Page 102 of Billionaire Lumberjack's Bride

Darkness creeps into the edges of my vision.

I waver on unsteady feet.

“Lyla?”

This is all wrong.

All of it.

I never should have come here.

My knees give out, and a strong arm wraps around my waist, supporting my weight.

Then the world goes black.

ChapterSixteen

LYLA

Something cold and wet nudges my cheek, and I press against Whiskey’s familiar thick fur and try to push him away. I roll my head to the side to avoid the slobber surely coming from his usual routine when he decides it’s time for me to wake up.

I groan. “Whiskey, stop it.”

He shifts against me, and I turn in the bed, snuggling back down under the covers and tugging them over my head so he can’t keep trying to get me up.

Wait…

My eyes snap open, and I sit upright, my head spinning slightly. I press my hand against my temple, scanning my surroundings and trying to get my vision to clear.

The elegant bedroom in the suite slowly comes into focus.

How the hell did I get back to the hotel?

My eyes land on Silas sitting in the chair in the corner of the bedroom where I waited for him when he had locked himself away in the bathroom yesterday. He’s still in his black dress pants and white dress shirt, but he’s removed the jacket and tie, the top three buttons now open, exposing several inches of his tattooed chest.

His hair falls free over his shoulders, released from the confines of the tight bun he had it in during the board meeting.

Sharp, icy-cold eyes lock on me.

“How are you feeling?” His voice comes low, filled with concern and something else—an edge of anger.

“I’m…” I take stock of my body, and everything seems okay except for the slight spinning in my head. “All right, I guess. How did we get back to the hotel?”

The last thing I remember was being in the conference room, furious at the bullshit Marty was trying to pull, and getting hammered with questions about the money…

Shit.

No wonder Silas looks so pissed.

He watches me with cool contempt in his gaze. “You fainted. One of the board members is a doctor. He checked you over and said you were fine, likely just dehydrated and stressed. He told me I should let you rest but to take you to the emergency room if you had any other symptoms…”

Acid crawls up my throat, and I fight the gag reflex that makes me want to leap from this bed and go retch in the toilet. “Shit…Silas, I’m so sorry. I…”

He squeezes his eyes closed and shakes his head, holding up a palm to me. “Please don’t…I can’t…” His Adam’s apple bobs with his thick swallow. “I can’t right now.”

What happened in that conference room shook him badly, so much so that he’s teetering on that edge again, about to lose his grip on his tightly held control.

“What happened with Marty? The meeting?”

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