His Claims

I exhaled sharply, my voice barely steady. "You bought me lingerie." The words felt heavy on my tongue, and I spoke plainly. "That's completely inappropriate for a coworker."

He spun me around until I faced him directly. Heat flooded my cheeks, shame creeping through me at my own admission. I'd discovered the garments the day of his call—luxurious pieces that fit me perfectly, which I'd hastily shoved into the back of my drawer.

"You don't care for them?" Klaus's surprise was evident in his tone. His eyes shifted to an intense, piercing shade—unsettling yet magnetic.

"My boyfriend wouldn't approve," I said with forced conviction, fighting against his iron grip.

Klaus threw his head back and laughed—a genuine, captivating sound that seemed to shake his entire frame.

"A boyfriend?" he managed between laughs. "What's so amusing about that?"

His body vibrated with amusement against mine. He laughed as though I'd told the world's greatest joke.

Then his expression hardened entirely.

"If you had a boyfriend or claimed any such connection, he'd be dead already. And if I discover otherwise, I'll execute him right in front of you without hesitation." I gasped, my mouth falling open in shock.

"You're sick," I whispered, still struggling against his unyielding hold.