Beauty and the Boss - MINK Page 0,29

it is that they’re trying to pitch. My mouth drops open in shock when he refers to me as his girlfriend. He politely tells them that he’s trying to enjoy our date night and that business will have to wait until he’s back in the office. His response has me smiling so big I wonder if my face might crack. This is my first real date, and I can’t help but be excited.

“It better be thoughts of me that has that lovely smile on your face,” Liam softly whispers in my ear before he nips it. I turn, giving him my mouth as I rub my backside against him. He gives me a quick kiss. “Making me hard in a room full of people has to be against the rules. You know what happens when you break the rules, sunshine.”

I wiggle against him one last time to make sure he knows that I’m definitely breaking them, and it isn’t an accident.

“Can we dance yet?” I peek up at him. “I don’t think I’ve ever danced with a man before,” I admit.

He doesn’t even hesitate before he’s ushering me to the dance floor, which takes me by surprise.

Etta James’ At Last plays in the background as we step onto the floor. Liam pulls me close to his body and leads me around the dance floor with the same command he shows in the bedroom. Our bodies fit perfectly together. Neither of us say a word, because they’re not needed. I get lost in the moment and in him. My mind wanders, thinking of us doing this very thing at our wedding. My thoughts of our future together are interrupted when someone clears their throat. The moment we were having slips away as my eyes meet my father’s.

He’s not alone. I’m not surprised to see Mike with him. My father was always trying to pair us up. They would both talk as though we were a foregone conclusion. Mike was always nice enough, but pushy, and I’d never felt anything towards him. I’d thought he’d given up on this whole dating idea. I haven't heard from him in a while but, then again, I kind of send all of his stuff to spam. I also blocked his calls and texts. I’d tried to gently tell him it would never work, but he kept pushing. I didn't have it in me to be outright rude so I went with avoidance. Clearly, I can’t do that now since he’s standing in front of me.

“Can I cut in?” my father asks. My politeness has me wanting to say yes. Thank God for Liam.

“No,” he answers, leaning down and kissing me right in front of my father. “She’s mine now.”

Happiness lights me up from top to bottom.

“Did you tell him about Mike?” My father looks at me, the familiar disapproval wrinkling along his forehead.

“Mike can fuck off. He’s blocked for a reason,” Liam fires back.

“Yeah.” I nod. Wait. How does Liam know I’ve blocked the guy? Mike stands there saying nothing. No, he won’t speak when my father is around unless it’s to kiss his butt or answer a question. He really would have made my father happy if he’d had someone like him for a son. Too bad he is stuck with me.

“He’s using you,” my father says again to me like a broken record.

“No, he’s not. He needs me.” I want to say that Liam loves me, but I don’t. As much as I love him saying that he needs me, love would be more. It would be everything.

“He needs you so that you’ll marry him and try and take my company,” my father barks. People turn to look our way.

“What are you talking about? I don’t have any control over your company.” My father is full of it, like usual.

He opens his mouth to say more, then closes it with a snap. But the wrinkles on his forehead deepen even more.

“But you do have control, sunshine. Your grandmother left you part of the business. It’s yours, too,” Liam says.

“Nana?” I shake my head. “She left me a small trust.”

“That wasn't all,” Liam continues; he seems to have all the answers. “I think Duncan told you about the trust so you wouldn't ask about anything else. She left you her portion of the company.”

“And this fucker is trying to fool you into caring for him so he can get his hands on it,” my father shouts.

I look down as my eyes begin to water.