The man dropped to the floor like dead weight, and my breath hitched in
my throat.
55 vouchers
I stood frozen, heart hammering, staring as Rick straightened from the punch, his chest rising and falling
fast.
The fury on his face didn’t match the control in his stance. He looked like he could kill someone and then he turned to me.
His eyes scanned over me like he was trying to memorize every inch, his brows pulled tight in worry. I didn’t expect that, not from him.
“Are you okay?” he asked, voice low but heavy, like he couldn’t breathe right until I said something.
I nodded, slowly. “Yeah, I think so.”
He stepped closer, cupping my face gently. His palms were warm against my skin, but there was a tremble in his fingers, like he wasn’t as calm as he looked.
I stared at him, completely stunned. My pulse thudded in my ears.
What the hell just happened?
“What were you thinking?” he asked, his tone shifting sharp, “why did you leave the room by yourself?”
“I didn’t think…” I whispered. I couldn’t even finish. I hadn’t thought, not clearly and now this? The last thing I would have expected was for someone to have tried something so foolish at such a high end hotel.
He kept his hand on my cheek a moment longer before letting it slide down to my arm.
He didn’t let go of me as we walked back to the hotel room, not once. His grip was firm, almost possessive, but not rough like he needed to keep me tethered to him just to be sure I was real.
Once we got inside, he didn’t speak right away. The room was quiet, just the faint hum of the AC. I sat on the edge of the bed while he locked the door, then he turned and looked at me again.
“You’re hurt,” he said suddenly, moving fast.
I looked down and saw it too, my wrist, red and beginning to bruise. I hadn’t even noticed it but he had. Rick crouched in front of me, his hand curling around mine so gently it made my chest ache.
“I’ll kill that bastard,” he muttered, brushing his thumb across my skin. His brows were still furrowed in that intense way, but his touch was careful. His fingers moved up my arm like he was checking for anything else.
“Why did you say that?” I asked, my voice quiet.
“Say what?”
“That I was yours.”
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8:43 pm E
Chapter 17
He looked at me like it was obvious. “Because you are.”
My stomach twisted. “You don’t mean that.”
55 vouchers
“I do,” he said, standing now. “You signed a marriage contract, you belong to me now, that’s how this
works.”
I stared at him, heart clenching. The way he said it so casually, like it was a business deal and not a human heart involved.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he added, grabbing a jacket from the chair. “You shouldn’t have left. Next time, tell me if you really need to leave and I’ll get someone to be next to you, now get ready, we’re heading back.”
His tone left no room for argument. I stood and grabbed my things, ready to head back home to Lena above everything.
The ride down in the elevator was silent. We barely looked at each other, but I felt his presence beside me like gravity.
We exited the hotel and walked toward the waiting car.
“Fiona!”
The voice hit me like a jolt. I turned, startled, eyes searching then I saw him.
I hadn’t seen Andrew in years, but the second I turned around, everything else fell away.
He looked like every polished memory I ever had of him had grown up and come to life.
His suit clung to his frame like it had been tailored just for him, charcoal grey with the sleeves pushed slightly up, revealing strong, veined forearms.
His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, just enough to tease.
He looked like the kind of man who’d smile while undoing your zipper and still remember your coffee order the next morning.
And he was smiling now, at me.
“Oh my God. Andrew?”
He jogged up to me, a grin stretched across his face. “I can’t believe it. What are the odds?”
We hugged, and I felt a rush of old familiarity. Andrew had been a friend in college, someone I hadn’t seen in years.
“You look amazing,” he said. “Wow. I mean it, how are you even here?”
“It’s a long story,” I laughed, “I didn’t expect to see anyone I knew.”
We exchanged numbers quickly, laughing as he told me about the company event he’d come to attend.
2/3
8:43 pm ED
Chapter 17
Then, suddenly, Rick was beside me.
I barely had time to breathe before I felt it, fingers sliding into mine.
E55 vouchers
He didn’t say a word at first. He just took my hand and then, without breaking stride, he pulled me to his
side.
My body collided softly with his, his arm brushing against mine.
I tilted my head to look up at him, but he didn’t meet my eyes.
He was staring straight ahead, shoulders tense, jaw locked, the muscle there ticking like he was biting down on every word he wanted to say.
I followed his line of sight.
Andrew was still standing there, smiling politely, too politely.
Rick’s thumb moved slightly over my knuckles barely but it was there, a stroke meant more for himself than me like he needed to remind both of us that I was next to him now.
When Andrew spoke again, Rick finally turned his head, slow and deliberate.
“My wife and I have to leave,” he said, his voice low and final. He emphasized the wife, glaring at Andrew and speaking with a poison laced voice.
Andrew blinked, caught off guard. “Oh, yeah, of course.”
Rick didn’t wait for a response. He steered me away, hand still gripping mine.
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