The Collector's Curse

【05】Temptress of a Woman

Ulrik

Work had become a tedious task, demanding an attention I couldn't give because it belonged to her. I'd been half there the entire time, hearing but not listening to what the lawyers, my associates, or the Weston's brothers were saying.

How could I, when all I wanted to do was head downstairs and spend time with her? Even just to stand in a corner and watch her marvel at the writings, even just to see her gorgeous face all focused on the inscriptions, to see her eyes light up with excitement. But if I was being honest with myself, I'd probably be too engrossed in her aura, and we'd end up fucking in the archives.

Instead of watching her sleep for an hour upon waking up, I should have pulled her out of her slumber. I should have anticipated that I'd need to have her before starting my day. Even just to shove my face between her legs and have her taste be the first one on my tongue.

The mere idea of it, of waking her up with my mouth on her beautiful cunt, was enough to send a surge of blood rushing to my groin. Shit, I was already too far gone with her.

The nerve of this woman... Her audacity... She'd robbed me of my autonomy, clogging my mind, making my body long for hers.

"Mr. Westergaard?"

Ripping my mind away from the thought of her, I returned my attention to the screen. Eight faces were neatly arranged in their respective boxes, all waiting for me to say something. Fuck, I'd dissociated for the past few minutes, and had no idea what I was supposed to say.

"My apologies. Could you repeat the question?" I asked, aware it was the third time since we'd started.

"Mr. Weston insists that our experts have undervalued the lots in New York by half a million each, on average. He argues we must have a third expertise done. Would you object to that?"

Those two were seriously pissing me off. Greedy fuckers who'd run their late father's empire in the ground in less than a decade. Now, I was their only chance at redemption, meaning they had to milk as many millions out of me as they could if they wanted to live the rest of their lives up to the lavish standards they were used to.

"No, we will not have a third appraisal firm look into the New York lots. The second one was a courtesy, and you recommended them, Mr. Weston. They came up with the same numbers as the one we contracted, so we'll leave it at that. I will not spend the next two years trying out every single real estate expert in New York until the numbers please you."

Arthur and Theodore Weston both looked appalled by my firmness. Honestly, I was done with this. What was supposed to be a quick and simple friendly buyout was turning into a time-consuming nightmare, and I had better things to do.

Like joining the lovely creature currently scavenging my library downstairs. Was she absorbed in her readings? I could almost imagine her, sitting in her pretty little skirt and blouse, attentively reading one of the old codex, biting her lower lip as she did when she focused intently.

From what I knew of her, she would feel the need to share and discuss her discoveries, to express her passion for history, excited to tell someone about her findings. And I longed to be that person, to be there with her, to entertain her awe and wonder.

"Ulrik?" Monica called this time.

Fuck!

"Mr. Westergaard, must I remind you we're all here on a Saturday because you left abruptly on Thursday?" Arthur Weston said with what I supposed was meant to be intimidating authority. "We could have been done with all this had you stayed, but now we all have to spend our day off doing—"