So I don’t give her an easy answer.
I give her the truth I can live with.
“Because you shouldn’t have been there,” I say, which is as close as I can get.
Her brows draw together, confused again. “That’s not—”
“It is,” I cut in.
I keep my voice low. Controlled. The anger is still there, coiled beneath my ribs, but it’s not aimed at her anymore. Not really.
“It shouldn’t have gotten that far,” I continue. “You shouldn’t have walked onto that stage. You shouldn’t have had to stand under those lights while a room full of men decided what you’re worth.”
Her throat bobs. She blinks, fast, like she’s trying to clear the shine from her eyes.
Then she lifts her eyes back to me.
“But—”
And I know before she says the next word that she’s not going to let it go. Not until she gets the real answer.
“—why? Why do you care?”
I feel something in my chest tighten—not anger. Something more dangerous because it’s harder to control.
I keep my expression blank. I keep my voice even.
“I wasn’t going to let someone else walk in here tonight.”
Her eyes widen slightly.
“Because you belong to me.”
Chapter Five
Erica
“What?”
The word comes out breathless, thin, like my lungs forgot how to work the second he said it.
Nico doesn’t move. He doesn’t blink. He just holds my gaze like he expects me to catch up.
“Tonight,” he repeats, matter-of-fact, “you belong to me.”
My stomach rolls again. The room tilts at the edges. My mind snags the word belong and refuses to let it go.
“I don’t—” I start, but I don’t even know what I’m trying to say. That I’m not a thing? That I’m not property? That he can’t talk to me like that?
The worst part is that he can. Because of where we are. Because of what I did, what I agreed to.
He turns away as if my reaction is expected and walks across the suite to the small liquor display. His movements are controlled, unhurried.
Not a man in a rush. Not a man who doubts himself. He reaches for a bottle of something deep and brown, pours it into a glass, and throws it back in one smooth motion like it’s water.
Then he pours another.
He turns back to me with the second glass in his hand, the alcohol catching the light.
