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Without his stabbing me in the back, I would not be in the position I am today. Without the cold-hearted lessons he taught me, I never would have been able to become the powerful man I am today. Even if I haven’t adopted his methods, he opened my eyes to what the rest of the Financial District was like.
Not that I could ever forgive the bastard. The one thing I truly, truly regret in my life is not wrapping my fingers around that son of a bitch’s neck when I had the opportunity.
But perhaps I’ve gotten my revenge even more sublimely. He stole my fiancée from me, leaving her just a few weeks after I called off the wedding. Now, I have the woman he was too stupid to hang on to, and I’m not just richer than him, but I’m also on the trembling cusp of dethroning his entire family from their perch. The best part? Raven’s going to help me.
He tried to destroy me. It’s taken some time, but soon, I’ll be the one pissing on the ashes of the Faulkner empire.
There’s a knock on my door, and I glance up to see Raven enter my office.
She’s wearing the same green blouseand black skirt combination that she wore to our interview, and I’m struck by how much has changed since then. Though some things haven’t changed a bit, like the fact that I’m stiffening in my slacks from the mere sight of her.
“Mr. Sharpe.”
“Miss Hill,” I reply, and she smiles, that beautiful smile that frames her sensuous mouth and teases me by its very presence. I go to sleep at night remembering the sensation of those velvety lips pressed against me, or wrapped around my cock like she was yesterday. “Tonight, I wanted?—”
“Wait, Dylan,” she says, and I pause, lifting an eyebrow. She steps closer, and I can see in her eyes what she wants to say even before she says it. But I hold back, maintaining control. “I can’t.”
“You can,” I reply with a frown, not quite adding, ‘You will. Now get on your knees.’
I’m still giving her the choice, after all. It was one of the lessons that Evan taught me. I can’t force loyalty. I can’t force desire. That’s not the sort of man I am. So I won’t order her, even if the sentiment has merit in the right circumstances.
Raven shakes her head, almost as if she’s reading my mind, and her lips twitch. “Not that, Dylan. I’m not saying no to you. You’re… never mind.”
“No, what is it?” I ask, and she blushes. I get up, going around my desk to lift her chin and look into her eyes. “Tell me, darling. What were you going to say?”
“I was going to tell you,” she says as her blush deepens and her breath quickens, “I was going to say that you’re cute when you’re disappointed, but then I didn’t want you to think I was being stupid or trying to demean you.”
I sit back on the edge of my desk, stunned into silence by her gushing admission. “I’m cute?” An eyebrow cocks at her statement.
Raven nods, biting her lip. She looks unsure whether she should open up to me like this. It’s touching that she’s socourageous as to do so, and a reminder that while I’m letting her see parts of me the rest of the world doesn’t, it’s clear I’m still walled off and intimidating in a lot of ways. But she’s going to keep trying. “Very. But as much as I would love to show you, I can’t. I’m sorry, but I have to leave tonight. My mother texted earlier, and she’s on the train down right now. Surprise!” she says brightly, but then her face falls. “I wanted to say goodbye before I left.”
Relief strikes through me, making me sigh softly. It’s an unfamiliar feeling, but at the same time, welcome. Reaching up, I stroke her cheek. “I understand. So, what are the two Hill women planning?”
Selfishly, I’d hoped to see Raven tomorrow night as well. She would be a much-welcomed distraction from the ghosts of my past that will come haunting in the late-night hours of the ugly anniversary. But I’m not entirely without a heart. Raven speaks fondly of her family, so of course, I’d want her to spend time with her mother.
She laughs. “I have no idea since I didn’t know she was coming. I just hope Maggie doesn’t mind another person in our tiny apartment.”
She’s joking, but I’ve been to her and Maggie’s apartment, and from the doorway, I think I saw more than eighty percent of the space. Raven has teasingly said her bedroom is the width of her spread arms, and I’m not entirely sure she’s exaggerating.
I reach across my desk, picking up my phone. “I’m booking your mother a room. I’d go with five-star, but I suspect she’d have too many questions if I did.”
Raven looks shocked and reaches for my wrist. “Dylan, you shouldn’t?—”
“I should, and I am,” I reply simply, pulling my phone out of her reach and holding it over my head like we’re playing keep away. She wants to call me cute? She should see how she looks right now, reaching for my phone, her breaststhrust outward against my chest, her eyes huge and gorgeous. She’s more than cute. She’s hot as hell. “Seriously, Raven. I’ve seen enough of your apartment to know that there’s no way that anyone’s mother should be staying there for a visit to the city. Now, as for your explaining that to your mother, just tell her that you got a signing bonus with the firm and decided to treat her to a nice weekend. Or tell her the truth. She won’t be coming around the office, I assume?”
She huffs a half laugh softly and pauses, meeting my eyes. “No, she won’t. I promise. Are you sure about this?”
“Staying until Monday?” I question, and she smiles while nodding. “Yes.”
I nod, quickly booking a place and slipping my phone into my pocket.
“You really didn’t have to do that,” she says before getting on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. It’s unexpected, and so is the feeling in my chest.
I pull Raven close, not wanting distance between us. “If you haven’t figured it out after this week, Raven, you’re mine. And I take care of what’s mine.”
For me, it’s as big a declaration as I’ll ever make and a leap into dangerous waters. As though she can sense the magnitude of my words, she looks up at me, her green eyes filled with tenderness.
I kiss her, not needing her to say anything. Not yet, not if she’s not there. I am, and that’s enough. She leans into me, and I pull her even closer, still wishing we had time for more but making do with imprinting myself along her body as I memorize the feel of her to get me through the lonely weekend.
