Page 18 of Sinister Devotion

He shrugs. "I don't judge. You spend all this time and money to protect Claire. The way she looks at you, the way you fight it; hard to ignore the tension between you two."

"I never wanted this to happen. I just wanted to keep her safe because of what Derek did for me. I feel like a dick falling for her."

Edward has his own warped views of the world. His honesty is sharper than any blade as he says, "Again, I'm not judging you, or Claire for that matter. If you keep burying pieces of yourself, the only person guaranteed to hurt her, is you. You're a ticking time bomb. You can't hide that side from her or anyone you decide to be with. It's bad for you, makes you look like what you do right now."

"What do I look like right now?"

"Miserable," he says with finality. That's as much as I'll hear from Edward on the subject as we make our way downtown for me to start my workday hours before everyone else at Nuvola.

I keep my head down, sorting through documents to continue my corporate warfare against Carmine Scarpella. Eventually, I put my night terrors and Edward's suggestion to visit our therapeutic Dominatrix out of my head. It's only when I notice the hustle and bustle of employees filing into their cubicles that I'm aware the workday is officially under way.

Claire breezes in, not surprised at all to see me already behind my desk. There's an unexpected lightness to her demeanor as she goes through our normal routine like our disagreement from last night means nothing. Misery has me by the throat as she practically floats in royal blue high heels. They complement her grey eyes but are barely able to distract me from the form fitting black dress hugging her slender frame.

Curiosity gets the better of me, turning me into a temporary masochist. I hit the intercom button on the phone. "Claire, I need you."

Fuck, Edward might be right. A visit to Malia can scratch this itch, but I don't want anyone else. I'd much rather Claire delivers the pain I need to make me feel an ounce of normalcy.

It takes her less than a minute to bounce through my door. My eyes take in the sight of her like I'm never going to see her again. I don't want to push her away, but I can't stop myself from picking a fight.

"Yes, Julian?" she asks, her smile beaming from ear to ear.

"You were late this morning," I tell her. I know I'm picking a fight, but something inside of me wants to be the only reason she smiles that wide.

"I was seven minutes late, yes," she admits with a slight nod. "You have my apologies. It won't happen again."

"Close the door, please." I point my chin at the door and continue, "Why were you late?"

Claire closes the door and steps closer to the desk. "I made plans for dinner and I wanted to change so I wouldn't waste time when I got home. Is there something you needed, Mr. Blackwell?"

Something about the way my name comes off her lips angers me. "Where are you going?"

"Out. You have a ten o'clock meeting in an hour. Would you like me to print out anything? I can have Fiona come in if you want to go over your presentation."

"What's this game you're playing?" I ask her.

"I'm not playing any games, Mr. Blackwell. I'm simply doing my job. The job you hired me to do." She smirks and rounds the desk, leaning against it. When she crosses her arms just under her tits, it accentuates her cleavage.

"I need to know that you're safe, Claire. Address and phone number to where you're going tonight. Now," I demand.

"Julian, you have my phone number, which I'm certain has a GPS locator that pings you everywhere I go. I also have Bonnie escorting me as we agreed. You remember her, right? My bodyguard? So, I'm as safe as I always am."

"Wait a minute. You just said as we agreed. It's a date?" I ask her. Rage pushes me over the edge. I cage her between my arms, planting my hands on the desk. I'm so close. If I kiss her, I'd smudge the lipstick making her mouth glisten. That's when I notice it, the lightest shade of makeup. Fuck, she is going out on a date.

"Julian, I have work to do. There are files I need to pull for your eleven o'clock, and I have to confirm the valet team with Edward for this birthday party that's not really a birthday party. Once I confirm the team, I have to grab the files to have the drivers on that team vetted. Is there anything else that I can do for you, Mr. Blackwell?"

"Don't do that. You're pissing me off."

"Julian, I have work to do. You can't hold me hostage in your office," she says. "This is going to look inappropriate if anyone walks in."

She tosses a glance over her shoulder which gets me to back away from her. I want to do everything I'm not supposed to. The idea of spinning her around, bending her over and paddling her tight little ass until it's red makes my dick hard. However, my anger and logic overrule my primitive urges.

After taking a deep inhale of her scent, I back away from her.

"Cancel them all," I tell her.

The way her brows scrunch together tells me that I can be just as unpredictable.

"Cancel what exactly?" she asks.

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