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words. There was a wealth of meaning in those dark eyes. She felt hunted.
Stalked
.
    “Come here, Mia.”
    The firm but gentle command washed through the haze of confusion. Her eyes widened
     as her gaze found his, and she realized he was waiting for her to come to him.
    She rose, her legs shaky, and she rubbed her hands down her jeans in an attempt to
     steady herself. And then she took that first step and walked around the edge of his
     desk to where he was still seated in his executive chair.
    He reached for her hand and once he had his fingers twined with hers, he tugged her
     down onto his lap. She landed awkwardly but he sat farther up and shifted so she was
     nestled against his chest and tucked into his side. With his free hand, he delved
     his fingers into her hair, twisting the strands around his knuckles while he held
     on to her hand with his other.
    “The relationship I’m proposing is not a traditional one,” he said. “I’ll not have
     you walking blindly into it without knowing exactly where you stand and what you can
     expect from it.”
    “Big of you,” she said dryly.
    He gave her hair a slight tug. “Little minx.” His eyes became half-lidded as he stared
     into her eyes. He disentangled his hand from hers and lifted his fingers to her lips
     where he traced the outline of her mouth with the tip of his index finger. “I want
     you, Mia. And I’ll warn you now. I’m
very
used to getting my way.”
    “So you want me to work for you and you want…me. Physically, I mean.”
    “Oh yes,” he murmured. “Definitely.”
    “And this relationship you propose. What exactly do you mean by nontraditional?”
    He hesitated for the briefest moment. “I’ll own you,” he said bluntly. “Body, soul.
     You’ll belong to me.”
    Whoa. That sounded so…heavy. She couldn’t even wrap her brain around it. Her mouth
     went dry and she tried to lick her lips but stopped when she remembered his reaction
     when she’d done it moments earlier.
    “I’ll guide you through this,” he said in a more gentle tone. “I’m not going to throw
     you to the wolves. I’ll be patient as you learn your way through the kind of relationship
     I expect.”
    “I don’t even know what to say right now,” she blurted out.
    His hand slid over her jaw and to her cheek. They were on eye level, their mouths
     just a few breaths apart.
    “I think this is where you tell me where I stand with you,” Gabe prompted. “Do you
     want me as badly as I want you?”
    Oh God, was this really happening? Did she dare to say the words out loud? It was
     like standing on the ledge of a skyscraper and peering over the edge. Wind in your
     face, knowing one misstep and you plummet.
    His mouth moved closer, past her mouth, skimming over her jawline, his lips just brushing
     her skin. He nipped at her earlobe, eliciting a full-body shiver that sent chill bumps
     racing across her flesh.
    “Tell me what I want to know,” he commanded in a husky voice that whispered over the
     shell of her ear.
    “Y-yes,” she croaked.
    “Yes what?”
    “Yes, I want you.”
    The admission escaped with a sigh, reluctantly tugged from her lips. She couldn’t
     even look him in the eye.
    “Mia, look at me.”
    There was something about the calm authority in his voice that registered with her.
     Made her hyperaware of his presence, of him as a man. And it made her want him all
     the more.
    She turned her gaze on him, saw the blaze in his eyes. He caught her hair again, tugging
     slightly as he toyed with the tresses.
    “I have a contract,” he said. “It outlines every nuance of our proposed relationship.
     I want you to read over it very carefully this weekend and then I want your decision
     on Monday.”
    She rapidly blinked, so startled that she didn’t immediately find words. When she
     did, her tongue felt large and unwieldy.
    “A contract? You want us to have a
contract
?”
    “You needn’t sound so horrified,” he said in a level voice.