The Heiress in the Dog Cage

That sound should have stayed behind a locked door.

It definitely should not have come from Damian Moretti in the middle of a company celebration, with half the executive floor watching and Vanessa Crane turning stiff beside me.

Damian lowered his lashes for half a second. Color climbed to the sharp corners of his eyes, there and gone so quickly I would have missed it if I had not been staring at him like a fool.

Everyone traded glances. No one dared ask a question.

I held the velvet box against my chest and tried to look innocent, professional, and completely unaware that my boss had just reacted to my hand on a lipstick.

"Thank you, Mr. Moretti." I let my voice soften just enough to be dangerous. "I really like it."

Damian's jaw flexed.

[@BookTokAfterDark: One little "I like it" and he is losing the plot.]

[@SteamQueen: Sir gave her the remote and hoped for the best. Incredible planning.]

[@RomanceGremlin: This is high heat behavior. I am not blinking.]

So that was the kind of story I had landed in.

Not a quiet office romance, but one of those serials readers tagged spicy and then threatened to riot over whenever the author faded to black.

Ridiculous as it sounded, Damian's reaction had been real.

When the toast ended, he turned and headed for the private bathroom at the end of the corridor. His back stayed straight, but his pace was quicker than usual.

The comments lit up again.

[@MafiaMutt: Tactical retreat. He is not surviving this floor.]

[@SteamQueen: If she keeps that in her purse, he is done before lunch.]

[@SoftDomScholar: Wait. It only works for Nora? He absolutely planned this.]

Only me?

I looked down at the lipstick and felt heat gather under my skin.

I probably should have been angry. Normal men did not hand their crushes enchanted makeup and leave out the instruction manual. But before anger came something softer, something that made my chest ache.

So I had not imagined it.

Damian had been watching me too. He was just too proud, too careful, or too repressed to say, Nora, I want you.

I untied the ribbon and ran my thumb over the tube.

Somewhere down the corridor, a heavy thud came from behind the bathroom door.

The comments erupted.

[@MafiaMutt: He just braced himself against the wall. I am unwell.]

[@PageTurner88: Not a red flag. A walking blush flag.]

[@SteamQueen: The spice is already spicing.]

I bit back a smile.

"Nora."

Vanessa's voice came from behind me, sharp with fake amusement.

Before I could react, she reached over my desk and picked up the lipstick.

"It is just lipstick," she said, turning it between her fingers. "Why are you guarding it like a family heirloom? I do not even recognize the brand. Some little custom workshop, maybe. I cannot imagine why Damian would give you this."

My chest tightened. "Give it back."

Even if the comments were right and it did nothing in her hand, I hated seeing Vanessa touch it. It was Damian's gift. His awkward, maddening, far-too-intimate confession, even if he had been too much of a coward to put words around it.

Vanessa smiled wider. "Precious, is it? Nora, do not tell me you actually think he sees you differently."

Her voice carried just enough for the rest of the top floor to hear.

"Are you in love with Damian?"

My face went hot. "Do not be ridiculous."

The words had barely left my mouth when a cold voice sounded behind me.

"What are you discussing?"

I turned and saw Damian standing at the mouth of the corridor.

His expression was darker than before, and the flush around his eyes had not completely faded.

Vanessa instantly slipped into wounded innocence. "Damian, I only wanted to see the gift you gave Nora. She snapped at me."

Damian's gaze dropped to the lipstick in her hand.

The air went still.

"That belongs to her," he said, each word quiet and dangerous. "Who gave you permission to touch it? Put it back in the box. Wipe it clean first. Now."

Vanessa's fingers stiffened, but she did not dare disobey him. She pulled a tissue from the box on my desk, wiped the tube as if it had burned her, and placed it back in the velvet case. Her mouth compressed into a thin line.

For the first time, I was not afraid of her.

I picked up the case and gave her a pleasant smile. "Thanks, Vanessa. Next time you want to touch someone else's things, ask first."

Damian glanced at me, and something in that look tripped my heartbeat.

I held the box against my chest and, because apparently I had lost my mind, said very seriously, "Do not worry, Mr. Moretti. I will take excellent care of your lipstick. I will keep it close and make sure no one else touches it."

His eyes darkened.

[@BookTokAfterDark: "Keep it close"? Nora, ma'am.]

[@SoftDomScholar: She thinks she is being polite. She is actually flirting with a loaded weapon.]

[@MafiaMutt: He is fighting for his life behind that face.]

Damian said nothing.

He only turned and went back into his office.

Somehow, I had the feeling I had made things worse.