I finally got a different answer out of her besides no.

Maybe.

It wasn’t a yes, but it would be soon.

I just had to be patient.

I didn’t know what skeletons she was hiding in her closet. I didn’t know what kind of kinky shit she enjoyed. And whatever sinful stuff she was into, I was surprised she was embarrassed about it.

She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who embarrassed easily.

I wondered if she was into whips and chains, being tied up while I fucked her with a mask on. If that was her thing, that was fine by me. The kinkier, the better. I’d whip her ass as many times as she asked.

I’d dominate her like she’d never been dominated before.

Piece of cake.

But if it were that simple, she would have just told me.

Natalie spoke through the intercom. “Sir, I have Pine Rosenthal here to see you.”

I made sure my assistants understood he couldn’t just barge into my office anymore. Even if we had been friends since grade school, that didn’t matter. He could wait like everyone else. “Send him in.”

Pine walked inside, glowering at me like I stabbed him in the gut. “What the hell? Why do I have to wait?”

“You aren’t special. That’s why.”

Pine fell into the chair and rolled his eyes like a child.

I did feel like the adult in most situations. “How’s Isa?”

“Gorgeous and flexible.” He winked. “I can’t tell you how I know that.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“So…did you fuck Titan yet?”

I was fucking her, but the question annoyed me. The basic question almost seemed disrespectful toward her. Pine was my friend, but he obviously saw her as something that should be conquered, as if bedding a strong woman like her was some kind of special accomplishment.

Now I understood why she didn’t want me to say anything. All the guys in our universe would talk about it. She would be seen as the woman who opened her legs for me, and she would lose respect because of it.

Bullshit.

“No.”

“Really?” Both of his eyebrows nearly popped off his face. “She won’t give it up, will she?”

“She’s not going to. We’re just friends.”

“Yeah, okay,” he said sarcastically. “And my cock is just friends with Isa’s pussy.”

I threatened him with a single look.

Pine finally shut his mouth. “Is she seeing someone, then?”

“No. I think she’s just picky about who she dates.”

“And Diesel Hunt didn’t make the cut?”

“Guess not.”

“She’s probably damaged goods anyway since her boyfriend died…”

My spine went rigid when that piece of information was laid out on the table. When I researched her, I found information about her professional career, how she started with nothing, and made it to the top on her own. There was nothing written about her personal life, not even a single boyfriend. “When did this happen?”

“A long time ago, in her early twenties. She wasn’t well-known at the time.”

“I didn’t see anything like that online.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. I’m sure she went to great lengths to prevent that information from circling. Most people don’t know about it because it happened so long ago when she was a nobody.”

“How do you know about it?”

“My dad told me.”

I wanted to know every little detail about this, but I didn’t want to sound too eager. “What happened to him?”

“They were living together, and there was some kind of break-in. She was beat up pretty badly, had to stay in the hospital for a while. The guy was killed by the robber, stabbed right in the heart. Brutal, man. Happened in Brooklyn.”

I stared at my friend with a blank look on my face, but there were a million thoughts circling in my mind. She lived through such a brutal attack, but the man she loved didn’t survive. He probably died trying to protect her.

No wonder why she was so closed off now. “Do you remember exactly when this happened?”

“I think she was twenty-one.”

That was nine years ago. She still hadn’t moved on? That night haunted her dreams? “Thanks for letting me know…”

“So maybe it’s better that things didn’t work out.”

“Yeah…”