God, I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life. I’m propositioning my boss—to have his baby, or at least pretend to have his baby—and I can barely put a sentence together.

I’m drowning in the blue of his eyes. Mr. Hunter’s jaw works, and the air between us is tense, like the moment before a lightning strike.

When he speaks again, he’s dropped his voice, and some of the anger seems to have faded from his face. Now all the intensity is focused on me. “You’re telling me things are so bad that you’re willing to have a baby to solve the problem?”

My throat aches. I’ve been trying to paint things in a positive light for so long, but the fact is that I’m on the verge of a breakdown. Robin’s migraines have her bedridden, and our apartment isn’t the best place for someone like that. It’s next to the train tracks, but with our matching sets of hefty student loans, there’s nothing else we can afford. And I’m still paying off the bills from Dad’s funeral. How was I supposed to find the money for that as a college student without a wealthy family and no savings?

I blink the tears out of my eyes. I don’t want Mr. Hunter to pity me.

I really do want him to get me pregnant. 

Then we can both be free to do what we want to do…if he agrees, that is.

“That’s what I’m saying.” I struggle to keep my voice under control. “All I’d want from you is enough money to get me and my sister out of the place we’re living and pay off some debts.” Mr. Hunter’s father is the richest man in the city, bar none. The trust must be sizable. It must be more than enough to buy me a fresh start—and my boss, too.

He leans back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’d say you can’t be serious, but I don’t think you’d have come in here if you weren’t.”

“I am serious.” I’m more serious with every passing moment. The longer I think about this, the more I want to do it. The more it seems like the perfect solution. To have a baby with Mr. Hunter would mean safety. Security. And a new life for Robin and me.

He laughs, and the sound sends a bolt of lust straight between my legs. “You’ve known about this for five minutes, and you’re already willing to jump into my bed?”

“I’m not some kind of slut,” I say, the defensive tone flying out of my mouth before I can stop it. This is exactly why I don’t have a job at any of the local papers. Because Peter made them all believe that I—

Mr. Hunter leans forward, eyes locked on mine. “I would never say that.”

I want him closer to me. I want him to come around the desk and take my face in one of his big hands, tilt it up toward his, and—

I have to keep talking, keep the conversation going. “I want a way out of the situation I’m in,” I tell him, the raw honesty making my chest ache. “And I think you do, too.”

He considers me. “You’re my secretary.”

“You’re my boss.”

“Things are that bad?”

I look him over, and I can’t help but smile, just a little. “Things are that bad,” I admit, “but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to…” I can’t finish the sentence. I can’t bring myself to go this far.

“You didn’t want to what?” Mr. Hunter’s voice rings with authority. “Tell me, Ms. Dawson.”

I gather up all my courage. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to…sleep with you.” I have to force myself not to close my eyes and shrink down into my chair. This is not the kind of thing I expected to say when I woke up this morning.

“Sleep with me,” says Mr. Hunter, sounding a little thoughtful. 

“Yes.”

“I want to do more than sleep with you, Ms. Dawson.”

It takes me completely by surprise. “You—what?”

He stands up, coming around the desk, and I grip the armrests of my chair so hard my knuckles turn white. Is this happening right now? Are we going to do this right now? I feel slightly dizzy. Holy shit. What have I gotten myself into?

He stops inches away from me. “Stand up.”

I stand, my knees trembling at the joint. I hope to God I don’t fall over. Even standing, Mr. Hunter is much taller than I am.

He puts two fingers under my chin, making me look up at him, directly into blue eyes deeper than the ocean. “Listen to me, Ms. Dawson. You’ve been taunting me from the moment you walked into this office for the first time.” His voice is almost a growl. “I don’t want to sleep with you. I want to take you. I want to bend you over my desk and make you come so hard your legs give out. I want to run my fingers along your hot little slit and fuck you until you forget other men ever existed. I want to make you mine, Ms. Dawson.”

I’m about to fall over from the sheer heat exploding out of my core. I want him so badly I can hardly stand up. My juices trickle down the inside of my thighs, underneath the professional, demure pencil skirt I’m wearing. 

“You do?” I force the words out on the next half breath I can take in. 

“More than anything,” he says, and his hand slips around my jaw. Oh, fuck, oh, fuck, I want this. I want this so badly—and not just because it would be a ticket out for me and Robin. 

“I do, too,” I tell him, because we’re past lies now. I don’t know what I thought would happen when I came in here, but this is beyond my wildest dreams, this is beyond—

“That’s why I can’t.”