Page 44 of Controlled

I lifted a single eyebrow, laughing. Did she really believe I didn’t know about the young man? Really? She had no clue who I was at all.

She didn’t take my response very well, moving to the conference room table and grabbing the pitcher of water. When she tossed it in my face, I heard at least one gasp.

“You fucking. Horrible. Son. Of. A. Bitch. I will destroy you!” She was now yelling at the top of her lungs, which meant my other office employees could hear her. As much as I adored her spunk, I was furious she’d made a scene.

However, before I could keep her from doing any additional damage, she flew toward the door, flinging it open with enough force it smashed into the wall. I watched in a mixture of anger and amusement as she stormed out.

Did she truly believe she could get away from me?

I wiped water from my face and sighed. “Excuse me, gentlemen. I have something to take care of.” I took long strides from the conference room, ignoring the terrified looks of my employees. By the time I made it to the reception area, she made it out the set of glass doors, rushing toward the bank of elevators.

I grinned, given our first carnal meeting.

But I followed her into the empty space, anticipating her attempt at punching me in the face. Before she had a chance, I wrapped my hand around her throat, shoving her against the back wall.

She pushed both her fists into my chest, already gasping for air since I was squeezing her long neck with more force than I’d used the first go-round when she’d tried to fight me.

Her eyes were open wide with terror and in truth, she believed that I’d killed her friend. I’d seen them walking out hand in hand from the ballet studio but had left shortly afterwards.

“Now, while I can understand you’re mourning the death of your friend, you will learn very quickly that coming into my place of business is not acceptable under any circumstances. And calling me a murderer in front of my board members, brothers, and my employees will only bring punishment down on you. I doubt that’s what you want. Is it?”

She was close to wheezing because she was starting to fight me in earnest, twisting and twirling her body, the fear crumbling her resolve. “Why. Why?”

As a single tear slipped past her long eyelashes, I found myself watching it roll down her cheek. For all the times I’d had men whimpering and sobbing, begging for their lives and had never cared, the single salty bead that I could tell bothered her tremendously touched my heart.

Without thinking about it, I rolled the tip of my finger through the tear, bringing it to my lips. As I sucked on the end, she stopped moving for a few seconds.

When I was finished, I rubbed my thumb under one of her eyes then the other. As I lowered my head, she tried to turn hers before I had a chance to capture her mouth. As hard as she tried to keep control of the moment, preventing me from thrusting my tongue inside, she acquiesced almost immediately.

Whereas I’d hungered for her before, the longing keeping my balls tight, today felt entirely different. I’d crossed a line already. Now, this felt like coming home. The electricity was similar to what we’d shared but her distrust was more significant.

I dominated her tongue, enjoying the taste of her as well as the way she continued to struggle in my hold. When I finally pulled our lips apart, both our breathing labored, I remained where I was for a few seconds. She pressed one fist into my chest then the other, her actions reminding me of a cat.

“I didn’t kill your friend, Bella. There was no reason for me to do that.” I released my tight hold, still keeping my fingers in position.

“Why do you expect me to believe you? You saw him kiss me. He’s my boyfriend and you’re determined that I belong to you.”

I chuckled and pulled back just as the elevator came to a halt. “My beautiful Bella. How much you underestimate me. Do you not believe that I’d learned all there was to discover about any man touching you in any capacity?”

She narrowed her eyes, uncertain what I was saying. “Meaning?”

“Please, my beautiful creature. Jonas preferred the company of men. Yes?”

Her mouth twisted in shock, her eyes darting back and forth as if trying to ascertain who else might have killed him. When someone popped into the elevator, she took the brief lapse of my attention by shoving me with all her might, racing around me into the lobby.

I closed my eyes before following her into the expansive space, watching as she continued racing toward one set of carousel doors. I had no intention of calling after her or stopping her at this point, but I did want to ensure her safety.

She was desperate to get out and away from me, shoving a couple of people aside only to find herself trapped between the building and the street. As she slapped her hands against the glass in frustration, I closed the distance, heading out the unencumbered double doors two seconds after she did.

I prided myself on a heightened level of observation skills, what my brothers would call having eyes in the back of my head. I moved toward her more quickly, turning my head when I heard tires screeching as a driver raced around the corner. The big, black SUV was headed in our direction. It was likely they’d gotten a glimpse of us on the sidewalk.

As the back passenger’s and driver’s windows were rolled down, my instinct kicked in. I issued an intense roar as I lunged toward her just as assault rifles were shoved through the two open spaces.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

“No!”

CHAPTER 15

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