Still, I say nothing.
“I wonder if you’d be this quiet if I dropped to my knees right now… pushed that tight little skirt up over your hips… slid those red panties to the side, and made you ride my face.”
My breath stutters, just once, but that’s all it takes for him to know I’m listening now and that he’s gotten under my skin again.
“Would you stay silent then? Would you keep that mouth shut so none of your employees out there hear how fucking loud your body gets when I touch you?”
I knew he’d touch me good. I knew it, and I hate that I knew. I hate that he proved me right and learned my body faster than anyone ever has.
“As soon as I got back to my apartment, I made you a new line. Want to see?”
My gaze flicks to his forearm, to the fresh black mark inked over red, raised skin. Another scar he carved into himself because of me. Because yes—I said his name. I whispered it in the dark when I shouldn’t have. I’m not proud of it, but it still left my lips, and now it’s permanently etched into his skin.
“There’s plenty of space for more too,” he adds, tracing the new mark with his thumb. “I’m thinking your whole name down my cock. Maybe the date I first touched you across my chest. What do you think?”
“God, do you ever shut up?” I hiss, my heart hammering way too hard. “I actually miss you stalking me from whatever hole you were hiding in.”
“Liar.”
“And boyfriend?Really, Phoenix?”
“Husband, maybe? Because we can make that happen tonight. Say the word, and I’ll drag you into a courthouse—I don’t care if it’s by the hand or by the throat. You could be wearing my ring before sunrise.”
“You’re delusional.”
He tilts his head, and for a second, that feral smile fades into something darker. “You’ve said that before, and I’ve explained that I consider it devotion.” He reaches across my desk, fingers wrapping around my jaw, forcing me to look at him. “Maybe it’s a little unhealthy by society’s standards, but if I’m not obsessed with the woman I’m in love with, if I’m not willing to ruin my life and everyone else’s for her, then what the fuck’s the point of any of this?” His eyes search mine, wild and unrelenting. “You think I’m delusional? Fine. But I’m that way for you. And that’s never going to change.”
“It’s a problem when said woman isn’t in love or obsessed with you back.”
“More lies,” he says softly, almost tenderly, releasing my jaw. “It’s okay though, pretty girl. Your mouth might like the taste of bullshit, but your pussy sure doesn’t lie.”
“Okay, whatever. I’m busy. Are you done?”
“Yeah, I’ve got things to do, but I wanted to drop in and tell you that you look beautiful today. I also put some food in your fridge because I know you’ll be here late getting ready for tomorrow.”
My eyes bulge at the fucking audacity—and the twisted, suffocating care—of the man in front of me.
“Don’t look at me like that. You know what I do for a living.”
“And you don’t think I deserve any fucking privacy? Not even my emails.”
“You deserve it, but when a name flags up, then it becomes my business.”
“Whose name?”
“James Lawson.” His jaw ticks as he says it, a small tell only I would catch. “When that prick shows up, I need you to be careful. I need that smart fucking brain of yours intact, and if it starts to slip, I will be sitting in on the meeting with you.”
I lunge forward, my palms slamming down on the desk as fury pulses up my spine. “Do not fuck with my business, Phoenix. I swear to god?—”
He moves fast. Too fast. One hand wraps around my wrist, yanking me forward just enough for his mouth to ghost over mine—not kissing, not yet. Just breathing the same air and sharing the same space.
“And I swear to god, baby… You can run your business all day long, build your empire, and wear that fucking crown you earned, but the second someone wants something that isn’t on the contract? That’s when it stops being business.” His eyes drop to my mouth, and I feel that traitorous flutter in my stomach, the one that has no business existing when I should be throwing him out. “Now, I’ve never had to before, but don’t put me in a position where I have to intervene, Shannen, because you won’t like how I handle it.”
God, he’s beautiful.
Dangerous and unhinged and completely fucking beautiful.
My vagina’s talking again, and she needs to just shrivel up and die at this point because she has terrible taste in men.
