Page 20 of The Shadow

“He does? How?” I didn’t tell her about running into him in the elevator earlier. I actually didn’t even have a plan when I went to pick her up, but running into him like that was like divine intervention.

She looks up at me and I swear there’s fear in her eyes. I want to demand she tell me what he’s done or said to her to make her scared of him, but I know that’s useless. I want her to tell me on her own time, when she wants to tell me. I don’t have to look over my shoulder to know that Connor’s eyes are fixated on us.

“You know what.” I step closer to her, reaching one hand out to slide up her chest and around her throat, pulling her toward me. “Why don’t we show him.”

My lips are on hers, my body towering over her as I walk her backward, pinning her to the car. My hand grips her throat, just enough to send a message—she’s mine.

I nip at her lips, biting her bottom one before swirling my tongue around hers. She hungrily kisses me back. I push it, taking her mouth until I’m within seconds of losing control of my body.

This isn’t gentle or timid. I’m marking my territory. Claiming her. When I pull back, my hands are tangled in her hair, her lips swollen and red. I lean in one more time, kissing her softly. She sways a little on her feet when I finally step back.

“You okay?”

“Mm-hmm.” She nods her head, still in a daze.

Bumping the tip of her chin with my finger so she’s looking up at me, I take in her expression, my cock telling me what I already know.

“That’s the look I’m going for.”

“What look?” Her eyelids flutter slowly.

My hands reach out to rest on her shoulders before I spin her to face the building. My hands slide down her arms slowly as I lean my lips down to her ear, planting a featherlight kiss against her neck.

“Lust.”

Chapter 9

Aspen

The walk back to my office is on shaky legs. I try to avoid Mr. Blake’s icy glare as I walk past him but it’s impossible. His green eyes feel like their piecing through my back as I walk into the building.

I let out a shaky breath, picking up my pace so that I can get back to my desk before he enters the building but I’m not fast enough.

“Come on.” I punch the button for the elevator, the doors not sliding open fast enough. I jump inside when he and the other man he was talking to come across the lobby.

“Hold the door, please!” he shouts and the man in the elevator next to me shoots out his arm just in time. My heart sinks when the doors reopen and Mr. Blake’s smiling face greets mine.

I slink to the back of the car but he follows me, positioning himself so that he’s standing right next to me.

“Nice lunch, Miss Wilder?” He stares forward, the other two men completely lost in their phone screens already.

“Y-yes.”

The car comes to a stop on a floor before mine and I hold my breath, praying that someone else will step on but I’m not that lucky. Instead, both of the men exit, leaving me and Mr. Blake alone.

“So that’s the boyfriend?”

I try to swallow but my throat is so thick with fear I can’t.

This was a mistake. This is going to backfire like I thought it would and make things so much worse for me.

I watch the numbers climb, my heart beating faster and louder with each passing second.

10. 11. 12. 13.

And just when the door is about to open, he jabs his finger out, punching the stop button. The car jerks and I almost lose my balance, a loud ringing sound piercing the air for a second.

“Let me make one thing very clear, Miss Wilder.” He finally turns to look at me, a fire in his eyes I’ve never seen before. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but you will not win.” He spits the last four words at me with venom before punching the button again and the elevator springs back to life.

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