LOGINNatasha Whitmore's pov "No, she is mine. My woman and mine to control" Ryan demanded, pointing at Daniel. I almost laughed at the audacity. My woman? "Your woman?" Daniel repeated, raising an eyebrow. His voice was calm, but there was something cold beneath it. "I must have missed the part where she agreed to that." Ryan's face twisted. "This has nothing to do with you." "Really?" Daniel glanced at his hand resting on my waist before looking back at Ryan. "Because from where I'm standing, it seems to have everything to do with me." "Natasha, tell him you don't want him." Ryan ignored Daniel and looked straight at me. His eyes searched my face, as though he expected me to give in the moment he spoke. "Let's go home, we shall talk properly." I stared at him for a moment, wondering whether he had hit his head somewhere. "Home?" I repeated. "You mean the home you shared with my best friend while I was working myself to exhaustion to build a future with you?" His expression fli
Natasha Whitmore's pov The stack of papers had finally become manageable. My eyes burned, my shoulders ached from sitting too long. Daniel still sat across from me, sleeves rolled up, working through the last few pages in silence. Neither of us had spoken much for the past hour. The quiet felt heavier than it should have. He surely had a way to a woman's skirt...I mean heart.I reached for the final file at the same time he did. Our hands collided. Neither of us pulled away.I felt the shift immediately. The careful distance he had kept all day disappeared. Daniel stood up. Damn he was so tall and well built.He rounded the desk in two steps, and pulled me up with him. One hand slid to the back of my neck. The other settled firmly at my waist. Then he kissed me.It was not a gentle kiss.The kiss was deep and hungry from the first second. I made a small sound against his mouth and he answered by backing me against the desk. Papers slid off the edge and scattered across the floor.
Natasha Whitmore's pov The car was quiet for a while. I didn't want to ask about grandpa Alex and spike this man's horrible temper. After all, I owed him a lot. His jacket still rested around my shoulders, warm and heavy, smelling faintly of expensive cologne . We were completely alone, and somehow, I felt terrified. More of myself. I didn't trust my thoughts about this walking Greek god. I let my body sink deeper into the seat on purpose, making myself smaller, more fragile. My cheek still throbbed where Ryan had struck me. The bandage on my arm felt tight and foreign, and every time the car turned I had to bite the inside of my lip to keep from wincing. I kept my voice soft, a little frayed at the edges, the way I knew would pull at whatever protective instinct he had shown at the hospital. Somehow, seeing me vulnerable triggered something out of him. “I didn’t think the night would end like that,” I murmured, eyes lowered to my hands. One of them was still faintly staine
Natasha Whitmore’s POV Daniel had stepped away for only a few minutes to take an urgent call from one of the board members. The moment his hand left the small of my back, the air around me changed. I felt it before I saw Sarah’s sharp, theatrical gasp, followed by the sudden rise of voices. When I turned, she was standing three feet from me, one hand clamped over her opposite wrist, bright red liquid already dripping between her fingers and staining the front of her pale gown. Her eyes were wide and wet, fixed on me with perfect, calculated horror. “She cut me!” Sarah cried, voice high and breaking. “Natasha cut me with something sharp!” The words hit the room like a gunshot. People stepped back as if I had suddenly grown fangs. Phones rose. Whispers turned into open accusations. Ryan was the first to reach us. His face twisted with a rage that looked almost righteous, but the mockery underneath it was unmistakable. “You crazy bitch,” he snarled, loud enough for half the ballro
Natasha Whitmore's pov I chose the simplest dress I bought that morning.. it was a black, high necked sheath that covered everything and revealed almost nothing. No deep neckline, no slit. The opposite of the women Daniel was photographed with. I pinned my hair into a low twist, applied the barest makeup, and told myself the plan did not require looking like them. It required control.Daniel was already waiting when the car stopped at the gala entrance. He stood beneath the canopy in a black tuxedo, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable...until his eyes landed on me. They stayed there. Longer than politeness required. Longer than indifference should have allowed.“You look beautiful,” he said when I reached him.The words landed so unexpectedly that heat rushed straight to my face. I felt the flush rise and hated how quickly it showed.“Thank you,” I managed.He offered his arm. “I have a surprise for you tonight.”I took it, mind already racing. A surprise. From the man who h
Daniel Ford's pov I arrived at the private club just after nine.The usual suite was already prepared—low lights, expensive whiskey on the side table, two women waiting exactly as arranged. One brunette, one blonde.Both beautiful in the polished, temporary way I preferred. No names needed. No expectations beyond the night. I had done this more times than I could count. It was clean. Efficient. Exactly the way I liked my evenings to end.I loosened my tie, poured a drink, and nodded toward the bed.They moved without hesitation, shedding dresses, climbing onto the sheets with practiced smiles. One reached for my belt. The other trailed her fingers down my chest. I should have been hard already. I should have been thinking about nothing except how quickly I could finish and send them away with the usual envelope of cash.Instead, my mind kept dragging itself back to the woman who had stood in my office that afternoon with rain still in her hair and mascara streaked down her face.Nat







