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  Maxwell Subsidiaries bought Slante Mortgages.

  One simple sentence, stuck in at the end.

  But it has me seeing red. So much so, that it overshadows for the moment that my anonymity is gone. I snatch the paper up and stalk over to Gray’s door. When I charge inside and slam the door behind me, I find him sitting at his desk with his fingers steepled as if he was waiting for me. Even Jeff wears an expectant look.

  “How could you?” I seethe, my tone low and deadly.

  His gaze is sharp as he skims over my blouse and skirt before roaming back up to my eyes. “How could I what?”

  I slam the newspaper down on his desk. “Do you know what you’ve done?” My voice is shrill.

  “That was me, actually,” Jeff pipes up. “I contacted my buddy at The Times and told him the story.”

  “You don’t know what you’ve done,” I tell him, a slight quiver in my voice. When I think of Vaughn seeing the paper and knowing where I am, my knees buckle and I crash up against the desk. Jeff tries to right me but Gray has already come around the desk. I’m dragged into his powerful grip.

  His scent.

  His touch.

  His overpowering presence.

  I fall victim to his gentle touch for a moment and let him protect me from the repercussions. But just for a moment. Then, the fury sets in.

  “You didn’t want me to leave so you bought Slante Mortgages?” I screech.

  He rubs my back. “There’s more to the story that you don’t know.”

  “So. Tell. Me.” I lift my chin and glare at him.

  His jaw ticks and he nods at Jeff who slips out of the office without another word. Then, his features soften as he regards me. I try to wriggle away but his grip tightens.

  “Sean has a bad history,” he grits out, anger morphing his features.

  “A bad history for what?!”

  “For fucking his employees.” His words are snarled out, jealousy clinging to each one.

  I scoff. “You fuck your employees.”

  This earns me a growl. “No, I just fuck you.”

  Embarrassment causes my neck to heat. This poor guy just lost his company because my new boyfriend is jealous and doesn’t want me to quit? Unbelievable.

  “That was his company,” I mutter, disgust seeping in my tone. “You just made a few phone calls and bought his company out from under him?”

  “I hardly call twenty million a bad deal. I doubled his asking price.” His voice is smug and it irritates me.

  “When?” I hiss. “When did you do this? After our fight on Saturday?”

  His features harden. “He was pleased with my offer. After I dropped you off, I met with him and our lawyers. Everything went smoothly. This morning, the wire transfer went through. He’s staying on to manage, though. But…”

  He doesn’t have to say it.

  I know.

  “But the caveat was he couldn’t have me.”

  He has the sense to look shameful. “Violet.”

  “No,” I murmur. “All of that is horrible, and I’m furious with you. But splashing my face and name all over the front page of the country’s biggest paper when you know I’m hiding from my psychotic and abusive ex? That’s unforgivable.” This time when I push away, he releases me. He looks wounded.

  “You don’t understand—”

  “Apparently not.” I choke back tears. “I’m taking the day off. I’m not feeling well.”

  He sees through my lie but gives me a clipped nod. “Let me drive you home at least.”

  I shake my head and hold my hands up. “You’ve done enough.”

  I hate having to bite my tongue but I can’t tell her the truth. I can’t let her know that I had Jeff run that article so that Vaughn would come out of his hiding place. Dusty is still trying to find the slippery motherfucker. Using Violet as bait seemed like the quickest way to draw him out.

  I’ve been unable to work all day. Not without Violet nearby. Instead, I’ve sat in my car across the street from her building watching for creepy assholes that might be casing the place. When it’s well past midnight, I climb out of my car and stretch my legs. I haven’t eaten or moved in hours.

  Once I’m on her floor and my forehead is pressed against her door, I listen. The apartment is quiet. She’s probably sleeping but I need to talk to her.

  Me: I’m sorry.

  She responds immediately which makes my heart rate quicken.

  Violet: Me too.

  Me: Can I see you?

  Violet: I’m a mess.

  Me: What if I told you I was waiting at your front door?

  Violet: I’ve been watching you from the window all day. I’ll let you in.

  I straighten my body and slide my phone into my pocket. A few minutes later, I hear the bolt locks disengaging. The moment she opens the door, I can’t wait any longer. I tug her into my arms where she belongs and kiss the top of her head.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She sniffles but her grip on me is tight. “I’m sorry too.”

  I pull away to lock the doors before scooping her slight frame into my arms. She rests her head against my shoulder as I carry her through the dark apartment to her bedroom. I kick off my shoes and set her down on the bed.

  The lamp beside her bed casts shadows on her face, highlighting the dark circles under her eyes. Her face is puffy and red from crying. I reach forward and swipe a shiny brown strand of hair away from her face. Kneeling in front of her, I hug her waist and rest my cheek against her thigh. Her fingers stroke my hair. Touching her soothes my heart. I hope I fix her the way she fixes me.

  “I don’t know what to do,” she murmurs, her voice wobbly. “He’s going to come for me.”

  I kiss the inside of her thigh. “I’m going to keep you safe, like I promised.”

  When I lift up to look at her, tears race down her pretty swollen cheeks. I don’t like seeing her cry. I want to put smiles on her face. And once that fucker is dead, she’ll never have to fear for her life again.

  I sit up on my knees and tug at her T-shirt. She lifts her arms, allowing me to shed her of the garment.

  “Lie back, baby,” I instruct as I begin peeling off my clothes.

  She scoots back and then shimmies out of her panties. I shed the rest of my clothes before killing the light. Once darkness shrouds us, I claim my woman. The moment our bare skin touches, the usual connection we share seems to flare to life with a jolt. Our mouths meet for a desperate kiss. She wraps her smooth legs around me, and in the next instant, I’m buried deep inside her. Instead of moving, I simply cradle her cheek with one hand and kiss her until she’s breathless.

  I trail kisses along her cheek to her ear where I whisper to her all the things I need for her to hear.

  I’m obsessed with you.

  I can’t live without you.

  I’d die without you.

  My words turn her on because she wiggles and moans and begs for more. Slowly, I rock against her. Her body is tight and accepting. Warm. Mine. I continue murmuring the words she clearly needs to hear too.

  You’re mine.

  I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you.

  Whatever it takes.

  Mine.

  She whimpers in pleasure. My thrusting has quickened. I’m so overcome with my need for her that my movements are uncoordinated and ragged.

  I can’t spend another day like the past two days away from you.

  I need to see you and be with you.

  You’re mine, goddammit.

  “Yours,” she agrees, her voice catching as her orgasm nears.

  You’ve consumed me.

  You own me.

  I’m nothing without you.

  I love you.

  She comes with a screech and her body jerks from beneath me. I’m so lost in our lovemaking that I come like a fucking virgin teenager. Quick and explosive. I mark my woman from the inside out.

  Her fingers thread into my hair and she sighs. “You’re so intense. I do
n’t know what to think.”

  I rub my lips along the shell of her ear. “You don’t think. You feel. I don’t care about rules or norms. All I know is I’ve been completely spellbound by you since the moment you slapped your notice on my desk.”

  “I’m still upset with you,” she admits, her voice shaking. “I feel so out of control around you.”

  I lift up and brush my lips across hers. “So take back control.”

  “How?”

  Cradling her face, I nuzzle my nose against hers. “We’ll set some ground rules. What makes you feel like you have no control?”

  She lets out a ragged sigh. “We should use condoms. I can’t think about having a baby right now. My life is too messy.”

  It pains me to do so but I agree. “Done. What else?”

  “You can’t just blast through my life and make financial or career decisions for me behind my back,” she murmurs. “Buying Slante and stealing that opportunity for me, no matter what your intentions were, was wrong. I don’t trust easily, and doing stuff like that will make me not trust you.”

  My heart squeezes. “I want you to trust me.”

  “I want to trust you too.”

  I kiss her nose. My cock that had softened inside her is already hardening again. I wonder if she wants me to pull out and wrap my dick up. “What else?”

  “I need some space,” she whispers but then moans when I rock against her.

  “How much space?”

  “Tonight, I need to sleep by myself. I need space to think and sort out everything that’s happened mentally. It’s too hard when you’re curled around me and in me.”

  I thrust again and nip at her bottom lip. “Where are your condoms?”

  Her lips curve into a smile against mine. “I need to buy some more.”

  “Should I stop?” I murmur as I slide slowly inside of her in a teasing manner. “I don’t want to break rule number one five minutes into this.”

  “Don’t stop, Gray.”

  She made good on rule number three. After we made love and talked late into the night, she kicked me out. Sweetly of course, but she forced me out the door.

  Luckily, for me, I have a key.

  And once I’m sure she’s most likely fallen asleep, I slip back inside.

  I open the curtain in her room so that I can see her properly. She looks positively angelic sleeping soundly and curled up on the bed. Her arm is wrapped around the pillow I’d been lying on.

  I’m completely consumed by her.

  I’ve allowed certain things in my life to take control.

  Violet controls my every thought and action. Everything I do now is under consideration of how it will impact her. The newspaper article wasn’t an accident. Nothing, when it comes to her, is an accident.

  I wasn’t lying when I told her I want my last name to erase hers.

  I want my carefully chosen and rare—like her—diamond weighing her tiny hand down.

  Despite the new condom rule, I’m going to wear her down until she lets me put baby after baby inside her body.

  She’s mine.

  We’re supposed to be together.

  That motherfucker Sean Slante would have treated her no better than the pricks I fired from my own company. At first, when I called him Sunday, he’d been resistant. But when I dangled an ungodly sum in front of him, he was giddy as fuck to sell. She’s excellent at her job—at my company. At a company that will one day be hers too when she bears the Maxwell name.

  I lean forward on the bed and brush her hair away from her eyes as she sleeps. She’s adorable as hell and I’m proud she’s mine. I just have to eliminate all of the shit that stands between us.

  Sean Slante is gone.

  Vaughn Brecks is next.

  I should be sleeping but I’m wired up in her presence. She’s just as invigorating as the coffee she used to bring me. I’m proud to say I now make it myself. After she showed me how, of course. Violet makes me a better person. Even Bull has noticed that.

  I peel back the covers and frown to see she put on a T-shirt after I left. With careful movements, I remove that and her panties. When she fully gives in to our relationship, I’ll insist she sleeps naked every night. The time we spent at the resort, she had no problem sleeping with our bare bodies pressed together. It was perfection.

  Once I deposit her clothes into the hamper, I rummage around in her closet a little and inspect her jewelry. I take a mental inventory so I know what to buy her. This costume shit is getting thrown out and I’ll replace it all with high-quality pieces that belong draped across her. Once I’ve cataloged everything she owns jewelry-wise, I check the sizes of her shoes and clothes. When I move her into my home soon, I’m going to shower her with gifts, including a new wardrobe.

  I come across the box tucked away and pull out the picture of her mother. Upon Dusty’s researching, he located her mother and was able to dig into her finances for me. She does, in fact, receive the money Violet sends her. The woman no longer works at the diner, which is because Dusty said she was sick. Mountains of hospital bills bulge from her mailbox each day. I had him send me the totals and creditors so that I could pay them off immediately.

  Violet’s family is my family.

  Her burdens are my burdens.

  One day I’m going to eliminate her ex so that I may reunite her with her mother. That is the ultimate gift I vow to give her. I want Violet to be happy. I will make her happy.

  I tuck everything away in the closet and saunter back out. She still sleeps soundly. Her full tits are gorgeous in the moonlight. My cock rouses in my pants. Quickly, I remove all my clothes and shoes before kicking them under the bed. Then, I slide in next to her.

  God, she’s beautiful.

  I press kisses down her throat to her breasts. My tongue slides across one of her nipples, causing it to harden. I’m addicted to touching and kissing her. I’ll never get my fill. I brush kisses along her abdomen. I’m dying to spread her apart and eat her until sun up but I refrain. Instead, I press a soft kiss to her clit before sliding back up the bed. Kneeling beside her, I fist my cock. I’d prefer to be inside her again but this will have to do. I stifle my groans as I worship her with my eyes. With each jerk, I imagine I’m inside her tight cunt that only belongs to me. I imagine coming in her so many times I eventually knock her up. I imagine her lying in my bed back home with her stomach swollen with our child and her wedding ring shimmering in the sunlight through the window.

  So beautiful.

  With a moan that I barely contain, I come hard. My hot semen splashes across her perfect tits, marking her as mine. I should clean away the cum that runs down her flesh but I can’t. I can’t swipe away my mark.

  She belongs to me.

  And I’m hers.

  A sigh escapes her and I freeze. I can’t let her wake up to me jizzing all over her while she sleeps. That would probably seem fucking creepy. Carefully, I slide off the bed, my dick dripping along the way and then kneel on the floor. Then, I slide underneath the bed. The nasty carpet scratches at my back and irritates my scarred flesh. I much rather be in bed with her. But love makes you do crazy things.

  I maneuver until I locate my pants. Once I pull out my phone, I check my emails and do more research. As I hunt for more clues on Vaughn, I can’t help but think about how my life has improved since Violet came into focus.

  I cleaned out the trash at my company and promoted someone worthy.

  I’ve made that someone my friend and will ultimately make her my wife.

  Her presence kick-started something with my mother and sister. My mother willingly went to the home, knowing she needed the help. So many years she clung to the fact that Dad would come back. Dad is never coming back. I know this for a fact. And Gwen? She was just embarrassed enough to want to do something about her problem. I know she doesn’t want to end up like our mother. The fact that she wants to see Dr. Ward is such a huge feat.

  Violet and I have tapped into something that most peopl
e never have.

  Love. A future. Happiness.

  It’s ours for the taking.

  And we’re going to motherfucking take it.

  I set my phone down and grip my cock. I’m always hard around Violet. Her scent climbs its way inside of me, clawing away at my senses. It’s as though she flows through my veins just as naturally as my blood does. And like my blood, she floods straight to my cock every time.

  With her sweet smell overpowering me and knowing she sleeps soundly above me, I fist my dick, reveling in the pleasure. I’m overcome with the need to spurt my release all over the fucking place. Part of me craves to slide back out from under the bed—to push her knees apart and ease my cock inside her tight body. The thought of being inside her bare again has me losing control. I can’t hold in the groan as I shoot my load up my belly. I’m still flying high with my heart hammering in my chest when my blood runs ice cold.

  “Who’s there?”

  Fuck.

  I blink away my sleepiness and strain my ears. I heard something. A voice. It was loud enough that it woke me up. If my heart weren’t thundering in my chest, I’d be able to hear better.

  “Who’s there?” I call out again as I ease my gun out from between the mattress and box spring. I scoot back against the headboard and squint in the darkness. My gaze travels over to the window.

  Someone opened the curtain.

  I’m not going crazy.

  Before going to bed, I remember shutting it. I felt exposed, as if Vaughn were watching from across the street. I’d felt the need to hide from him if he was.

  Cold awareness trickles through me.

  I’m naked.

  I’m fucking naked.

  Terror climbs its way up my throat along with a scream that I barely stifle. Someone undressed me. Those other times, even though I convinced myself otherwise, weren’t me. A reality that I’d chosen to ignore because I couldn’t mentally deal with it being truth. I’d been too terrified to admit it so I pushed it into the back of my mind.