She glanced back at him and immediately rushed toward the stairs. They were on the penthouse floor, and he’d never even entered the stairwell before.
All this time they’d been together, she’d rarely shown him any emotion that would give him even a single hint that she cared. With the tears he caught glistening in her eyes, it had to be a sign. He refused to ignore it.
“Mira,” he said.
She was a couple of stairs ahead of him. “Leave me alone.” She didn’t stop.
He ran down them, advancing on her. The moment she got to the bottom step of another half flight, he captured her arm, pushing her up against the corner of the wall, trapping her.
“Let me go.” She tried to fight him, but she wouldn’t look at him.
This, he couldn’t stand. He had to have her gaze on him at all times. “Mira, for fuck’s sake, stop this.”
“Stop this? Why don’t you fuck off!” She put her hands on his chest and tried to shove him away, but he wouldn’t budge.
He was stronger than her.
She tried to do it again, and still, he didn’t move.
Her little growl was cute, and he captured her hands above her head, pressing his body against her.
Mira squeezed her eyes shut, and he hated that she tried to lock him out.
“Don’t,” he said.
“I don’t want to look at you. I hate you!”
“You don’t mean that. What you just saw was nothing.”
“No. Katherine’s ass was nothing? What the hell was my brother’s aide doing here? Is this some form of humiliation? Is that it? You want to break me, Drake? Hurt me? I’ve done nothing to you. I never did.”
“I was trying to get Katherine out of your life. What you saw, I was … threatening her.”
Mira laughed, her eyes finally opening. “Really, you were threatening her? Your kisses are so scary. Imagine if I hadn’t shown up!”
“I wasn’t kissing her, okay. I never … fuck, Mira. You’re always so quick to believe the worst of me. I wanted her out of your life. She’s fucking crazy. I get that. Yes, I was in a relationship with her before, and I didn’t want you to know. It was just fucking. That was all it was. Nothing else. The way I feel about you doesn’t compare, okay? That was sex. This is … more.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks, and it tore him apart. He wanted to make her pain go away.
“Please don’t, Mira.”
“I need to get some air.”
“No. I’m not letting you go. This between us isn’t changing.”
She sighed. “Drake, I just walked into your office and saw a woman who has threatened me all over you. Think about how you’d feel if that was me.” She licked her lips. “If that was a man you couldn’t stand, holding me, kissing me…”
He didn’t even give her time to finish. The very thought had his hand clenching, and he slammed it against the wall at the side of her head.
She let out a little cry and Drake immediately regretted his reaction. He was going crazy. He was truly fucked when it came to this woman. “No!”
Mira stayed perfectly still. “And yet you expect me to give you time? To accept your lips on another woman?”
“Then admit to me, Mira. Admit that you want me, that this isn’t just to keep your brother safe.”
Her jaw clenched. She stared at him. “I need some air.”
“You can’t even admit it.”
She tried to tug on her hands, but he wouldn’t let her go, and it caused her to growl. “You know what, Drake? Yes, I care. Yes, I’m here for more reasons than keeping my brother safe, and that makes me the fool. I knew you were going to hurt me, and you’ve proven that. I can’t stand the thought of another woman kissing you. I want to wipe the memory from my mind. You’re a goddamn bully, Drake, and it hurts to know that I want to go in there and hurt her for even thinking she could touch what is mine!”
Chapter Eight
Mira had been avoiding Drake for days. He continually ranted about his innocence. Should she believe him? She knew what she’d seen with her own eyes. The entire world had come to an abrupt halt when she’d walked into his office, and the pain and trauma from her past came rushing back with a vengeance. All this time, she’d actually believed all the lies and his professions of devotion. He’d even proposed to her, so that could only mean he planned on having plenty of mistresses. She’d never be enough of a woman for a playboy bully like Drake.
What did she even expect? Their relationship started with blackmail. He always got what he wanted.
She stared out the windows of his condo, feeling utterly alone. There was no one she could confide in, no place to call home. Even her brother saw her as a problem. She fought back the tears, remembering bits and pieces of her childhood, the bullying, and even dealing with cruel coworkers as an adult. Why couldn’t things ever be easy for her? Life was a constant struggle. Even now, surrounded by luxury, it was a false paradise.