Knight and Sleigh: An Erotic Lucien Knight Christmas Novella (11 page)

“I am not prudish. For God’s sake, I’m no blushing virgin, I’m a married woman.”

For a second, Lucien looked genuinely taken aback and his eyes flickered to her left hand. “You’re married?”

“Is that against the law in this industry too?”

“No, no.” His whole demeanour had changed unreadably. “Tell me, what does your husband think of you applying for this job?”

Sophie faltered and her gaze slid away from his. “He’s fine with it.”

Lucien let out a low whistle. “He doesn’t know, does he?”

“Yes. Sort of.” She glanced down at her wedding ring. “He knows I have an interview, just not what it’s for, exactly.”

“And would he mind, do you think? I’d mind if you were my wife.” Lucien’s blue eyes locked on Sophie’s as his words did thrilling things to her insides. If only Dan were as territorial.

“He won’t mind,” she said quietly. “He’s pretty busy with his own work. If I’m happy, I’m sure he’ll be happy.”

“And are you happy, Sophie?”

She wasn’t sure what he meant by the question, and it unnerved her. Were her marital problems written all over her face? Or was he simply asking if his abrasive, unique interview style bothered her? Either way, there was only one possible acceptable reply.

“Yes, I think I am.”

Lucien nodded and drummed his fingers on the desk.

“Good.” His smile didn’t quite touch his eyes. “Thanks for coming in, Sophie. I’ll be in touch.” He pushed his chair backwards.

Sophie stared at him, surprised. That was it? He’d finished?

She got the distinct feeling that he’d decided she was a bad bet, and because it was unlikely she would ever see him again, she threw caution to the wind.

“You’ve decided I’m unsuitable.”

He leaned back in his chair with a frank expression on his face. “I don’t think this job is for you.” He shrugged. “You’re too vanilla.”

“Vanilla?” She couldn’t keep the note of frustration from her voice. “What does that even mean?”

He shook his head with a small laugh. “Exactly.” He leaned forward and sighed. “Look, Sophie. You seem like a nice girl. But I don’t need a nice girl for this job. I need someone free of inhibitions. Someone who knows their dildos from their anal beads. Someone who won’t stumble like a schoolgirl if they need to say a rude word.”

Sophie squared her shoulders. “You underestimate me, Lucien. I could do this job. I’m damn good, and I’m a fast learner.” She held his blue gaze and willed him to believe her. It had suddenly become crucial to her that he didn’t write her off as a prude, because it endorsed all of her negative feelings about her relationship with Dan. Was she really the little mouse they both seemed to take her for?

“Okay.” Lucien folded his arms across his chest, and Sophie’s eyes were drawn to the way his shirt defined his biceps.

“Say clitoris, Sophie.”

Sophie’s mouth fell open in shock. Hearing Lucien Knight unexpectedly say the word clitoris made the bottom drop out of her stomach. No way was she going to say it back just to amuse him.

“Well, that’s certainly a question that didn’t feature on any of the job websites I studied,” she quipped to cover her embarrassment.

 “You’re right.” He nodded in acceptance and worked the knot on his tie open.
Was he hot?
She was definitely feeling the heat in here. He tapped his pen on the desk. “Fair enough, don’t say clitoris.” She sighed with relief.  “Say masturbation instead.”

Sophie couldn’t take anymore. Lucien Knight was too much. Too sexual, too arrogant, too male. Even though he was fully clothed, sex oozed from every pore of the man in a way Sophie had never encountered before. He made her think of Viking warriors, and right now she felt like a damsel in serious distress. Lucien Knight was right. She
wasn’t
equipped for the candid conversations he required. She
couldn’t
be as brazen as he needed her to be. She got to her feet.

“You know what, Mr. Knight? You’re probably right. I’m not cut out for this.” She swung her bag over her shoulder and ignored the spark of amusement in his eyes. “I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”

Lucien got to his feet too and crossed to open the door. “On the contrary, Sophie. It’s been my pleasure.”

He’d placed himself between Sophie and the exit, leaving her no choice but to brush close to him as she left. He was a good head and shoulders taller than she was even in her high heels, and she caught the scent of him as she drew level.
Delicious.
He smelled of warm spice and citrus, and something else. Something dark and sexy, so uniquely Lucien Knight that it kicked her senses into overdrive. She wanted to leave, and yet at the same time she wanted him to say something to stop her.

She turned to him, and found him leaning on the doorjamb with a lazy smile on his face.

“Goodbye, Mr. Knight.”

“Ms. Black.” He inclined his head, but made no further move, leaving her no option but to walk away.

Except for one.
 

Sophie turned away, and then swung back around and said something that she never imagined she’d say as part of a job interview.

“Clitoris.” She took pleasure in watching the predatory spark re-ignite in his cool blue eyes, and she licked her lips before she spoke again. “Masturbation.”

Sophie met his gaze head on, dizzy with exhilaration.

“Cock rings. Anal beads. Vibrators, dildos and…” she cast around desperately in her limited imagination for a big finish, “and blow up dolls!”

The amused heat in Lucien eyes scorched her. In that moment she wasn’t ordinary Sophie Black, builder’s PA and invisible wife. She was sexy and sophisticated Ms. Black, able to stop Viking sex-gods in their tracks with just a few little words. She noticed the way Lucien’s throat worked as he swallowed before he spoke.

“You start in the morning. Nine o’ clock sharp. Don’t be late, Ms. Black.”

Later that evening, curled up on the sofa eating Chinese from plates balanced on their knees, Kara stared at Sophie, agog. “You aren’t actually going to take the job though, right?”

Sophie tucked her feet underneath her and nodded. “Kara, I am. I have to.” She took a sip of her wine and searched for the words to explain her feelings. “If I don’t, then I’m accepting that this is as exciting as my life is ever going to get.” She gestured round her lounge. “A dead-end job, a husband who’s barely here and doesn’t notice me when he is…”

“Soph, if you’ve got problems with Dan, this job is only going to make them a million times worse, you know?”

“It won’t. Maybe I’ll learn stuff to spice things up for us.”

“Can’t you just talk to him?”

“Kara, I’m not taking this job because of what’s going on with me and Dan. I’m taking it because for a while back there today I glimpsed a different version of myself, and I liked her better.”

Kara shook her head and laughed in resignation. “You’d better hang onto those other clothes then. Something tells me you’re going to need them.”

Sophie locked all the doors and went to bed with her mobile in her hand to call Dan. She listened to the clicks as it made the long distance connection, and it rang out once or twice before it diverted to his answer phone. She glanced at her watch. It was just after ten thirty for her, so a little after midnight for him. Who was he with that he should need to reject her call at that time? He wasn’t due to start his meetings until tomorrow. Sophie sighed and slid into bed, her mobile still clutched in her hand in case he called back.

He didn’t.

Please
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The Complete Knight Trilogy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 

USA Today bestselling author Kitty French lives in the UK with her husband and two young sons.

She also writes romantic comedy under the pseudonym Kat French.

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Love and gratitude as always to Charlie Hobson for editing Lucien with such care, and to Angela Oltmann for another picture perfect cover, and to Sally Clements for being a formatting whizz. You're all brilliant.
 

Thank you also to the minxes of romance, my glorious, clever writing sisters! Special extra gratitude to Zara Cox, Tabitha A Lane and Lexy Lockhart for pulling me out of crisis mode - you girls set me back on the right track with prosecco, Magic Mike, laughter, and most importantly, with your bloody awesome writing wisdom. I am indebted.
 

And last but never least, huge Christmas hugs and endless love to every single reader and blogger, you are all officially beautiful and brilliant.
 

Aren't we lucky to have our fabulous book community?
 

I thank my lucky stars. x
 

Copyright © 2015 Kitty French 

Editing by
Charlie Hobson
 

Cover by
Angela Oltmann