heat of Dominic's gaze on her back. She didn't look back. She didn't need to. She could feel him following her, his f

ssed the button. The gold doors slid open with a soft, expensive hiss. She stepped inside

ton, but a hand-large, tan, and f

He simply reached over her shoulder and punched the 'Emergency Stop' button. The elevator lurched,

, heavy and

ve. She stood with her back to the corner, her arms crossed over h

ad spent six years building. He looked down at her, his eyes wild and bloodshot, searching her face as if he could peel back the layers of her skin to find

mber a check, Dominic. I remember a manila envelope on a wine-stained table. I remember you telling me I was a placeholder for the woman

de a mistake. I was... the pressure from the board, the return of the only woman I thought I k

elevator, they looked like two ghosts haunting their own past. "Who are you, Serafina? Who gave you the

ashing with a dangerous light. She reached up, her fingers grazing the silk of his tie.

the ashes of the heart you broke, Dominic. Every time I wanted to give up, I remembered your voice telling me I was nothin

cating desire. He wanted to crush her to him, to reclaim the woman who had once looked at him with nothing but devotion.

ed in her chest. "You can pretend to be a shark in the boardroom, but right now? You

g for a merger I will never give you," she breathed back, though he

ither of them acknowledged. Dominic leaned in, his lips hovering just a fractio

na's phone rang. The screen lit up with a photo o

ING:

ic's chest with all her might, creating a gap between them that felt li

ir," she said, her voice sha

ack, leaving Dominic standing in the mirrored box, hi