I WANT YOU

CHAPTER 9

Anna crossed the crimson carpet of Arthur's study and glanced at the man waving at her to come in.

Her eyes flickered to the padded chair behind the desk and wished she could sit there too. Not as head of the house, but on Arthur's straining, well-formed thighs.

Anna shivered just thinking of sitting in the older man’s lap.

It’ll never happen, so stop drooling over him. She thought.

Anna would more than likely drool over Mr. Knight for years to come. She was positive that she would. She glanced around the ultra-masculine office.

It wasn’t too often that Anna was in this room. Not unless she and Cristina were stealing in here to get to the liquor.

“How much do you know about my family history?” Arthur walked over to the built-in glass-and-dark-wood cabinet and poured himself a glass of amber liquid.

Cristina had once told her that Arthur had his liquor collection imported from somewhere overseas.

She remembered the times when she and Cristina were younger and used to sneak into Arthur's study for sips of the expensive stuff.

Anna could use more than a sip now, but Arthur didn’t offer her any.

Like the guy always do.

The question caught her off guard, though. She’d been expecting Arthur to ask her about what Cristina had said in the car.

“Not much,” Anna admitted as she pressed her hands into her lap. “Just that you are some kind of royalty.”

Anna tensed when Arthur took a sip of his drink, set the crystal glass down, and then moved to stand behind her. The guy’s strong hands pressed into her shoulders. “So you are unaware that Cristina is a princess and must stay out of trouble?”

That news had Anna’s eyes widening, but she couldn’t manage to think with Arthur's warm big hands on him. “No.”

I’m going to kill Cristina for not telling me that. I was hanging around a freaking princess this whole time! But then again, I should have figured it out. Hello, royalty. Does that ring a bell?

“The next time Cristina has one of her crazy brilliant ideas, I want you to let me know before you two end up in trouble or you end up back in the hospital.”

Arthur's thumbs ground into Anna’s shoulder blades, massaging the tight muscles. Anna closed her eyes and caught the groan before it escaped.

The touch was nothing more than the older man showing affection, but Anna wanted to believe it meant something else. Her stomach did flips as her lips parted, and she was five seconds away from begging the man to… Wait. What had her just asked her, again?

Anna twisted in her seat and looked into those gorgeous amber eyes.

“Let me get this straight. You want me to be a spy on my best friend?”

Arthur petted Anna’s hair softly before he rounded the dark wood desk and took a seat. The guy steeped his fingers together. “Is that a problem?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m no one’s stool pigeon.” Cristina would drop Anna as a friend in a heartbeat regardless of their close bond. Besides, she would never do that to his best friend.

“No matter that I’ve cared for you all these years?”

Why did the care part sound more sensual than the man just taking care of her? The words had been sensually spoken and made Anna blush slightly.

“I want you to know that I appreciate everything you’ve done for me since we first met,” Anna said as she sat up straighter so Arthur would know she was serious. “But if you’re asking me to choose between your care and my friendship with Cristina, I’m picking Cristina.”

Besides, Anna knew she didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell with this guy. She wasn’t going to wreck her friendship over some stupid fantasy that Arthur would actually take Anna to bed.

Anna fidgeted in her seat when Arthur fixed those mysterious eyes on her. Although Arthur had been nice to her for ten years, the man had always kept his distance, talking only a little more than Conrad, but not much more.

It might have been the mystery surrounding the powerful man that intrigued her. That lead for her falling for him.

Anna was so small and frail, and this man was so large and dominant. It was a real turn-on. She’d often wondered why she couldn’t crush on someone her own age, but no matter how much she tried to turn her interest away from Arthur, those feelings wouldn’t diminish.

She also didn’t appreciate Arthur using what he’d done for Anna as an incentive to do the man’s bidding.

There was something close to pride in Arthur's eyes as he looked at the girl in front of him. “You’re a good friend to my daughter, Anna Vasily.”

Anna didn’t knew why but that statement made her felt awkward. She knew that she like Cristina but at the same time she's ashamed that she has the hots for her best friend’s father!

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