Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 83171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Black’s office had no comment.
I have no clue what to say to Skye, so I opt for nothing. I simply hand her the paper.
She blinks a few times. “What the heck?”
“Did you think this would stay quiet for long?” I ask.
“But I didn’t tell her anything.”
“Do you think that matters?”
“Why do you keep asking me questions?”
“Let me put it to you this way. Neither of us said a thing. We didn’t have to. Read the article.”
She glances down.
“Nuzzling?” she says.
“To lean against,” I say.
She rolls her eyes. “I know what it means, Braden. Jesus. We weren’t nuzzling.”
“Just read.”
She gulps. “Braden, I never said any of this.”
“I know.”
“And I have no idea who this purported source is.”
I nod.
“How can they lie like that?”
“Easy,” I say. “They found a ‘source’ who’s borderline credible and got them to say what they want. Happens to me all the time.”
“Not this time. You had no comment. It makes me look like I’m chasing you.”
I twist my lips to keep from smiling. “And you’re not?”
“Braden! I’m being serious. I’ve had one call from Susanne Cosmetics, not several calls. This isn’t right. And how do they know we’re going to the opera gala?”
I chuckle. “Do you really think I announce where I’m going and who I’m going with?”
“Someone knows. Christopher? Annika?”
“I trust my staff implicitly.”
“Then who?”
“A source, most likely.”
She looks around nervously, darting her gaze to each corner of the office.
“You’re getting carried away,” I say.
“What do you mean?”
“I know what you’re thinking. The same thing I thought the first time this happened to me. You’re wondering who’s watching you. Who’s listening to you. Who among your circle of friends could have sold you out. The answer? No one.”
“Then how—”
“I already told you. They find a source who doesn’t want to be named. Surely you’ve read tabloids before.”
“Actually, I haven’t,” she says.
“Do yourself a favor, then. Don’t ever start reading them. It will slowly invade your mind, and it’s not worth it. No one gives the Babbler any credence.”
“Then why did Claire bring it straight to you?”
“I have to keep up with what the rags are saying about me. Doesn’t mean I give it any value whatsoever.”
“Then why—”
“If anything is said that could affect business, I have to be aware and file the necessary defamation lawsuits.”
“Well, I want to know who this source is.”
“Journalists don’t have to reveal their sources.”
“This isn’t journalism, Braden. It’s gossip. Fabricated gossip.”
“Potato, po-tah-to, as far as the courts are concerned. Besides, look at the facts. We are dating. We did sit together at the MADD event. We are going to the Opera Guild Gala. And we’ve pretty much been inseparable since we met.”
“Except they make me sound like a lovesick schoolgirl who’s after Addie’s job. She’s going to have a field day with this.”
“Maybe she won’t see it,” I say.
Skye laughs, and I can’t tell whether it’s real or forced. Probably a combination of both.
“Addie won’t see it? The woman thrives on attention. She googles her name all the time. How will she not see it?”
I don’t reply.
“I’m nothing like Addison,” she says indignantly.
“If you were anything like Addison, do you think I’d have the slightest interest in you?”
“Honestly? I don’t know, Braden, because you won’t tell me what happened between you two.”
“Skye, you do try my patience.” I stand, pull her out of the chair, and into my body.
She parts her lips.
“Fuck, you’re so sexy.”
That’s all I say. What I don’t say is that the article in the Babbler doesn’t upset me nearly as much as it should. What I also don’t say is how, twelve hours ago, I vowed to distance myself from this woman because I was afraid I might be falling in love.
So much for distance.
I kiss her. Hard.
Everything else vanishes. The engagements Claire just put on my calendar. The article in the Babbler. Skye’s contract and how she manipulated her way into my office.
It’s all gone.
Only our kiss exists.
Only my lips sliding against hers, my tongue probing between them, the groans coming from her throat, my erection pushing into her belly.
I break the kiss and inhale deeply. “God, what you do to me.” I whip my tie off my neck and finger the fabric.
She gasps sharply.
Good. She knows what I’m thinking.
“Silk isn’t the best for binding,” I say. “The knots are sometimes too tight, which can be a problem if I need to untie you quickly.”
She lifts her eyebrows, raising them in challenge.
Too late for that.
I’m binding her with this silk tie, and I’m doing it now.
“However, it’s all I have at the moment.” I unbutton my shirt and remove it. I stand in a white tank. “Take off your clothes, Skye.”
Chapter Forty-Two
She eyes the door.
“No, it’s not locked,” I say.
She parts her lips, and God, it takes every ounce of my resolve not to rip the offending garments off her. She’s nervous, and for good reason. She’s thinking someone—anyone—could walk in. Though I’m tempted to let her wonder—