pte
e felt colde
silver-gray. I sat in the middle of the massive bed, knees drawn to my chest, star
did
the nightstand. No text lighting up my dead phone screen (battery long gone, charger nowhere in si
a stranger
h
rou
'd vanished
Men like that didn't do mornings. They did
tender skin, the faint bruises blooming on my hips where his fingers had gripp
le. Neck marked with faint red blooms from his teeth. Breasts still flushed, nipples dark and sensi
ked w
ked a
in years, I didn'
ng. No bra to begin with. I slipped the silk back on anyway clammy now, wrin
iving room
pt
Like no one had ever
tle of water, chugged half, then splashe
ed to life when I plugged it into the suite's c
missed
ts (I didn't
voice
mails mar
med back lik
to explain. An apartment that wasn't mine anym
s, wiped away the worst of the mascara with a tissue. Slip
morning. The concierge gave me a p
shame every weekend, or he was very
an, wet asphalt and coffee from somewhere. I hailed
re, I chang
me to Reed Enterpr
iew. "You sure, miss? That's do
m s
ng. Maybe because showing up at work looking like I'd been thoroughly f
that the man who'd disappeared this morning owned half the
s, news, the new tech merger that swallowed three smaller compa
ly li
paid with the last of the cash in my clutch, stepped out barefoot (he
topped me
D and app
y chin. "L
epartment.
rance wet dress, bare feet, w
ad
. Can you call up? Tell them I'm coming
d, then buz
A woman in a crisp blazer stepped outm
a Ha
es
mment on the state of me. "Follow
ropped throu
Ka
xecutive elevator. She swiped a c
straight into a corner office
ass. City sprawled
d
kets of a charcoal suit that probably cost more than my car.
hout a word. Doors
t turn a
te," he sa
. "Late for what? You didn't
rned
scar on his jaw. Same mouth th
r like a second skin. Cold
" he said mildly. "Y
roared in
whispered. "Last night.
d
ion hit li
ke I was nothing. And then you left m
Stopped just close enough that I could
'd stayed, I would've fucked you awake. Again. And again. Until you couldn'
him. "You'
gaze dropped to my mouth. "And right now, you loo
ed my face
can't
rd you forget your own name? Mark you so everyone downstairs will smell
enched. Trai
quit," I
ottom lip. "Because you're already
m. He w
ring over mine. Not kiss
e a.m. My office. Wear some
steppe
isse
like
ing, heart hammering
window. "You're dis
d to the elevat
, I caught his refl
s smi
. Pre
isf
e-deep, terrif
wasn'
only be
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