Page 49 of Tempted By Eden

“Anyone who touches her, dies,” I growl, fists clenched tight. The possessiveness in my voice shocks me, but I don’t give a shit.She’s mine.

Dameon doesn’t flinch. Instead, he gives me a measured look. “You can’t go barging in there like a lunatic. You’ll blow everything. Just listen for once.”

I glare at him, my heart pounding against my ribcage. “You don’t understand—”

“I do.” Dameon cuts me off. “I’m registered for Le Jardin tonight. I’ll pick her.”

Does he have a death wish?

The words hit me like a punch to the gut.Dameon. PickingCora. Rage surges through me again, but before I can snap, Dameon steps closer, lowering his voice.

“Listen, I’ll pick her, then we’ll switch. No one else touches her. But if you blow up now, if you walk in there, guns blazing, you’ll ruin everything.”

I breathe hard through my nose, trying to rein in the storm building inside me. The thought of Dameon being the one to pick her, even if it’s just for show, twists something in me, but the logic is starting to sink in. Slowly I unclench my fists.

“Fine,” I bite out. “But this better work.”

“It will,” Dameon says evenly. “Wait here. I’ll come get you when it’s done.”

The minutes stretch on like hours. I pace the foyer like a caged animal, my heart beating a wild, erratic rhythm in my chest. Every second feels like an eternity. My phone and ID have already been handed over to security, so all I can do is wait, the walls of Eden closing in around me.

At last, Dameon emerges and slips me a key.

“Room six,” he says.

I snatch it from his hand without a word and head down the hallway, my breath coming hard and fast. By the time I reach the door, my pulse is a roar in my ears. My hand trembles as I turn the knob and push it open.

Cora is standing by the bed, her body half-lit by the soft light spilling across the room. She spins around, startled, when I enter.

“What are you doing here?” she asks.

I don’t answer right away, my eyes dragging over her naked form, anger knotting together in my gut.

“What the hell do you thinkyou’redoing?” I snap.

Her eyes flash, and she grabs the sheet from the bed, wrapping it around herself. “I’m doing my job, James. What does it look like?”

“Not anymore, you’re not.” I take a step toward her, my jaw tight. “I forbid you from working here.”

Fire flashes in her eyes as she steps closer, her chin lifting. “Youforbidme? What the hell gives you that right? You don’t own me.”

Her words hit hard, but the truth of them stings worse. My possessiveness is getting the best of me, but I can’t stop. I can’t let her slip out of my control, out of my life.

I close the distance between us until we’re chest to chest, our breath mingling in the charged air. “If this is about money, I’ll pay you whatever you need. You don’t need to fuck men for money.”

Her face hardens, hurt flickering behind her eyes before she blinks it away. “Don’t you dare judge me, you prick. You pay a ton of money for your membership here so you can fuck women. I’m here doing a job. Sex work is real work.” She pauses, her jaw tightening as she takes a breath. “And don’t be stupid. I’m not taking your damn money, James.” She rolls her eyes like it’s the most ridiculous thing she’s heard. I arch an eyebrow to remind her that she’s taken my money before. Without my consent. While I was asleep. She flushes and adds, “It’s not only about money. I’m not your property. I don’t belong to you.”

“The fuck you don’t,” I snarl, grabbing her wrist, pulling her closer until her breath is hot against my skin. We’re inches apart now, both of us trembling.

Her breath comes faster, her breasts rising and falling beneath the sheet, but she doesn’t back down. “You don’t get to control me.” Her voice is quieter now, but still defiant. “I make my own choices. You—you don’t get to just walk in here and decide what I can and can’t do.”

“I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. This isn’t happening again.”

The tension between us is palpable, electric, and for a moment, neither of us moves.

Chapter twenty-six

Cora

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