nce
My fingers traced the condensation on a glass of ice water, the
e that morning, her anxiety a
arned. "You're meeting a powerful Alpha t
taste in my mouth. I was sick of it. S
he private ro
at seemed to suck all the oxygen out of the space. His black suit was tailored to perfection, fitting broa
re landing on me. It was a heavy look, deep and unrea
odds with the raw power emanating from him. With a dismissive wave of his hand toward
ke to speak with
ried out of the room, pulli
o of us. The silence w
I intended. "Sir, are you the person I'm meeting on this bl
ippo from his pocket, his long fingers flicking it open and closed with
eet his gaze. "I just ended a relationship. I have absolutely no inter
d, a low chuckle rumbled in his chest. "That's a coincidenc
nstructed defenses faltering. Th
her-was it amusement? Or something else entirely? "I require a partner in name only. Someone to satisfy the elde
precision. A cold dread washed over m
ffened. "You i
ic courtesy," he replied, his tone smooth
own thoughts. An escape. A way out from under Karter's shadow, from my mother's suffo
ngerous, re
he small pain grounding me. I
voice steady now. "B
lent 'go on,' his eyes watching
my tongue. "For the duration of the contract, we live separate lives. We do not interfere with e
terminated. We part ways, no strings attached. In return, I need
to laugh, to negotiate
hen, a slow, enigmatic smile spread across his lips. It didn't q
," he
it felt unreal. It
stood, towering over me. "L
snapped
his hand to me. "City Hall. We ca
His palm was broad, his fingers lon
also my o
and in his. His skin was warm and dry, his grip firm, pulling
utside the tinted windows of his car blurred
office, the world came back into sharp focus. The thud
s, slid a piece of paper across t
ame printed next to
s my husband. My legal,
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