security team? That he didn't touch you?" He took a step closer, crowding her space, his scent of cedar a

d there been cameras? The thought made her skin crawl.

closed the distance between them, his hand shooting out to cup her jaw, forcing her to look at him. His mouth crashed down on hers. It wasn't a kiss; it was a punishment

ained in his expression, a storm pressing against the walls of his control. "You're like a m

o would have bled at those words died tonight, in a penthouse suite with V

the master bath. With a flick of his hand, he turned the sh

ring back to life. But through the misery, a strange sense of clarity washed over her. The cold was cleansing. It stripped away the last of her illusions, the last of

f our contract. I will stay until you find a suitable replacement." She had learned. She had changed the word "le

render. Her acknowledgment that he still held the reins. He stared at her for a long moment, a muscle working in his j

h was usually kept low, was now blasting warm air into the room. She paused, then gave a short, bitter laugh. He wasn't taking care of her.

ng. And Julian Ste

aid out his schedule. Coffee, black. Eggs, over easy. Toast, dry. The intimate knowledge of seven years reduced

. After Julian signed the documents, Alex place

ional but not unkind. "Mr. Sterling aske

hen the salve. It was the oldest pattern in the book, and she had been dancing to i

ery time she walked through those doors, she felt smaller, diminished, a footnote in the story of Julian Sterli

round the desk. He picked up the tube of ointme

d, his voice flat.

face blank. The familiar scent of him-that intoxicating mix she had once associated with safety-drifted across the desk, and she felt her stomach tighten. Not wi

resting flat on the polished wood. "You'll be

eneer of calm. She met his eyes and saw nothing there that resembled

ame did this ma

some broken, stupid part of h