LOGINThe door open, showing my personal assistant."The lunch with the Prince is fully prepared, Mr. Banks.""I'll let you two gentlemen be, sir," Carlton says, gathering his tablet and beginning to walk out."Carlton," I call, stopping him at the threshold. He turns around."Anthony and I will both be attending this lunch.""We will? I'm pretty sure I have a particular port business meeting to attend to first," Anthony grins through each words. I look directly at Carlton."His port proposal was officially approved this morning." Anthony's grin widens to his ears."And I'll be calling a corporate luncheon in a few days myself." He adds as I stand up, adjusting my cuffs."Excellent news. You can easily gain far more powerful connections with the prince then," I add."You just want me right by your side, don't you, Banks?" He teases, adjusting his tie as we step out into the private corridor."The formal adjustments to the schedule will be made immediately, Mr. Banks," Carlton says from righ
"How is her current social status?""You completely cut off her funds. Banned her from the high-end sectors. Her mother's car dealership business is currently undergoing a massive fraud case, and your father cut off all his financial support," Carlton lists. I look up at him."She apparently had a massive fight with your father.""When don't they?""This time, he refused to do her bidding at a luxury auction they both attended three nights ago." I breathe in deeply, pulling up a separate live footage link of Eleanor. She is currently at her driving class, focused and breathtaking."At the auction's valet parking, your father seemed to refuse her request, so she slapped him." I pause, my eyes tracking Eleanor's car on screen."Wow. She's quite fierce, it seems," Kayden states."She's a diagnosed sociopath, kid," Anthony tells him."After the slap, she apologized immediately, but your dad abandoned her right at the valet. She had to walk.""Walk all the way back home?" I question, and C
BANKS POVSafe to say, Eleanor completely pushed me out of her apartment. And now, it is officially day two without her. Five days in total without touching her soft skin. I don't think my sanity can survive any further."The man just got released for the DUI which caused the massive accident," Carlton states, and I look back down at the surveillance footage of Montana flirting with the exact same truck driver responsible for Eleanor's crash. She actually traveled all the way over to China just to execute this."Montana met him..." he continues, his voice edged."Montana?" I repeats."Yes, Mr. Banks," Carlton replies smoothly, and I wonder briefly when he started calling her by her first name. Montana thrives entirely on unearned respect and fear; she never lets anyone address her so casually. "She met him in Guangzhou for the very first time, the night before the day of the accident." My fist tightens around the edge of the tablet as I watch the screen play the clip of Montana passi
"You did?" he seethe, his grip wrapping around my waist"Who is he?""I didn't! I don't even know who she's talking about," I stammer, glaring at my sister."He even wrote a three-page love letter to you, Sis" Zara adds oil to the fire, pausing by the stairs."Quite a vibrant young love life you had, Anor," Banks hiss into my neck. I have absolutely no idea what neighbor Zara is talking about. Someone else must have lived that childhood, because it certainly wasn't me."And how old are you that you know so much about sneaking out, Zara?" I counter, trying to deflect the lethal gaze burning into the side of my face."You had better not be sneaking out of the house to see any boys," I add."I sneaked out the second I left the single-digit age, sis," she shrugs. Single digits?"When she turned ten years old," Banks supply automatically. I whip my head to look at her."You sneaked out of the house at ten years old?!"
ELEANOR POV"Wow. You're almost ready to launch, Miss," Vandiver compliments, making my heart swell further. I've no idea if it was the absolute certainty in Banks's words from three days ago or if I had simply tapped into a new reservoir of discipline, but I had been operating on pure, joyful adrenaline. I looked at the rows of perfume blends ready to be stabilized and bottled, feeling a fierce spike of pride."Thank you, Vandiver. One more week and they'll be available for use," I smile, looking down at the image of Banks on my phone. I can't wait to show him what I'd built."Well do—""BIG SIIIIIIIIS!" my sister's voice shriek from the corridor, cutting into my words. No way. I had to be hallucinating. Her flight isn't scheduled until next week."Biiiiiig!" The double doors burst open, and a chaotic rhapsody of a bright red skirt and a turquoise top come sprinting straight into the lab."Zara?" I stand up from my stool, stepping forward just as she launch herself at me."Siiiis!"
Realization dawns on me, and my head whips toward her. Her lips curve into a wicked smile as she lifts her legs, resting her bare feet directly over my thighs. With a loud inhale and the thin remnants of my restraint, I force my eyes back onto the road."That's a sex club, Anor. A BDSM and kink club," I state, my grip tightening on the wheel. She lowers her toes, pressing them lightly against my crotch,my breathe hitch. I reach down, holding her feet still."A perfect place with a stage in the center for you to punish and fuck me," she purrs, wiggling her feet out of my hold and pressing them down against my rapidly hardening length. "How big is the main stage, my sweet baby wolf?" I shudder violently at the imagery, a low groan escaping me as her toes press firmly against my cock. Damn it."Eleanor," her name comes out broken, my knuckles turning stark white from the pressure against the steering wheel."Anor. Baby. Firecracker. Those are my names, my dearest baby wolf," she correct
“When do you land?” I question Roland as I step out of the boutique I hid into to get something catchy for myself... And okay.. My master“Two weeks.” He shifts the bags he is carrying: his own and Zara’s, because he has been carrying her things since she was four years old and will probably contin
Eleanor POV"The furniture will be completely arranged before your arrival tomorrow, ma'am."I offer the interior designer a tight smile, grab my handbag, and head out to where Vandiver is waiting by the sleek Rolls-Royce.I don't have a regular job anymore, and w
ELEANOR POVRoland has aged.Not badly — he looks good, he looks healthy but I can see the years in the set of his jaw and the particular way he holds his shoulders, like a man who has been carrying something heavy for so long the posture has become permanent. He is twenty-nine years old and he ha
"Jesus!" I jump back, my hand flying to my chest as I face Vandiver"I apologize, miss.""Mr. Van... I am just going into the next store to buy raw formulation materials," I say, pointing aggressively at the glass storefront. Honestly, sometimes he acts like I’m an escaped con







