“Five minutes,” he repeats, voice now cool and unbothered. “Get dressed. Pack anything you want. After that, if I need to drag your stubborn ass out of here, I will. And you won’t be in a towel next time.”
My mouth opens, but he’s already turning away.
“Time’s ticking, sunshine. Get your ass moving.”
11
Benedikt
Sienna didn’t say a word the entire flight.
She sat stiff in her seat, arms crossed, head angled toward the window, like she wished she were anywhere but beside me.
Too damn bad.
She didn’t touch the catered sushi or the champagne.
She didn’t even flinch when Artem coughed next to her, just to get under her skin.
“Why the fuck is she even here?” Artem mutters under his breath, slouched across from me on the jet. “You really gonna bring her to a table with the DeLucas? You think they’re gonna take that seriously?”
This partnership with the Italians can get our product across the West Coast, cut out the middlemen, and ensure the West Coast pipeline runs through me and only me.
I can’t fuck this up.
Not with my brother getting out of jail and my father breathing down my neck like I haven’t been the one doing the real work since I was twenty.
And yet, here we are.
Dragging a girl across the country who looks like she’d bite my hand if I offered her a diamond ring.
She didn’t break her silence even when we landed in L.A., she simply followed me down the steps of the jet. She didn’t ask where we were going, didn’t flinch when Artem opened the car door for her, and didn’t even blink when I told her the penthouse was stocked with whatever she might need.
Not that I expected gratitude.
Later, as I showered, it reminded me of how I had her pressed into her shower hours prior, in a little towel, smelling like something sweet that I wanted to try.
Not that I will.
Even though I could.
Sienna is mine.
I can fuck her until I can’t see straight. I can lock her in a room for my pleasure and break her of her stubbornness.
But it’s not my style.
I just need to stick with the plan and work toward my goal—my father’s legacy.
I earned the right to carry it on after keeping it afloat for so long, but my brother will drive it into the ground.
Thinking about it on the flight made my head pound. Between the DeLucas, Artem’s complaining, and the quiet fury rolling off Sienna, I needed five minutes alone.
Hot water.
No opinions.
No sulking.
