Page 37 of His By Contract

Georgia stepped closer to Adrian’s desk. The truth sat heavy on her tongue, but she refused to let fear steal her voice.

“Vaughn approached me.” The words fell between them, clear and steady despite the chaos in her chest. “He offered me freedom. A chance to run my business without…” She swallowed hard. “Without you.”

Adrian’s features remained carved from stone, but his eyes blazed with something dangerous, something that made her blood run cold and hot all at once.

“I didn’t give him anything.” Her chin lifted, defiant even as her fingers curled into fists at her sides. “Not because of you. But because I won’t be his weapon. Not for this.”

The admission hung in the air like smoke, choking her with its implications. She’d chosen him. Not just the contract, not just the arrangement, but him.

Adrian sat motionless, his silence a living thing that wrapped around her throat and squeezed. Seconds stretched into eternities as she waited, her heart pounding so hard she thought it might shatter her ribs.

His gaze never left her face, searching for lies, for weakness, for betrayal. She met his stare, letting him see the truth written across her features. She had nothing to hide, not anymore.

Adrian rose from his chair, each movement fluid and deliberate. Georgia’s pulse jumped as he circled the desk, her skin prickling with awareness.

“You could have told me sooner.” His voice carried no accusation, just cool assessment that made her stomach clench. He traced a finger along the edge of his desk, watching the motion as if it held secrets. “Yet you chose to wait.”

A quiet tension filled the space, threaded with implications too sharp to speak aloud. This wasn’t punishment or praise; this was Adrian cataloging every detail, every choice, every possible angle.

He lifted his gaze to her face, his eyes boring into her soul. “Why now?”

His fingers brushed her jaw, barely there yet burning like brands against her skin. “Tell me, Georgia.” The command in his voice made her knees weak. “What made you decide I deserved to know?”

She couldn’t look away from his face, couldn’t escape the intensity of his scrutiny. This wasn’t about trust, but about ownership. About whether she truly understood what belonging to Adrian Adler meant.

Georgia held his gaze. “I wanted to be free of you.” The confession spilled from her lips, raw and honest. “When Vaughn made the offer, part of me saw a way out. A chance to escape everything you built around me.”

Her fingers twisted in the fabric of her dress, but she kept her chin high. “I thought about it. About walking away, starting fresh.” A bitter laugh escaped her. “But I never made the choice. I kept putting it off, telling myself I needed more time.”

Adrian’s posture remained rigid, controlled, but his eyes… Something shifted in those ice-blue depths, darkening them to stormy seas. His gaze cut through her like a blade, sharp enough to draw blood.

The air between them crackled with electricity. Gone was the coldness of moments before, replaced by something that made her skin flush and her breath catch. The silence wrapped around them like silk sheets, full of friction and unspoken promises.

Georgia’s feet stayed rooted to the carpet. She didn’t back away, didn’t try to flee from the molten intensity radiating between them. Her pulse raced, but not from fear. This was different, dangerous in a way that made her want to step closer rather than run.

“I kept waiting,” she whispered, her voice steady despite the tremors running through her body. “Telling myself tomorrow I’d decide. Tomorrow I’d choose.”

Adrian’s fingers traced along her jaw, his touch deceptively gentle. “Your hesitation put everything at risk.” His voice carried no anger, just cold certainty that made Georgia’s stomach clench. “Not just the business. Every person who depends on Adler Capital.”

A slow tremor coursed through her as his hand slid to her neck, the pressure both a warning and a claim.

“I don’t punish disloyalty, Georgia.” His grip tightened, not enough to hurt, but enough to remind her of his strength. “Because disloyalty ends our arrangement permanently. But failing to act when action was required?” His eyes held hers, intense and unblinking. “That requires correction.”

Heat flooded her cheeks as understanding dawned.

“Ten strikes.” His words fell like ice against her skin. “Not for considering Vaughn’s offer, but for waiting to tell me about it. Bend over the desk.”

Georgia moved before she could second-guess herself, the polished wood cool against her palms. When Adrian moved into position behind her, Georgia realized the deeper truth: beyond mere discipline lay ownership. And they’d barely crossed the threshold.

CHAPTER 12

Georgia pressed her palms against the polished mahogany, the wood cool beneath her heated skin. Her hair fell forward, curtaining her face as she settled into position. The fabric of her dress pulled taut across her bottom.

Adrian towered at her back, radiating heat and strength that sent her heart racing. The air between them crackled with anticipation, thick enough to steal her breath.

His hand skimmed over the curve of her hip, not gentle, but purposeful. Claiming. The touch sent shivers racing down her spine, her body betraying her with each subtle response.

Georgia’s fingers pressed harder into the desk’s surface, seeking stability as her world narrowed to this moment, this position. The silence in Adrian’s office stretched between them, broken only by the sound of her shallow breathing and the subtle rustle of his movement behind her.

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