1
Rome
I was home alone because Calloway went to Ruin. He said he had important business to take care of that he couldn’t ignore. He left a guard outside the house to keep an eye on the place so I wouldn’t be unprotected.
Even though the guy was a trained professional and had a gun, I still preferred Calloway’s protection.
I’d slept with him because I couldn’t keep my legs closed any longer. Without any action for six weeks, I had been going crazy. And knowing that big, sexy man was just across the hall from me tested my patience.
So I caved.
Nothing was different between us, and to top it off, Calloway went to Ruin immediately afterward. So the odds of us ever coming to an agreement were slim.
I slept in my own bedroom because I had no idea how long he would be gone. The insecure side of me wondered if he was hooking up with a sub at that very moment, some woman who liked to have a chain around her neck. He’d just made love to me, but he might have already jumped into rough sex with someone else.
I had to remind myself Calloway would never do that.
When I woke up the next morning, I was alone in my bed. If Calloway came home, he must have stayed in his own bedroom so he wouldn’t disrupt me. I got ready for work like I did every morning then ran into him downstairs.
He looked exhausted, like he was out late last night. In fact, it looked like he hadn’t slept at all. “Good morning.”
I shouldered my purse. “Morning.”
We left together, his driver taking us to the office. As always, we walked inside together, the rest of the employees knowing beyond a doubt we were officially an item. My colleagues didn’t talk to me the way they used to, as if they feared anything they said would make its way back to Calloway.
I hated it.
Instead of going to his office like usual, he walked me all the way to mine.
“You don’t need to—”
“I want to talk to you after work. It’s important.” He stood in front of me, brooding with his vibrant blue eyes. In his suit, he looked like a powerhouse. He didn’t just own this building, but the entire city.
“Okay…” It must be about the sex we’d had the night before. But I didn’t know why he would bring it up now just to leave me hanging all day.
Without another word, he turned around and walked down the hallway, his ass looking tight in his slacks.
The second he was gone, I wanted him to come back. I didn’t want to sit in my office all day knowing he was on the other side of the building. I wanted to know what he wanted to talk about—and if it was good news or bad news.
At the end of the day, he arrived at my office. Silent but loud with authority, he leaned against the doorframe as he announced his presence with mere power.
I felt him behind me, so I turned around in my chair to look at him.
He stood with his hands in the pockets of his suit, his shoulders phenomenally broad and powerful. I remembered the way they felt when I dragged my nails down his back. The muscles tensed and coiled underneath my touch.
I grabbed my things and prepared to leave, responding to the silent command he gave me. He was like a caveman, expecting me to read his body language to understand what he wanted. I met him at the door, and we walked out together, my private bodyguard silent with imminent threat.
His driver took us back to his house near the edge of the city. I was tempted to ask him what he wanted to talk about, but since he hadn’t mentioned it, I assumed he wanted to wait until we were alone together.
We walked inside, and I slipped off my heels as I usually did, just like when I stayed with him for a few months.
He locked the door behind us and immediately turned on me, his expression dark. It wasn’t clear if he was mad or just intense. Lately, I couldn’t tell with him. He was so out of his mind with rage that he was unpredictable. “I don’t know if I can give you everything you want, like the house with the picket fence and the kids…but I can give you this.” He pulled a box out of his pocket and popped it open, revealing a black diamond ring made out of white gold.
I knew he wasn’t proposing to me. But I didn’t know what he was trying to say either.
“I signed Ruin over to Jackson. It’s his now. I have nothing to do with the place.”
Now that I knew where this conversation was going, I could hardly breathe. He said he wouldn’t give anything up for me. It was impossible for him to do. But here he was, making a compromise I hadn’t thought he was capable of making.