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“Did you kill that detective?”
“No. I have a connection in the police force, someone high up who owes me a favor so I called it in, got him reassigned.”
Relief washes through me. “Was Dane your first?”
He nods but his eyes darken. “Yes, but he won’t be my last if anyone tries to put you in danger again.”
“What do you want from me, Mads?”
He reaches his hand out, laying it over mine. “Just try,” he says barely above a whisper. “Just try to love me.”
“And if I can’t?”
He stares at me longingly, like he’s trying to will me to love him. “Then I’ll never bother you again.” He stands. “I won’t force myself on you, Emery. If you want me, I will let you come to me.”
* * *
“Wear the necklace.”
I turn my head to see Mads leaning against the doorway of the bedroom as my fingers rest gently on the daisy diamond necklace that Dane bought me earlier this year. A lock of his dark hair hangs over his forehead. He looks devilishly handsome in his custom tuxedo. I pull my hand back, feeling guilt for wanting to wear it. “It’s okay.” I shrug. “I was just looking at it.”
He walks up behind me, the scent of his woodsy cologne permeating the air. He reaches around me, picking up the necklace and placing it around my neck gently. “I want you to wear it.” His breath tickles my neck as he leans forward to clasp it, his fingers lingering against my skin.
“Are you sure?” I reach up to touch the diamonds as I turn to look up at him. A memory from only a few short months ago plays in my head… the memory of Dane putting this same necklace around my neck before our anniversary party.
“Yes,” he says, stepping back to look at me. I’ve never been looked at the way Mads looks at me, like he’s staring into my soul. I think back to how I felt when Dane admired me wearing the necklace in the mirror. At the time it felt like he saw me, like I was his world, but now I realize it wasn’t love or happiness I saw in his eyes; it was nothing.
Just emptiness.
It’s been a month. A month of living in Mads’ house, of sleeping in his bed, a month of trying. He has kept his word; he hasn’t touched me at all until right now.
Part of me wonders if that was his plan in all this, to make me crave him. To tease me just enough with a hand hovering behind me as he ushers me into his car or through a doorway. If that is his plan, it’s working.
“Are you ready?” he asks, adjusting his cuff link. I take a few steps forward, reaching out to straighten his bow tie. His hands instinctively dart forward, resting on my waist. My hands drop slightly, pressed against his chest for a brief second before I break the contact and step away to grab my clutch.
“I am.”
Tonight is our first outing in public together since Dane’s death. I agreed to attend a corporate event with Mads for his family company. Tonight is their annual shareholders party and I’ll be on Mads’ arm in front of a room full of people who know very well who I am. Some people who last time they saw me, saw me on another man’s arm… Dane’s.
“You look stunning,” he murmurs as he ushers me toward the car when we exit his building. “Pink suits you very much.”
“Thank you.” I smile nervously, brushing my hand over the dark-pink strapless gown I picked out for the event as I settle into the back seat. Another bold choice that would not have been Dane’s first choice considering he told me more than once that pink on redheads was a no for him.
I watch Mads’ fingers move across the screen of his phone as he sits next to me in the back of his car. I try to be discreet as I watch his movements, the way his hand runs through his hair while his brow furrows in thought.
I squeeze my thighs together beneath my dress as he brings his hand to rest on his thigh.How does he manage to keep his hands to himself so easily?
All I can think about is imagining those fingers wrapped around my throat as he pumps inside of me, his mouth whispering filthy things to me. I could have that right this second if I wanted, but I promised myself that I would focus on more than the physical between us. That’s why I haven’t allowed myself to give in this entire month. I need to know that these feelings I have for him aren’t just lust cloaked in desire pretending to be love.
Love.
The word feels dangerous, more like betrayal considering what had to happen for me to arrive here. That’s the other part of this situation that is driving me insane. The constant internal turmoil and guilt that eats at me for “betraying” Dane.
Mads slips his phone into the inside pocket of his suit, his gaze falling on me. “Everything okay?” he asks with a slight smirk and I wonder if he knows the thoughts in my head.
“Mm-hmm.” I offer a small smile before turning my attention toward the window. My stomach feels like a swarm of bees have been let loose inside me. Anxiousness pulses through me violently.
“Don’t be nervous,” he says in that deep, seductive voice that rumbles through his chest as his hand comes to rest on my knee that’s bouncing with nervous energy.
