Page 35 of The Broken Wolf's Redemption

She battled against the heady rush of power that swept through her, but at the same time, she felt her stomach twist and sink. Power was a mean thing too. It had an edge she’d never enjoyed. Bullying was gross. He lifted his hand, curled it into a fist like he’d punch through the glass and twist the knob with bloodied knuckles to get at her that way, but at the last second his fingers unfolded and he placed his palm flat against it. When he lifted it away, she saw that it was clammy. The faintest mark remained.

She hated it when people left their fingerprints all over the door. Glass was a bad choice. She’d regretted it ever since replacing the old door because it stuck, and people thought it was locked and they were closed when they were supposed to be open.

“Goodbye, Rome.” She turned, ready to hang up.

“Wait.”

It wasn’t a request, and so she did, stopping dead. Men like Rome didn’t ask people to wait. They didn’t ask, period.

“What would it take to make you open this door?”

“More than you have.”

“I doubt that. I’m a rich man.”

“That’s the problem. You can’t buy everything with money. We might have a deal, but you don’t own me. You own my time for a brief period each week. There’s a difference.” She felt him keenly through the glass at her back. She shouldn’t have given him her unguarded flank. She didn’t trust him. “Cancel the contract. Tear it up.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Sorry, then. This door stays locked.” As does the rest of me.

“Come tomorrow. To… my house. With my sister and Castor and Waverly.” He’d used Castor’s name. At least that was an improvement. “Instead of to the garage.”

“I’m still not going to open this door.” Her heart and body were both in line with being equally traitorous. She hated that she was at the mercy of her emotions and that when it came to Rome, they were all over the place.

“Fair enough. Will you come tomorrow?”

She wanted to retort that it seemed to be on the agenda for Mondays, but she wasn’t going to lower herself to that vulgar level. She should be glad for the reprieve. She should be glad he was here, and if she thought it meant anything at all, she would be. He’d come for instant gratification. Because he was used to getting his way. He wasn’t going to tear up the contract. Rome might not be spoiled, but he had expectations of how his life should go and how people should fall into it and fall in line, and that was a far cry from having any sort of relationship. Or interacting on a human level, which was what she needed. The invitation to be with his family might be a start, but it was only that. Baby steps.

“I don’t know. Am I required to?”

He seemed to sense just how much hinged on his answer. “No. You’re not required to.”

“Alright. I’ll think about it and let you know tomorrow morning by text. Is that fair?”

He managed not to huff at her back. “Yes.” It sounded like it came through gritted teeth. “What am I supposed to do tonight? Right now?”

What the rest of us do. Deal with it. Get on with it. Rome knew that life was hard. Something terrible happened to him. He’d killed because of it. He’d been banished over it. She didn’t know the full story. She hurt for him over it and for the parts of him that never could behave like the world demanded. Did that give him the right to make her a sex slave? No. He needed to know that. She wasn’t just going to open the door and let her body make the rest of the decisions. That would be a mistake, given how she reacted in his presence.

“Go back home and be with your family. Enjoy your time with them. You don’t need me to tell you how fleeting it can be and how precious life is. Or did you mean on a broader philosophical scale, because if you did, you need to get some books or take a course to help you with that. Bekinder isn’t exactly something I have time to elaborate on at the moment.”

“I’ll leave if you promise to come tomorrow.”

“You’ll leave anyway with no such promise. Good night.”

It would be foolish to let him get away with a second more bad behavior than she was already forced to tolerate. The problem was that she was too nice. She wanted to save every stray and make the world a better place. She had one of those bleeding souls.

Rome wore his pain like he wore his darkness. She knew she couldn’t save him, but she still wanted to try, and that was the stupidest thing ever. She couldn’t save him with her pussy, which was what she really wanted to do, so the night had to come to an abrupt end.

She walked back to her room and flipped open her security app. There were cameras at the front and back doors as well as in the reception area and one in every room. They were always on, even when the place was closed.

Seren didn’t take a full breath until Rome turned and walked down the sidewalk, his powerful leather-clad form eventually disappearing from the camera’s view.

Chapter 12

Rome

“Ahhh, Seren!” Waverly was so happy to see their guest that as soon as Briar May opened the door, she launched herself like a fifty-pound cannonball. She could have kneecapped Seren if she hadn’t bent down at the right moment and scooped her into her arms. As it was, she still had to take a step back.

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