I was at home when Hunt called.

“Hunt.” I never greeted him with much more affection than that over the phone, having no idea who he was around at the time. Someone could overhear me if they were standing close enough, not that Hunt would purposely put himself in that position.

“Titan.”

“How’d it go?” I’d been thinking about it all day, wondering if Hunt or his father got the deal. I didn’t know Vincent Hunt, only his name and reputation, but I did know Diesel Hunt—and I believed in him. He had gifts that most men couldn’t even begin to dream of.

And not just in the bedroom.

His smile was audible over the phone before he even said anything. “I got it.”

I didn’t care about the deals my peers made. I kept track, but their successes and failures didn’t mean anything to me. The only person I was invested in was myself. But hearing his accomplishment truly made me happy. “I’m not surprised. I knew you would make it happen.” In that moment, as with several times prior, I knew Hunt was more than just some guy I was screwing. His well-being and happiness were essential for my own.

He was part of my inner circle.

“Thanks,” he said. “I gave them the large offer up front, and they bit.”

“And?”

“I told them I’d give them an even bigger offer if they took my offer then and there. If they met with anyone else, they would get my smaller offer.”

I was impressed, and that was something that didn’t happen often. “Genius.”

“And they took it. I gave them a gambling metaphor. Smart guys don’t gamble. It’s not in their nature. It did the trick.”

“Awesome.”

“I paid more than I wanted…but I’m sure my father is ticked.”

“He should be,” I said. “Not only did he lose a viable business opportunity, but he was outsmarted by a man half his age. Arrogant men always get what’s coming to them…”

“We both know I’m arrogant.”

“Maybe that was a not so subtle hint…”

He chuckled. “I’m coming over.”

I didn’t invite him, but I didn’t object. If he didn’t volunteer his presence, I would have just asked for it anyway. “I’ll make dinner.”

“Are we celebrating?” he asked. “I love your cooking.”

“You do?” I knew a few things around the kitchen, but I definitely didn’t have the skills to impress anyone.

“Definitely. Better than my maid’s.”

“Then you need to get a new maid,” I said with a laugh.

“Don’t underestimate yourself. You succeed at anything you put your mind to.”

“But I’ve never been motivated in the culinary arts.”

I heard him speak to his driver before he got into the back seat. “Then why don’t you hire someone to prepare your meals for you?”

“I don’t want anyone in my penthouse.”

Hunt paused for a few seconds, the quiet sound of the radio on in the background. “So you clean your entire place?”

“Yep.”

“That’s how paranoid you are?”

I didn’t appreciate that word. “I’m not paranoid. I just value my privacy.”

“What about your other places?”

“Yes, those are taken care of around the clock. But my penthouse is different.”

Hunt stayed on the phone with me until the car pulled up in front of my building. Even when he didn’t have anything to say, he stayed on the line. “What are you hiding?”

“Who says I’m hiding anything?”

He chuckled. “The richest woman in the world doesn’t clean her own place because she’s that down-to-earth…”

Yes, I did have secrets. “Okay…maybe I do have a few secrets. A few skeletons in my closet.”

“You let me come over.”

“Because you’re the skeleton.”

The door shut behind him, and he walked into the building. The elevator dinged when he entered the passcode and rode up to the top floor. Hunt was quiet for a while before he said something else. “What other skeletons do you have?”

The elevator doors opened and revealed him standing in the center. I looked directly at him, seeing his mocha-colored eyes staring back at me. He stepped inside with the phone still pressed to his ear.

I continued to hold mine. “You don’t want to know.” I hung up and set the phone on the table.

Hunt slid his into his pocket. He was in a suit, obviously skipping the gym and coming here instead. He walked up to me and cupped my face before he kissed me on the mouth. His soft lips brushed against mine before his tongue moved into my mouth. His fingers yanked on my hair slightly as he moved farther into me. The kiss seemed to last only ten seconds even though it was minutes. Then he pulled away. “I do want to know.”

I didn’t understand his statement at all because all I’d been thinking about was that kiss. After a few seconds of thinking, I remembered the last thing we were talking about. “The less you know, the better.” My hand ran down his chest before I walked into the kitchen. “How’s sweet butternut stew?”

He followed behind me and joined me at the counter. “No idea what that is.”

“It’s a vegan stew I make. It’s pretty good. It’s got sweet potatoes and butternut squash, mixed with red lentils and white rice.”

“Actually, that doesn’t sound bad.”

“You want to help me?”

Any other guy would rather park his ass on the couch and turn on football, but he smiled in response. “I’d love to.”

“Do you know how to peel potatoes?”

“I can make you come three times in a row,” he said sarcastically. “Yes, I can peel a potato.”

“Sex is much easier when you look like that.” I patted his ass on the way to the fridge.

He gave me that rugged smile that was mixed with boyish charm. “You like my ass, baby?”

He called me baby again. And again, I said nothing. “I wanted to dig my teeth into it the first time I saw it.”

“There’s still time.” He smacked his own ass playfully.

“Be careful what you wish for.”

We diced the vegetables and prepared them in the hot pans. We added ingredients, prepared the rice, and sautéed vegetables to go with it. Working in comfortable unison, it was like we’d done this several times.

“Do you think your dad knows by now?”

“Oh yeah,” he said. “The guys at Megaland must have given him the courtesy of canceling.”

“But they may not have given up your identity.”

“They wouldn’t have to. He’ll figure it out.”

We combined the rice and the stew together into big bowls, making more than enough for both of us. We carried them to the kitchen table along with two Old Fashioneds. We sat down and ate, picking up the conversation.

“Have you been in the same room together since you last spoke?” I asked.

“A few times. He doesn’t look at me. I don’t look at him.”

I understood Hunt’s decision, but I thought the situation was terribly sad at the same time. Hunt still had his father around, but the man was pretty much dead to him. I didn’t have any either of my parents anymore. I’d made a great life for myself and I didn’t need anyone, but any son or daughter would always need their parents—or at least want them. “He’s never contacted you?”

“No.”

“Have you ever considered calling him?”

He kept eating, taking his time as he chewed his bites. “No.”

“What about your brother?”

“Jax and I don’t talk either. We don’t have any beef. We’re just on different sides of the same war.”

“That’s too bad.”

“But I don’t respect him,” Hunt said. “Brett is our brother, even if only half his blood is the same as ours. Jax turned the other cheek while my father treated him like garbage. That’s not okay to me.”

I always respected those who rooted for the underdog. If people hadn’t done the same to me, I wouldn’t be here now. A lot of people tried to undercut me, but a lot of people lifted me up too. “I know it’s not my place to say anything, but I think that’s really sweet. Your mom would be proud of you.”

He flinched slightly at the mention of his mother. His hand halted as he gripped the spoon. Then he scooped up another bite like nothing had happened. “I don’t know what my mother would think of me. But I know she would be disappointed in my father for dividing us like this.”

“I know she wouldn’t be disappointed in you. If you weren’t divided, then Brett would be an outcast. That’s the last thing she would have wanted.”

“Maybe.” He kept eating without looking at me, his exterior cold.

I assumed he didn’t want to talk about his mom anymore, but there was one more thing I wanted to say. “Brett told me about her accident. I know it was a long time ago, and this doesn’t help at all, but I’m sorry.”

He turned his gaze slowly back on to me, his brown eyes darker than they were before. He seemed angry and touched at the same time. “Thanks…I’m surprised he told you that.”

I didn’t reveal the rest he told me. “I can’t remember how it came up.”

He finished his food, wiping the bowl clean. “That was great. Thank you.”

“And thank you. You helped me.”

“Team effort.” He pushed his bowl aside and took a drink of his Old Fashioned. He stirred the ice cubes before he took another sip. “We’ve been talking about me all night. What about you?”

“What about me?” I crossed my legs and plucked the cherry out of my drink. I popped it into my mouth and yanked the stem out, dropping it onto the napkin.

“How was your day?”

“The same as all the others.”

“You seem bored.”

“Quite the opposite. I have to fly to California for a meeting next week. Not looking forward to that.”

“Why? You have a place there, right?”

“I just have so much to do here.”

She might have to reschedule that meeting. I wasn’t giving up a single day during my six weeks.

“And then Thorn wants to take a trip to visit his parents in Chicago.”

She just saw them. That was something else that would have to change during our six weeks.

“My assistant is getting better. She was terrible in the beginning, but now she owns it.”

“It was nice of you to be patient with her.”

“People were patient with me, once upon a time.”

“I can’t picture a version of you that’s anything other than perfect at everything.”

Both corners of her mouth rose in a smile. “Oh, she definitely exists.”

He glanced at my private wet bar before he turned back to me. “How many does it take to knock you over?”

“Nothing knocks me over.”

“You’ve never been drunk?” he asked incredulously.

“No. I don’t like losing control of my faculties. A buzz is nice, but nothing more than that.”

“And how many do you drink a day to get there?”

“Hmm…” I stirred my glass as I thought about his question. “Ten.”

He couldn’t hide his skeptical look. “You can drink ten of these a day?”

“I could, but I don’t.”

“How many do you usually have?”

I shrugged as I thought about it. “Probably five.”

He still seemed surprised by that. “I drink a lot, but you do laps around me.”

“I hardly believe that.”

“Well, I don’t drink during the week. I can only take in so many calories.”

“I can because I just don’t eat.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” he said darkly.

I was done with the chitchat, our stomachs full and our conversation over. “You still want to see one of my secrets?” I pushed my empty glass away and stood up, my fingertips still resting on the surface of the table.

His face shifted up to look at me, his eyes greedy for knowledge. “Yes.”

My hand went to his shoulder, and I gave it a tight squeeze. “Then follow me.” I led the way, leaving the living room and moving into the hallway. My feet clapped against the hardwood floor, and I could hear his heavy footsteps behind me. I turned right down a different hallway, leading him to a side of my penthouse he’d never seen before.

The door was white like all the others. To anybody passing by, it would seem uninteresting, a door that led to another bathroom or closet. But it led to somewhere truly spectacular.

I walked inside first, stepping into the dark room with chains, whips, and ropes. I flicked on the lights, revealing the display cases with tools I mostly collected, never used. Unlike other playrooms I’d seen, mine was in tones of white and gray, matching the rest of my fortress. It was feminine but powerful.

Hunt stepped inside and swept across the room with his eyes. He examined the chains in the ceiling, the gray mat in the center of the floor, and the case full of whips in various sizes. His hands sat in the pockets of his slacks. His jaw was harder than usual, and his eyes weren’t burning with anger like they sometimes did.

Indifference.

He wasn’t the least bit intimidated.

Not even slightly annoyed.

He brushed his fingers along one of the whips before he walked onto the soft pad on the floor. His eyes found mine as he moved his hands to his neck and yanked his tie off. Then he unbuttoned his shirt, letting it fall open little by little.

It took a lot to get my heart beating in this room. I’d seen it all. I’d done everything. But watching Hunt undress himself, not recoiling in disgust, was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. He not only accepted my challenge—but he raised it with his own.

I licked my lips.

My throat went dry.

My entire body ached for this man.

This fearless man.

He moved to his pants next and kicked off his shoes. He stripped down to his black boxers, muscular thighs leading to toned legs. His thin waist had a sharp V from the indents of muscles. He looked just like a muscle car, full of masculine curves and a powerful engine.

His back was tight against his waist and extended to a powerful pair of shoulders. Muscles etched in stone were across his skin, an endless array of power all along his back. His triceps were cut, his biceps jutting out in the opposite direction.

The look he wore was sexier than the rest of him. His jaw had a slight shadow, but it was enough to darken his features. His brown eyes contrasted against his fair skin, his brown hair still perfectly styled because I hadn’t dug my fingers into it yet.

I was the one who owned this room, but he quickly hijacked it. “I’m ready, Boss Lady.”

My spine tightened then shivered.

He was obedient, but only in his own way. He gave me the floor, but he determined the timetable. I was the one in charge, but he was still pulling the strings. It was discreet, subtle enough that I may not have noticed.

But I did notice.

“I’m not. On your knees.” I stood in front of him, my arms resting by my sides.

Hunt stared at me without blinking, his muscular arms tight as they hung by his hips.

I kept my harsh gaze, commanding him without speaking.

He still didn’t move.

“Don’t make me ask you again.”

“Four days.”

I heard what he said and knew exactly what it meant. In four days, all of this would be over. I would be the one who was ordered around. I might as well enjoy this moment as much as I could—because it was about to be a memory.

Before I could ask him again, he lowered himself to his knees.

And I experienced a high like I’d never known before. I’d never been with a man who challenged me so much, who earned my respect so quickly. I’d never been with a man and cared about his life outside my bed. Now Hunt and I had lives that were intricately intertwined. “Stay.” I walked out of the playroom and raided my closet. I found the teddy and garters I wanted to wear, along with the sky-high black heels that made my ass look plump. I walked back into the playroom a moment later.

Hunt was still on his knees, and his eyes roamed over me greedily. His jaw started to tighten, the same reaction he gave when he was either angry or lustful. Right now, I knew which emotion it was.

I walked to the display case and grabbed one of my crops, one of the soft and slender ones. I felt the leather against my palm before I turned back to him.

Hunt stared at the implement. “Are you going to hit me with that?”

I smacked the end against my own palm, making a quiet snapping noise. “Yes.”

“You’re going to have to use something bigger than that.”

I couldn’t control the shock on my face. Hunt continued to surprise me, to catch me off-balance without even trying. I returned the crop and grabbed a flogger instead.

Hunt shook his head. “Grab a whip, baby.”

I ran the tips of the flogger over my hand, humbled once again. I tossed the flogger on the floor and grabbed one of my bullwhips. It was long with an incredible snap. “This is going to hurt, Hunt.”

“I hope it does.”

I didn’t see a hint of fear on his face.

“Do your worst, baby. In four days, I’ll do mine.”

If I lingered on that sentence too long, I would lose my nerve. I looked forward to doing whatever I wanted to him, but I feared the unknown. I feared being the one to obey, to be at the mercy of this man. No matter how bad it was, I couldn’t walk away. He committed to everything I asked. It would be unfair for me to bow out.

I walked behind him and brushed the whip across his back, teasing him. He didn’t flinch at the touch. His breathing didn’t even increase. Everything stayed exactly the same. If he was anxious for the pain, he didn’t show it. “It won’t scar you.”

“Doesn’t matter if it does.”

No matter what I said, he challenged me. He gave me the control, but in a very small form. I pulled my whip back, preparing to strike him. “I’m gonna hit you ten times, Hunt. And when I’m finished—”

“Make it twenty.”

I was turned on by his eagerness but also dismayed. “Don’t interrupt me.”

Silence.

“When I’m done, we’re going to have even more fun.” I struck the whip across his back, immediately reddening the skin at the impact. “Count with me.”

His deep voice was steady. His body didn’t sway with the momentum of the hit. “One.”

Hearing that masculine voice sent shivers all down my body. He asked for twenty lashes, but I wasn’t sure I could wait that long. My thighs ached to wrap around his waist, to feel his thick cock pound me until he hit my trigger. I whipped again, a little harder.

“Two.”

I’d never been whipped, but I knew it hurt. His lack of response was impressive. I usually got a moan or a cringe from my other lovers. I’d never been greeted with silence. I struck him a few more times, bringing our total up to ten.

We were halfway there, but he hadn’t broken a sweat. He hadn’t changed his position despite the strain on his knees. His arms remained directly at his sides, his hands open and not tight in a fist.

I slashed the whip across his back.

“Eleven.” His voice was exactly the same as it was before. I suspected it would be the same until we finished.

Every single slash was greeted with the same reaction. Like the bite of the leather had no effect on him at all, he held his body perfectly straight and didn’t lean forward with the heat. His breathing never escalated. If anything, it slowed down. His back was marked with red lines, marks that would fade in a few days.

I continued on, finally getting to twenty.

And he didn’t move.

I threw the whip down, hot and covered in sweat from striking him. My body ached for his in the most powerful way I’d ever known. This man was immune to pain, untouched by any stimuli that he didn’t want to be affected by. He had complete control over his mind, over his body. “Up.”

He rose to his feet, not turning around.

I grabbed a chair from the wall and pulled it to the center of the room. “Sit.”

He took a seat, his expression stoic.

With a single rope, I secured his legs to the chair and tied his arms together in the back. When he couldn’t move at all, even thrust his hips upward, I yanked down his boxers, unfastened my crotch, and straddled his hips.

I lowered myself onto his length, my warm cream sheathing him all the way to the base.

He immediately tugged on the ropes as he released an angry growl. His eyebrow ridges came together, and he grinded his teeth. His dark eyes matched the color of the chair, deep with a violent flare.

I sank all the way down, taking in his length until I could feel him stretch my walls apart. His skin was reddened from the aggressive thickness of the leather, and I liked seeing his body marked up. I dragged my tongue across his shoulder then kissed his neck.

His hands yanked on the ropes again.

I gripped the back of the chair and positioned myself on my feet. His cock was long enough that I could pull it off, rise up and sheathe his dick again. The first time I met him, I suspected he was packing.

And he definitely was.

“Jesus, I already want to come…” He leaned his face forward and kissed my tits, his tongue catching the hard tip and running through the valley between my breasts. Sometimes he sucked the skin into his mouth, brushing it against the hardness of his teeth. He breathed across my skin, the excitement in his voice loud.

“Better not.” I bounced up and down, gripping his shoulders for balance.

He looked past me and stared into the mirror on the opposite wall, having a great view of my ass as it moved up and down. He watched me move, his breathing deep and shaky. His shoulders shifted forward as he tried to break through the tight ropes.

“You aren’t going anywhere.” I sat on his dick and gave him a slow kiss. “Not until I’m finished.”

He breathed into my mouth. “I never want to go anywhere, Boss Lady.”

I kissed his jawline, feeling the thick hair brush against my soft lips. My hand dug into his hair as I kept moving, sliding down his cock over and over. I was the one on top, the one calling the shots, but it somehow felt equal, felt like we were in this together. I only conquered him because he allowed me to, wanted me to, was man enough to let it happen.

And I was about to do the same to him.

I already felt the orgasm starting, building in my gut as the sensations spread out everywhere. My nerves were on fire, my mouth parched. I felt my body tightening in preparation of what was about to happen. Hunt always made me come good and hard, even when I was the one doing all the work. He let me use his glorious body to fulfill my needs. He gave me exactly what I needed. “Yes…”

He stared into my eyes and watched the performance unfold. “Come all over my dick, baby…”

I rode his length harder, quickening my pace and losing my breath in the process. I closed my eyes and let out a scream that could rupture Hunt’s eardrums. Moisture sheathed his length all the way down to his balls and dripped onto the chair.

“When’s it gonna be my turn, Boss Lady?” he whispered against my mouth.

“Not anytime soon.” I was gonna ride this cock until I couldn’t handle it anymore. I wasn’t getting off him until my pussy was stretched and sore. I only had a few days left with him, when I had all the power. It would be a painful goodbye, a crippling transition of power. I wouldn’t be able to tie him up anymore, to whip him until his beautiful skin was marked. I’d be at his mercy.

So I was going to keep him at my mercy for a little bit longer.

---

We stood in the shower together, the warm water rinsing away the soap. I washed my hair even though it was in great shape after our rough rendezvous. I just loved being under the warm water, letting it comfort me in a column of white noise. Since I was just going to shower again in the morning, I didn’t see the harm. My mascara and foundation were washed away. My lipstick disappeared a long time ago, somewhere on Hunt’s mouth.

Hunt moved underneath the water, discreetly pushing me out of the stream of water with his size. The shower washed away his shampoo, and he turned his back to me. Lines of red marks were on either side of his flank. His flesh was irritated in the areas that covered the most muscle, the blood rushing to the surface to heal the injury. The sight turned me on, but it also made me feel guilty for what I’d done. “I have some cream you can put on that.”

“Don’t need any.”

“The marks will heal faster.”

He dragged his hands down his face. “I’m not in a hurry.”

He refused to show pain or discomfort in front of me, either because he was trying to prove a point or because he was truly resilient to the pain.

I respected him for it, and I knew he would expect the same from me once the tables were turned. “Not everyone reacts so calmly when they see that room. Some ask what’s wrong with me…others just walk out.”

He ran his hands through his dark hair, his eyes on me.

“But you didn’t seem to think anything.”

“I’ve heard of the BDSM lifestyle.”

“Not just because of that…but because I’m a woman.”

“You know exactly what you want, what you’re into. Why would I judge you for that?”

Was he the greatest man on the planet? God’s gift to all women?

“I obviously wouldn’t have participated in that unless I was getting something out of it.”

“So you didn’t enjoy it?” I asked quietly, trying to hide my disappointment.

“No, I did. Surprisingly. But I would have enjoyed it more if I were the one holding the whip.”

I was standing in the humid shower, but I suddenly felt ice-cold. An earthquake erupted inside me, my panic breaking through the crust of my skin. I felt the earth shake even though I was perfectly still.

I didn’t think. I just moved.

I walked out of the shower and pulled the towel around my body. My bare feet made wet footsteps all the way across the tile and into the bedroom. I pulled the towel over my shoulders, and I walked to the window where I had a clear view of the city.

I stared at the lights and blocked out all my thoughts. I meditated, seeing the slight reflection of my face in the glass. The lights twinkled just like stars in the sky. There were millions of people in this city, living their lives. I thought about the trains on the subway, the cars sitting in traffic, of people still getting coffee from Starbucks at ten in the evening.

I thought about nothing of significance.

Footsteps sounded behind me. They grew in volume as he approached me, walking across my bedroom to where I stood in front of the window. He came up behind me and pressed his forehead against the back of my neck.

I’d brought myself to a state of calm, but now I was charged all over again. My blood was pumping, all the veins in my body swollen. I was aroused anytime he was near, but now I felt something else entirely.

A feeling I never showed.

“Tatum.” His hands gripped both of my arms, just below the shoulder. He pressed his bare chest against my back, his heat hidden because of the towel wrapped around me. I could see him standing in just his slacks in the reflection, his hips narrow and his torso expanding into the powerful V.

I looked at his eyes in the reflection in the glass.

“Tell me.”

“There’s nothing to tell…” I’d let the fear get to me, but once I calmed myself down, I had returned to a state of serenity. I didn’t show anger, fear, or spite in front of witnesses. With someone as famous as me, one who represented womankind everywhere, the slightest hint of weakness was judged more harshly than the same sin committed by a man.

“I saw the way you turned pale. And now I see you…soaking wet in front of a window.” He squeezed my arms before he gently turned me in a circle, forcing me to face him. Now the city was in the background, and I was face-to-face with the man with the most captivating eyes. He was a warm morning on a fall day, his eyes espresso beans. Barefoot and bare-chested, he was nothing but solid man.

Looking at him made me forget what we were discussing. Made me forget what terrified me.

His hand grazed up my arm, over my shoulder, and up my neck. His large hand cupped my face, his thumb brushing across my bottom lip. It rested in the corner, his other fingers giving my neck a gentle squeeze. “Tell me what you’re afraid of.”

“I’m not afraid of anything.” It was practically my mantra, to represent strength and never weakness. Of all people in this world, I should be able to take down my walls for him. But even then, I still couldn’t do it. Only one person truly understood my fears, had witnessed them himself.

“We’re all afraid of something. You’re no different.”

“That’s where you’re wrong…”

He tilted his head slightly, getting a better look at me. “I’m afraid to let anyone get too close. I’m afraid if I do, it’ll just be another person that I’ll lose. I’ve lost my mother when she was too young to die. I lost my father when he turned his back on me. And I lost my younger brother when he chose to side with a ruthless man. I’m bored by the women who sleep in my bed, but I’m too scared to have anything real. If I ever fell in love and I lost her…that would be the final straw.” His thumb brushed across my cheek as he gazed deep into my eyes. He put his true self on a platter, opened himself up to me.

Now it was my turn.

But I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t confess my secret, a secret I’d been hiding for nearly a decade. I did my best to bury it in the past, to let the winds of time cover it with dust. To stick a shovel into the soil and unearth it…was like opening Pandora’s box.

Hunt didn’t show his frustration. “If you tell me, I’ll understand you better. And if I understand you, I’ll know exactly what to give you.”

My eyes shifted to the floor, unable to meet his gaze. I refused to answer him, refused to part with the knowledge of that terrible time. I just wanted to move on and forget about it, to let it die in the past. If I didn’t, it would haunt me constantly. I had to get over it—and I had to do it now. “Thank you for your sentiment, but I’m fine.” I moved away from his embrace and patted my hair dry with the towel. I didn’t look at him as I tried to brush off the conversation and return the atmosphere to casual. “I should probably get to bed soon. I have a lot of work to do in the morning.”

“So, we’re gonna pretend that you didn’t just storm out of the shower?” Hunt walked up behind me again, his presence looming over me. There wasn’t a shadow in the bedroom at this time of night, but I could certainly feel one.

“Nothing happened, Hunt. I walked away.”

“You had a panic attack. I know you a lot better than you give me credit for.”

“That was not a panic attack.” I dropped the towel on the floor and grabbed a t-shirt and panties from my drawer. “If you classify it as that, you should see what I look like when I’m actually upset.”

“They’re one and the same.”

I pulled the t-shirt over my head and the panties up my legs before I turned around. “Hunt, I think you should leave.”

He smiled when there was nothing charming about this conversation. “And I think I just hit a pressure point.”

My entire body tightened at his aggression. “Excuse me?”

“I’ve known for you three months now, Titan. I’ve been fucking you for six weeks. I was under the impression we were friends. I was under the impression you trusted me.”

“Yes, but—”

“I was also under the impression that there was nothing but honesty between us. You obviously have some kind of trigger, but you refuse to share it with me—your partner. That’s dishonest.”

“It’s not a trigger…”

“Then what the hell is it?” he snapped. “What makes you run away every time I mention being in control?”

“I told you I just have control issues. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

His eyes shifted back and forth as he looked into mine. “Why do you have to handle it at all, Titan?”

My lips pressed tightly together.

“Talk to me. I’ve told you everything about myself…but I still don’t know anything about you.”

“That’s not true.”

“Then prove it,” he said. “Tell me about your late boyfriend.”

I did a double take when I heard him hit the nail right on the head. He knew about my secret, just not the details. And face-to-face, he was asking me about it. He’d put me on the spot, making me feel more exposed than I could remember. I made sure that information was wiped from the news. I made sure all the details were covered up and hidden away. I made sure the judge sealed the documents. The only way anyone could access them was if they pulled some strings.

And Hunt could pull strings.

“I may have Googled you once or twice to know more about you, your business relationships and your ambitions. But never did I stick my nose into your private life. I never asked your brother about your mother. He told me that on his own. You have no right—”

“I’ve never done that, Titan. I’ve never dug around in your closet and searched for your skeletons. The only reason why I know about your boyfriend is because Pine’s father knew you at the time. Pine brought it up to me a few months ago. That’s all I know. I swear on my mother’s grave.”

Now that I knew my business was my own, my claws retracted back into my fingertips. I sheathed my anger like a giant sword. I controlled my temper, reminding myself that I genuinely adored the man standing right in front of me.

“I could access all of that information if I wanted to.” His voice turned quiet, his rage finally simmering as mine was. “But I don’t want a report on my desk. I want to hear it from you. And until you tell me…I’ll never know.”

Most people didn’t know about Jeremy because it was long before I’d made a name for myself. It wasn’t even listed on my Wikipedia page. It was something I hid inside a dark basement because it would change the world’s perception of me—for many reasons. The fact that he knew there was more there but refused to pry made my respect for him grow even more. “Thank you.”

His arms circled my waist, and he pulled me close to his body. “Will you ever tell me?”

The second I told someone, I risked that information coming back to bite me in the ass. I risked putting it out for the general public to know. What if Hunt and I had a fight, and he wanted to betray me? What if our business arrangement went south, and he wanted to hurt me? None of those scenarios seemed likely. “Maybe…”

“Maybe is better than no. I’ll take it.” He pressed his lips to my forehead, giving me a soft kiss filled with heat. His powerful arms turned into a cage around my body, protecting me from the outside world.

When I was in his cage, I actually felt safe.

“Four more days,” he whispered, like there was any possibility of me forgetting.

“Four days…”

---

I let myself into Thorn’s penthouse. “It’s me.” I told him I was coming by, but I didn’t want to walk in on him with a woman on the couch.

It had happened before.

“In the kitchen.”

I set my purse down then joined him. “What are you making?”

“Tacos. You hungry?”

“I’m always hungry because I don’t eat.”

He smiled before he turned off the stove. “Excellent point. Are you not eating now?”

The grilled chicken, rice, and beans looked delicious. “No, this looks pretty damn good.”

“Good. Because I can’t eat all of this by myself. The ladies wouldn’t like me if I did.”

We made our tacos before we took them to the dining room.

He grabbed himself a beer before he quickly threw together an Old Fashioned for me. We sat together at the table and squeezed the lime all over our food. “So, only a few days left, right?”

Thorn must have figured out it was on my mind. “Two days.”

“Are you ready?”

I took a long drink of my Old Fashioned, appreciating the whiskey as it traveled down my throat and into my belly. “As ready as I’ll ever be…I suppose.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, Titan. Just don’t overthink it. Enjoy it.” Thorn’s encouragement was somehow suspicious considering he was an eyewitness to everything I’d been through.

“What makes you think I’d enjoy it?”

“Because a lot of people do. You enjoy making him submit. And I bet he enjoyed having a woman overpower him like that. Imagine some hot man taking all of the control? Taking all the weight of decision-making off your shoulders? You would walk into that room and only be concerned with how much you were going to be pleased.”

Now my suspicions were at an all-time high. “Hunt told me you encouraged him to keep pursuing me, even when things seemed bleak.”

He shrugged. “You’re my friend. I want you to get laid.”

“But you also hate him.”

“Never said that.” He grabbed a taco with a single hand and ate nearly the entire thing.

“So what’s the deal, Thorn? Why are you pushing this so hard?”

“I’m not pushing anything,” he said. “I just think you need to move on.”

“Move on?”

“Yes. It’s been nearly ten years since that shit with Jeremy. Let’s leave it in the past and forget about it. Being a sub isn’t going to be anything like the way it was with him. It doesn’t seem like your relationship even resembles that.”

I mostly just teased Hunt, made him fuck me the way I liked. There weren’t many chains or whips, not like there were with my other partners. I was satisfied having him in my bed, taking it nice and slow so I could appreciate every inch of that hard cock. “Not really.”

“You’re just overthinking it. Hunt is a good guy. He’s not gonna hurt you.”

“Maybe you do like him.”

“I never said I disliked the guy. I just don’t like the fact that he likes you so much. That’s my only problem with him.”

“Well, I asked him about it, and he denied your claims.”

“Then I’ve got nothing to worry about.” He picked up his other taco. “Worse come to worst, you can just walk away, Titan. He can’t keep you there, even though he stayed the whole time. You always have a way out.”

“But I don’t want a way out…” I didn’t want to walk away from Hunt, not when we had this special connection, not when I was getting incredible sex on a daily basis. If he left, I would miss him.

I couldn’t deny that.

“Then tough it out,” Thorn said. “I know you can do that.”

I hadn’t taken a bite of my food yet, so I scooped one taco into my hand. My eyes turned to the window, seeing the sky start to fade to black. “What’s new with you?”

“Nothing really. Mom keeps pestering me about proposing to you.”

“Wow, she really likes me.”

“She adores you.” He rolled his eyes. “You’re all she ever talks about. When she called me the other day, the first question that came out of her mouth was literally about you. No hi… No, how are you? Right down to business.”

I laughed before I took a bite. “That’s flattering.”

“And annoying.”

“Are you jealous?” I asked.

“Psh, no.” He kept eating. “But I told her it wasn’t going to be for a while. That’s when she started asking about grandkids and shit…gives me a headache.”

“Our kids will be cute.”

“Because they’ll look like me?” he teased.

“No. Because they’ll be loved so much. They’ve got you and me and two grandparents who will cherish them until it drives them crazy. They’ll never know what it’s like to be hungry or financially unsteady. They’ll have so much…and they won’t even know it.” Money had always been an issue for my father and me when I was young. Thorn was born into a rich family, so he had no idea what being broke was even like.

He patted his hand on mine. “And they’ll be cute…because they’ll look like you.”

Having children was one of my guilty pleasures. I had been deemed a hard-ass executive who only cared about money, but I had a calling to be a mother. I wanted a family of my own since there wasn’t a single living Titan around. It was something I needed. “Thank you.”

He patted my hand again before he pulled his away. “And I’ll have a lot of fun making them with you.”

“Thorn.” I rolled my eyes, not surprised by the inappropriate comment.

“What?” he asked innocently. “You know the sex is gonna be fantastic.”

I felt guilty talking about having sex with another man when I was committed to Hunt at the moment. Hunt knew it was going to happen. I’d revealed the truth to him a while ago, so it wasn’t like it was a secret. But we were still jumping ahead. “Even so…”

“You know we’re gonna have a blast being married. At least, I am.”