The Dangerous Seduction by A N Bond

immediately look up as they walk in. The bar is quiet and muted, with soft lighting, like a scene from one of those old 1940s soft-focus movies that Daisy likes so much. Joseph leads them to a leather banquette in the corner. He shrugs off his overcoat, tosses it over the seat, and sinks into the thick cushions. He sprawls out over the seat, legs thrust out under the polished wood table, arms thrown across the back of the seat. Ryan takes off his coat more slowly and takes a seat beside him, aware of Joseph’s eyes tracking his every move.
    The waiter appears and Joseph orders for both of them. The guy’s back a moment later with the drinks, and Joseph signs the check, evidently adding a big tip if the expression on the guy’s face is anything to go by. Ryan watches Joseph take a sip of his drink, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he swallows. Joseph lowers his glass, moistens his lips, and turns his head to look at Ryan.
    “You don’t want it?” He indicates Ryan’s untouched glass.
    “Yeah, yeah, sure, I want it,” Ryan says. He voice sounds unnaturally loud to him, too loud for this hushed bar, and definitely too loud for the intense way Joseph is looking at him.
    They drink in silence for a couple of minutes. Ryan can’t stop looking toward the exit and the elevators. He rehearses a good-night speech in his head, imagines himself getting up and walking to the elevators, getting inside and going up to his room. It would be the easiest thing in the world.
    “I should go to bed,” he says.
    Joseph shrugs. “Okay.”
    It’s his cue to move, but he doesn’t, his body suddenly uncooperative. Instead he watches Joseph finish his drink and raise a finger to summon the waiter. The guy glides over to them and Joseph indicates his glass. “Same again, thanks.” He raises an eyebrow at Ryan. “You want another, or are you going to bed?”
    There’s a challenge in his voice and in that raised eyebrow, and Ryan remembers suddenly that this is his boss. This is the guy who can make or break his career. He wants to impress this guy.
    He’s not going to bed.
    “Another for me too, thanks,” he tells the waiter.
    The drinks come and Joseph signs the check once more, bowing his head as he picks up the pen from the polished wood tray. The movement makes one side of his collar flip open and Ryan notices a small mark, a shaving cut or a tiny bruise or even a discolored mole on his jawline, just under his throat. The urge to lean forward and touch that mark, to feel it under his fingers or—God—under his lips is suddenly overwhelming. He pushes it away and instead takes a healthy swallow of his drink. The liquid slides down his throat, down to his fluttering stomach. He’s really aroused, aware of his cock thickening in his pants and the hairs on his arms pricking up. The physical reaction is startling and unnerving; he’s not used to feeling this out of control.
    He feels his phone go off, vibrating silently in his pocket. He shifts on the padded seat, ignoring it. He knows it will be Daisy, checking in with him before she heads to bed, but now is really not the time to talk to her. Luckily, Joseph doesn’t seem to have noticed, still taking slow sips of his drink, looking like he’s deep in thought. Ryan shifts in his seat again and Joseph’s gaze cuts his way, his eyes watchful over the rim of his glass.
    Joseph finishes his sip, tilting his head back and giving Ryan a glimpse of the long line of his neck and hollow of his throat. Joseph bends forward to place the glass on the table and turns his head to one side to look up at Ryan through his eyelashes, the light catching on his cheekbones. His mouth is plush, moist from the drink, and the look in his eyes—the invitation there—is unmistakable.
    “Joseph,” Ryan starts to say, but his voice is shaky. He clears his throat, tries again, “What I mean is… this. You’re my boss.” His voice trails away, the words defeating him, and Joseph is still