s soft, a whisper of sensation that was utterly at odds with the violence of the night before

tion. Pure, animal instinct. Stella took a s

was instantaneous. One moment, almost-human. The next, ice. He straightened up, his hand d

ss, a physical barrier between him and everyone else. She had always known that. She had ju

hat even in this corporate tower, she was his to command. She walked to the heavy office door, her legs fee

n't tur

ribs. Every instinct screamed at her to run, to unlock the door and flee. But where would she

all her. He

ngulfed her before his hand touched her arm-fingers wrapping around her bicep with a grip that was both a command and a threat. He pulled her back toward the des

ssion. It was about reminding her, in the most primal way possible, that she belonged to him. That the

ead, a sanctuary he couldn't touch. She was a doll, an object, enduring what was required of her. Her passivity seemed to infuriate him mor

thes, her face a blank mask. Her hands didn't shake. Her eyes were dry. She h

screen. An image appeared-Julian and Cassandra Beaumont-Vanderbilt at a recent gala, smiling at each other. The perfect couple. Manha

n of a fact she had already accepted. The future Mrs. Sterling was on tha

on-jealousy, tears, anything. He got nothing. Nothing but that blank, serene, infuriating calm. A profound sense of fr

And for the first time in seven years, Julian

r pack of birth control pills and pushed one through the foil. She swallowed it dry. Seven years. It was as much a part of

was a stranger with empty eyes. But deep within that

and stared at the blank screen. The cursor bli

carefully mapping. The decision crystallized in that very moment, born from the ashes of everything that had happene

professional, and to the point. For personal reasons,

the past seven years. A final, polite closing of a chapter written in pain. A goodbye wr

of lightness, of profound relief, washed over her. It was done. Whatever came

mood, barely touching the food she had prepared. The tension was a third perso

o his study, she fin

difference was deliberate. He always positioned himself ab

him and held o

document he'd forgotten to sign. He tore it op

k, thunderous rage. A storm gathering behind his eyes. His knuckles turne

tear. But somethi