When I walked into the bar, I knew I had chosen the right outfit because all eyes fell on me. I was wearing skin-tight black leggings that stuck to me like a second skin and accentuated every curve I had and I paired it with one of the see-through shirts I had gotten from Agnes. It was a fitted crop top and I wore a black lacy bra under it that could be seen through the fabric of the shirt.
“This is something,” Serena mused as I made my way over to her. “Are you trying to get the attention of everyone in the bar?”
“Not everyone,” I corrected and she hummed.
I felt a presence at the bar and I turned to see Ian there. He had a glass in front of him and when Serena moved to serve him, he shook his head and gestured towards me. I deliberately moved as slowly as I could and took my time walking over to the bar.
“Can I help you?” I asked and he raked his eyes over my outfit. It wasn’t with appreciation or anything; it was more along the lines of disbelief and amusement. “Do you like my new outfit? I made sure to adhere to the new dress code that Darius set for me.”
He shook his head as his shoulders shook with the force of his laughter. “You have no idea the game you are playing, Leindra.”
“Quite the contrary actually,” I mused as I poured his beer into his glass. “Darius does not know the game he wants to play with me. I will not be ordered around like a child, not even by him.”
Ian smiled and lifted his glass to his lips. “I hope you know what you’re doing but for what it is worth, I’m on your team.”
He raised his glass in some form of mock salute and went over to his table. He whispered a few words in the ears of his friends and they all glanced at me before turning away. I wanted to know what they said but I had to feign indifference so I looked away and I coincidentally came eye to eye with Serena.
“Do I want to know what’s happening?” she asked and I shook my head. “I guess I’ll just enjoy the show then. Good luck.”
As soon as she was done speaking, the door to the bar opened and without looking up, I knew it was Darius. His presence was heavy and it carried a chill that settled at the base of my neck. I felt his eyes on me and I could feel his smoldering anger as it settled over the room like a band ready to snap and it thrilled me to know it was directed at me.
I was curious to see what he was going to do so I pretended as if I didn’t notice his presence and busied myself at the bar. I made sure to add an extra sway to my hips as I moved around and made sure to bend over extremely low whenever I wanted to pick anything up to make sure everyone got a very good view of my ass.
I felt Darius’ presence at the bar before he even spoke. Serena froze in her movements and all the chatter around the bar stopped. It was like everyone knew he was angry and nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of that canon but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
“What can I help you with?” I asked pretending like he wasn’t glaring daggers into my skin. “Would you like the usual whiskey or do you want something else?”
“What are you wearing?” the question was asked through gritted teeth, almost as if it pained him to ask it.
He ran his eyes over my body in both appraisal and annoyance and it hit me- Darius Lunar was attracted to my body. Was that why he was acting like a possessive Neanderthal? Was that the reason why he was adamant that I change my way of dressing? Attraction to my body did not give him the right to tell me how to dress.
“Clothes,” I deadpanned. “I was informed that I should change my uniform and I did. How do you like it? I went shopping this morning so I could arrive just as you asked.”
I could practically see the smoke coming out of his ears and it took everything in me not to smile. I normally would not dress this way to work but I needed to prove a point and if I had to make myself uncomfortable to do so then I was more than willing to do so.
Darius leaned forward and grabbed my wrist. It was a firm but not bruising grip and he pulled me closer so I was half leaning over the bar and his face was mere inches from mine. If he looked down, he would have been staring directly at my boobs but I had to admire his self-control because his eyes didn’t waver once. He leaned into my ear and when his hot breath hit the shell of my ear, shivers went down my spine.
“You are mine,” he growled each word out with precision to make sure I understood him clearly. “I will not have you walking around like this and I will not have everyone staring at what belongs to me.”
I pulled my hand out of his grip and stepped back. Whatever spell he had cast on me snapped the moment he claimed me and I narrowed my eyes at him. It seemed my little display didn’t work. If anything, it only made him more adamant that I belonged to him.
“I am not yours,” I ground out. “I might work for you but that does not mean that I belong to you. I can wear whatever I want whenever I want and I don’t care who looks at me.”
“I will gouge out the eyes of anyone who stares at you longer than necessary.”
I rolled my eyes because I assumed he was joking but when our eyes met, I realized he was serious.
“You’re joking,” I said but it came out sounding more like a question.
“Am I?”
I stood up straighter and crossed my arms over my chest waiting for him to take back the words but he just stayed looking at me as if there was nothing wrong with what he said.
“Follow me,” Darius said and without waiting to see if I was going to comply, he stood to his feet and walked over to his office.
I hesitated because I wanted to see what he was going to do if I didn’t follow but I felt all eyes on me in the bar and I realized that I was causing a scene. I muttered a curse under my breath and followed begrudgingly behind him towards his office. He held the door open for me and gestured for me to walk in. I bit my tongue and did as he had instructed.
The office was exactly as I had imagined it. It was completely minimalistic with black walls and a marble table. There were two chairs on opposite sides of the table and a couch to my right. The room smelled like him and I wondered if he practically lived inside of it because of how intense his scent was.
He walked past me and his skin brushed mine as he did eliciting sparks and goosebumps. I tried to act indifferent but I couldn’t help the gasp that escaped my lips. He walked over to his chair picked up the suit jacket that was hanging on it and handed it over to me.
I eyed it like it was a ticking time bomb. “I don’t do laundry. It is not part of my duties.”
“Your mouth,” he growled then murmured something under his breath that I was not able to catch. “The jacket is for you to wear. I would send you back home to change but Serena cannot man the bar alone. Put the jacket on and get back to work. If you’re not decently dressed tomorrow then you are going home.”
“I am wearing a shirt and pants like you asked,” I crossed my arms over my chest and I saw his eyes follow the movement. “I do not see a single reason why I should put the jacket on. It is hot at the bar and I am going to roast inside of it.”
“You should have thought about that before you decided to dress like a hooker,” he spat and my mouth fell open. “I will not allow people to stare at you like a common whore. You deserve better.”
I ignored the latter part of his sentence because all my brain could focus on was the part where he called me a hooker. I turned on my heels and started to walk out of his office but he placed his hand on the door preventing me from going anywhere.
“I don’t want to have this argument. You are my boss so fine, I will dress however you ask me to but make no mistake, I do not belong to you or anyone else and I am not taking your jacket.”
He took his hands off the door and I froze. I did not expect him to let me go that easily.
“Fine, don’t take it.” He shrugged as if it was not a big deal. “Just know this, the death of every man in that bar would be on your hands.”
“You can’t kill people and get away with it.”
“I own this town princess,” he leaned into my ear. “I own everyone in it. I can burn it down to the ground and no one would bat a lash. The choice is yours.”
He pulled back and I stared at him in disbelief. Darius Lunar was not a spoilt brat like I thought, he was a powerful man and Ian was right when he said he always got what he wanted.
I reached forward and took the jacket out of his hands and shrugged it on. It was large on my body and reached the middle of my thighs. Darius smirked as he took me in.
“This means nothing,” I warned and he laughed.
“It means everything.”