The bitterness in his tone strikes something deep inside me. I’ve heard that tone in my own voice too many times.
“The women?” His laugh is harsh, empty. “They wanted the wealthy businessman. The powerful fixer. My body, my money, my influence.” His eyes lock onto mine, dark with an intensity that makes me shiver. “No one has ever wanted just… me.”
“And shooting me was your way of showing genuine affection?” I challenge, but the acid in my voice has dulled.
“I told you—” He steps closer, and I hate how my body responds to his proximity. “If I hadn’t pulled that trigger, you’d be dead. My bullet was a blank with a dose of medication to make you fall asleep. The next one wouldn’t have been.”
“So this is love?” I gesture at the room, at the sophisticated security system, at the space between us charged with violence and desire. “Control? Manipulation? Possession?”
“This is protection,” he growls. “The only way I know how to—” He cuts himself off, frustration evident in every line of his body. “I’ve never done this before. Never felt—” He trails off, looking almost lost.
The vulnerability in his admission hits me harder than any physical blow. Remy Harding, the man who orchestrates chaos with surgical precision, who never shows weakness, stands before me, stripped of his usual masks. It shakes something loose inside me and softens the edges of my rage.
But I can’t let go entirely. Not yet. “And that makes all of this okay?”
His words hang between us, sharp and honest in a way that makes my chest ache. I take a step back, needing distance from the raw intensity radiating from him.
“Love isn’t a shield, Remy.” My voice comes out steadier than I feel. “It’s not about control or protection or—”
“Then tell me what it is.” He cuts me off, closing the space between us. “Because this?” His hand gestures between us. “This consumes me. Makes me question everything I’ve built my life on.”
I bark out a laugh. “Right. The great Remy Harding, brought low by feelings?”
“Mock me all you want.” His eyes darken. “But you feel it too. That’s why you’re so angry—because you can’t control it any more than I can.”
“Fuck you.” I shove against his chest, but he doesn’t budge. “You don’t get to tell me what I feel.”
“No?” His fingers wrap around my wrist, thumb pressing against my racing pulse. “Your body betrays you, Eve. Every touch, every look—”
“That’s not love.” I wrench my hand away. “That’s obsession. Possession. Lust. The same thing that drives every power-hungry bastard I’ve exposed.”
“Is that what you think?” His laugh is cold and bitter. “That I’m just another story for you to break open?”
“Aren’t I just another problem for you to fix?”
His hand shoots out, gripping my jaw. Not hard enough to hurt but firm enough to force me to meet his gaze. “You’re the only problem I’ve never wanted to fix.”
The intensity in his eyes makes me want to look away, but I refuse to show weakness. “Let go.”
“No.” His thumb traces my bottom lip. “Not until you stop lying to yourself.”
“The only liar here is you.” I bare my teeth. “Playing protector while keeping me prisoner.”
“Would you rather be dead?” His grip tightens fractionally. “Or worse, in your father’s hands?”
The mention of Ano sends ice through my veins, but I push back. “At least with him, I’d know where I stand.”
Something dangerous flashes in Remy’s eyes. “You want honesty?” He backs me against the wall. “Fine. I’m possessive. Controlling. Obsessed. But everything I’ve done has been to keep you alive.”
“How noble.” I sneer, even as his proximity makes my heart race. “Your very own pet journalist to save.”
His other hand slams against the wall beside my head. “You think I wanted this? To feel this… this weakness for you?”
The word “weakness” hits me like a physical blow. My breath catches as memories flood back—late nights researching corruption, following dangerous leads, building walls around my heart. I’ve spent years making sure no one saw me as weak. And here’s Remy, throwing that word between us like an accusation.
“I’m not your weakness,” I spit back, hating how my voice trembles. “I’m not your anything.”
His dark laugh sends shivers down my spine. “Aren’t you?” His thumb traces my jaw, and the gentle touch is a stark contrast to the tension radiating from his body. “You’ve consumed my thoughts since the moment you walked back into my life.”
