was time to find a new job. She couldn’t work for Chris any longer. Livia knew she couldn’t say anything to Stefan until she had a new job though. She had no idea what Stefan might do, but Livia suspected she wouldn’t like it. He had a tendency to be high-handed. It was sweet, in a way.
It also made her more determined to keep him safe from her father. How she was going to do that, she had no idea. But her father was evil and Stefan couldn’t handle that kind of menace.
Later, it was almost time for her to leave and she was eager to see Stefan that night. She was still trying to figure out what to do with her career as she walked into the kitchen to get another cup of tea. She was eager to be with Stefan and ask his advice. Or maybe she shouldn’t. He got angry every time she talked about her job. He kept telling her to quit and come work for him, which wasn’t a good answer.
She’d just rinsed out her cup when she felt someone come up behind her. Turning around, she found Chris standing less than a couple of inches from her. “What are you doing?” Livia asked, astounded that he would invade her personal space like this.
Chris only laughed softly and moved closer. “I think this new, assertive side of you is pretty hot.” His hand came up and touched her cheek.
Livia jerked backwards, not liking the way he was touching her. “Chris, get away from me. Now!”
His smile broadened. “Damn, you’re gorgeous when you’re emphatic. Do it some more.” His hand came up and skimmed along her neck.
Livia batted his hand away only a fraction of a second before it might have skimmed over her breast. “Back off!” she snapped and moved to the left so that she could get by him.
It was late, she was tired and all she wanted was to get out of here and see Stefan. He was picking her up in twenty minutes and taking her to dinner.
Chris wasn’t listening to her. “I don’t think so.” His eyes moved lower, trying to peer underneath the silk shirt she was wearing. “What’s underneath all of this prim, matronly material that has caught the interest of a man like Kozlov?” he asked.
“Nothing that you’ll ever see,” she mumbled and moved around the man. She stuffed the milk back into the fridge and turned around to leave. She wasn’t going to even wait for Stefan to pick her up here at the office. She’d get out to the street and wait there, just text him a new location. It was raining, but she didn’t care. Better to be wet than attacked.
Unfortunately, Chris thought her evasiveness was a game and his smile widened disgustingly. His arms came up and blocked her on both sides of the fridge, pinning her against the heavy appliance.
Livia looked up at the man who was only a few inches taller than she was. “Let me go, Chris. You don’t want to do this.” He might be taller, but he wasn’t stronger and she knew what she might have to do.
He smiled again, making her skin crawl. “Oh, I think I do.”
She shook her head, trying to warn him. “You really don’t.”
His hand came down and touched her shoulder. “How about if we find out what’s so great about you? You always come across as a mouse but I suspect there is a tiger underneath.”
She smacked his hand away and pressed against his shoulders, trying to make room so that she could get out of the kitchen and away from him. “Chris, this is ridiculous. I’m not playing games.”
“What’s going on?” a female voice asked.
Livia looked over at the woman, her eyes pleading for help.
Chris was having none of it. “Just get out of here, Ellen. This is none of your business.” The man didn’t even look away, so confident that he was in charge and his orders would be followed.
Livia glared back at Chris. “I’m going to hurt you if you don’t let me go, Chris. I’m giving you fair warning.”
Ellen stepped closer. “Chris, what are you doing?”
Chris turned slightly and snapped at the woman. “Get out!” he yelled. But he didn’t move his arms, keeping Livia trapped between them.
Ellen jumped back, startled by the noise. She glanced between her supervisor and Livia, not sure what to do. But she walked out of the kitchen quickly, almost cowering.
Livia watched the other woman leave and was furious. She was once again alone with a man who was trying to assault her! “Get off!”
Chris only chuckled, an evil sound before he yanked at the silk on her shirt. “I don’t think so!” and a ripping sound startled the air.
Livia couldn’t believe this was happening! She’d come in to get some tea, just to get more energy so she could be with Stefan tonight. But here she was, her bra showing and her blouse ripped. This was her pretty bra too! The one she’d been excited for Stefan to see tonight!
She stared at the torn sleeve for about a full second before reaction finally sunk in. When her eyes moved from the torn sleeve back up to Chris, she could barely control her reaction. With a smooth, quick slice through the air, her knee came right up and slammed into the soft area of Chris’ groin.
In slow motion, she saw the stunned expression come onto his previously confident features. And then slowly, he fell to the floor, his face turning slightly purple as his hands moved to cover his testicles.
“She’s in here!” Ellen said as she led a very large, very furious Stefan into the kitchen.
Stefan looked at the scene, taking it all in quickly. Livia’s torn blouse and the man writhing on the floor was all he needed to see. Lifting Chris up by his shirt, he slammed the man into the cabinets. “You dared to touch my woman?!” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “Do you have any idea what kind of danger you are in at this moment?”
Ellen had moved over to Livia, holding her arm and making sure that she was okay. “Thank you,” Livia told the other woman. “When you left, I wasn’t sure what Chris would do.”
Ellen looked at Livia’s sleeve. “I was pretty sure what he was going to do,” she came right back. “I was in the middle of dialing for the police when your boyfriend stepped into the lobby area. I’m glad he’s here. Your guy will take care of Chris this time.”
Stefan heard that comment and looked over at the blond woman. “Are you saying he’s done this to other women?” he demanded.
Ellen nodded. “He sort of has a reputation,” she explained.
Stefan twisted his fist slightly, tightening the material around the man’s neck. “Call the police now!” he demanded.
Ellen immediately started dialing and Livia felt even worse. “Can’t we just get out of here?” she asked, worried about the ruckus this was going to cause.
“Absolutely not,” Ellen replied, lifting her cell phone to her ear. “That man has tormented too many women!”
Livia knew that the other woman was right. She should report this incident to the police and Chris should be arrested. But that meant that everyone would know what had happened in here. And it would also take time away from her evening alone with Stefan.
But the sirens in the distance told her that the decision was already made.
Over the next hour, she told her story to several different police officers, all of whom asked her to repeat it and asked the same questions in different ways. They took pictures of her sleeve and statements from Ellen and Stefan, who hadn’t seen anything but he was more than willing to tell them what he’d seen when he’d stepped into the kitchen.
“Are these for anyone?” a police officer asked, lifting up a messed-up bouquet of red roses that, previously, had looked beautiful.
Stefan glared at the bouquet and took them in his hands. “These were for you,” he told Livia, his fingers coming up to caress her cheek gently. “But I’ll get you others.”
Livia shook her head, feeling a lump of tenderness swell up inside of her. “You are a very sweet man,” she told him and lifted up onto her tiptoes to kiss him.
Stefan was stunned when she kissed him. It was the first time she’d ever initiated any kind of intimacy with him. Oh, she was more than happy when he kissed her or, lately, when he touched her. But she’d never stepped closer and kissed him first.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss, needing closer contact and wanting reassurance that the bastard being handcuffed and charged with assault hadn’t hurt her in any way.
“You’re okay?” he demanded as his hands moved over her body, assuring himself that she was not hurt.
“I’m fine,” she replied, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her cheek against his chest. “Thank you for being here.”
He sighed and held her tightly. “I’m getting you out of here. And you’re not coming back.”
She laughed. “Not until tomorrow morning. I still have to work.”
Stefan didn’t argue with her but he wasn’t going to allow her to return to this place. “Come on. The police are done here.” He had a plan for the night and it was time to put that plan into action.
He took her hand and led her out of the office, only giving her enough time to grab her purse.
It was late when he pulled her into his building and she wondered why he seemed so furious now when, earlier with the police, he’d been cool and calm, stating the facts and what he’d seen, discussing other incidents that he’d heard about that the police should investigate as well.
“What’s wrong?” she asked as she watched him pace back and forth in front of the sofa.
Stefan rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at her. What was wrong? He was furious! This woman was one of the most elusive that he’d ever known. He wanted to make love to her, but he couldn’t do it. He had a plan and…damn it! She was his woman and he wanted the right to protect her! Tonight never should have happened and he was livid that he didn’t have the right to tear that man apart.
Yet!
His hands slid into his pockets and his fingers felt the ring he’d bought just yesterday. At the memory of how he’d finally decided to solve this problem he’d been having over the past week, the tension left his shoulders.
Livia tensed as the strange look entered his eyes. She’d seen that look several times over the past few days as they’d dined in restaurants or when he’d introduced her to acquaintances.
“What just happened?”
Stefan smiled and he sat down on the coffee table in front of her. “We’re getting married,” he said.
Livia’s eyes widened and, for a heart stopping moment, she felt as if the sun had come out and all of her dreams had come true. Such simple words and yet, so powerful!
But then she thought about it, about the night and everything that had happened earlier. He didn’t really want to marry her, she thought. He just felt guilty for not being close enough to protect her from Chris.
Smiling gently, she took his hands and curled her fingers around them, once again in awe of how strong this man was. How wonderful and kind and generous. “We don’t need to be married,” she told him. “I know that I look like a mess right now but…” she held her breath for a long moment, then stood up and started unbuttoning her blouse with shaking fingers. She was more than ready to follow through on her plan, wanting this kind, gentle man with all of her heart.
Stefan stared for a long moment, his eyes transfixed by her fingers that were slowly unbuttoning the torn silk of her blouse. “What are you doing?” he demanded. Standing up, he grabbed her fingers, stopping her from undressing. Was he nuts?
No, Stefan wasn’t nuts. He might go insane if he didn’t get this woman into his bed quickly, but he wasn’t nuts. Not yet.
But a long-dormant sense of propriety overtook him in that moment and he knew what he wanted. He wanted all of her. Not just a night here and there. And not just the promise of finally making love to this incredible beauty standing in front of him, looking up at him with wary, hurt eyes. He wanted this woman. Everything she had to give him, everything she was willing to give.
Livia stared up at him, startled that he’d stopped her from unbuttoning her blouse. Had she misinterpreted his advances over the past few weeks? Had she completely lost her mind? Or had she changed so dramatically since the last time she’d seen him and he didn’t want her any longer? “You don’t want me?” she asked, her hands freezing and he instantly saw the hurt expression in beautiful features.
He sighed and took her hands away from the material. It was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, pulling her soft fingers away from those buttons. “I want you to marry me, Livia. I don’t want just one night. I want you. I want forever.”
Poof! All of that feminine power vanished as that sneaky fear crept up on her again. It was one thing for him to think she was pretty. Following through on all of those heated glances was a whole different issue.
Livia pulled back, not sure why he would say something like that. Lifting her hand, she placed it carefully in the middle of his chest. His words softened the hurt caused by his rejection and made her heart beat even harder for him. For all that he was and what he meant to her. “Stefan, what happened earlier…it wasn’t your fault. You don’t have to fix this with a marriage proposal.”
Stefan laughed, shaking his head. The woman didn’t believe him! Incredible! The only woman he’d ever proposed to and she was saying no. So many women had tried and failed to get him to propose and this one was saying no!
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring he’d been carrying around. “My desire to marry you has nothing to do with that bastard earlier tonight and everything to do with wanting you as my wife, Livia.”
He lifted her hand from his chest and stared into her eyes. “I’ve had this ring since yesterday, Livia. This isn’t a spur of the moment decision based on what happened in your office. I want to marry you. I want you in my life.”
Livia stared into his eyes, then down at the ring. It was beautiful, she thought. The diamond solitaire was shockingly lovely and twinkled in the overhead lights of his great room. “I love it,” she sighed. Looking up at him, she smiled and the happy feeling that she’d been feeling all day long, all night long, sparked into life, growing into a burning inferno as she realized that he loved her! “You really want to marry me? This isn’t a reaction to Chris?”
His face changed to a scowl and he emitted some sort of grunt at that possibility. “Absolutely not. That man has nothing to do with this. It has everything to do with my need to have you in my arms every night and to wake up with you in the morning. To see you smile when you walk through the doorway.”
Livia thought she might just burst with the happiness that was glowing all around her. “Yes!” she replied. A fraction of a second later, she was lifted into his arms, she felt as if she was being crushed and didn’t care as he lifted her into his arms.
When he set her down onto her feet again, she laughed. “So will you make love to me now?” she asked, holding her breath because she wanted this man so desperately. He’d been stoking the flames higher and higher ever since they’d met and now she wanted to know what the big deal was all about.
Stefan couldn’t believe he was saying this. After weeks of wanting to get this woman into his bed, he was turning her down. “Absolutely not,” he told her, groaning as he held her against his body. She was so soft, so perfect and he was in physical pain just saying the words of denial. But inside, he knew that this was right. They had to wait. He wanted to do this right.
Livia froze, not sure she’d heard him correctly. “No? Why not?” she asked, shifting against him and feeling the hardness against her stomach. She knew what that meant and it was exactly what they both wanted.
He shook his head and firmly put her a couple of inches away from him, unable to handle her softness against him any longer. “No way. We will wait until our wedding night,” he told her and bent lower to kiss her.
She stared at him for a long moment. Wait? Until their wedding night? Livia thought about it, trying to understand. He wanted to wait? Didn’t men normally want…His words were the most romantic thing she’d ever heard. He was going to wait?
He kissed her, slowly and thoroughly and Livia lifted her arms, wrapping them around his neck. “Why?” she asked softly, feeling a sense of wonder that this man had come into her life.
“Because you deserve the best,” he told her. He growled. “It is going to be a very short engagement though. Two weeks. Max!” he commanded. Livia could only laugh with whole-hearted agreement.