LOGINCHAPTER 28I should have gone straight to my room.Instead, I found myself outside Matthias's study at nearly eleven at night with a folded maintenance schedule in my hand and a very weak excuse for being there.I knocked once."Come in."His voice slid through the door and straight under my skin.Matthias was behind his desk, tie gone, top buttons of his shirt undone, dark hair slightly disordered like he'd been dragging a hand through it for the last hour. There was a glass of whiskey near his elbow and a file open in front of him.He looked tired.Dangerous.And the second he saw me, something in his expression shifted.His gaze dropped to the paper in my hand."What is it?""Tomorrow's maintenance rota." I stepped inside and shut the door behind me. "The east corridor repairs got moved. If Victoria planned anything around staff movement, half the lower floor will be unsupervised for three hours."He held out his hand.I crossed the room and gave him the paper.His fingers brushed
CHAPTER 28Matthias ended the call and stood very still for a second.Too still.The kind of stillness that wasn't calm at all.It was a control stretched tight over something much darker."Caden's not missing," I said quietly. "He's avoiding you."Matthias's jaw flexed."Same result."He slipped his phone back into his pocket and looked at me.Really looked at me.And suddenly the room didn't feel dangerous because of Caden anymore.It felt dangerous because of us.Because five seconds before Dante's call, Matthias had me pinned against him like he was done pretending this wasn't inevitable.And now we were both standing there trying to act like we hadn't nearly made a much bigger mistake.I folded my arms, mostly to give my hands something to do."So what now?"Matthias didn't answer immediately.He crossed the room toward the window, one hand loosening his tie again like he was trying to physically drag himself back under control.The city lights reflected faintly against the glass
Chapter 27Matthias didn't take me back to the estate.He took me to his office.Not the one people saw during formal meetings. Not the polished public-facing version with glass walls and awards and neutral furniture designed to impress investors.This one was deeper in the Ashford tower. Private. Quiet. The kind of room built for decisions no one else was supposed to hear.The elevator ride up was silent.I stood beside him with Caden's fingerprints still burning on my arm and Matthias's scent wrapped around me like a second skin.He hadn't let go of my hand until we stepped into the office.Then the door shut behind us with a soft click that somehow sounded louder than it should have.Too final.Too private.I turned slowly, taking in the dark wood desk, the city skyline beyond the windows, and the low seating area near the far wall.Matthias loosened his tie without looking at me."Sit."I folded my arms. "I'm not injured."His eyes lifted to mine."That wasn't a suggestion."I sho
Chapter 26Caden cornered me after my afternoon class.Of course he did.I had barely made it down the side path behind the humanities building when his scent hit first, expensive cologne over wolf and anger. A second later, his hand caught my wrist and yanked me into the narrow space between the brick wall and the hedges."Let go," I snapped.Caden didn't.His golden eyes were too bright, too sharp. The kind of look that said he'd been spiraling for hours and had finally decided to make it my problem."You smell like him."There it was.I kept my face blank even though my pulse jumped."I don't know what you're talking about."He laughed once, ugly and disbelieving."Don't insult me, Aria." His grip tightened. "You think I can't tell? You think I don't know my father's scent?"I yanked my hand, but he only stepped closer."You've been avoiding me all week," he said. "Running around like you're untouchable now. Acting like you've won something.""I don't need to act."That hit.His ja
Chapter 25I made him wait twelve.Petty, again.But if Matthias Ashford wanted to summon me like one of his staff after ignoring me all morning, he could learn patience.When I finally knocked and stepped into his study, he was standing by the window with his back to me, jacket off, phone in one hand.He ended the call the second I entered.Then turned.And just looked at me.No pretense this time.No pretending he wasn't affected.No pretending last night hadn't followed him into today.The heat in that look hit low and immediate.I closed the door behind me slowly."You called for me?" I asked.His jaw flexed once."You think this is funny."I tilted my head. "What is?"His eyes darkened."The way you've been behaving since breakfast."I leaned lightly against the closed door and folded my arms."You've behaved worse.""Don't test me today, Aria."That should have sounded like a warning.Instead, it sounded like something that made my pulse jump.I pushed off the door and walked fu
Chapter 24 Now his body heat wrapped around me.Now, breathing felt like something I had to remember to do intentionally."And what exactly do you plan to do with that information?" he asked.My fingers tightened around the towel basket.I should have answered lightly.Should have smiled.Should have played it smarter.Instead, the truth slipped out before I could stop it."I want more."Silence.Real silence.The kind that rings.His gaze dropped to my mouth so slowly it almost hurt.Then lifted again."More what?" he asked, and his voice was rougher now. Lower.The question should have embarrassed me.It didn't.Or maybe I was too far gone to feel embarrassed anymore."More than warnings," I said softly.His entire body went still.That dangerous stillness men like him had right before they did something reckless."Aria."I barely heard my own heartbeat over the way he said my name.Not sharp this time.Not irritated.Something worse.Something hungry.I looked up at him and knew I
Chapter 23By morning, Matthias Ashford had decided to pretend last night hadn't happened.Which was almost funny.Because if a man wanted to erase a moment, he probably shouldn't spend the next twelve hours making it impossible to forget.I saw it immediately at breakfast.Not in what he did.In w
CHAPTER 22The file didn't need to be delivered until morning.I delivered it anyway.The corridor outside his study was empty at nine-thirty. My shift was technically done. My apron was folded over my arm and I had every reasonable excuse to walk downstairs and out the side entrance and go home.I
Chapter 21Matthias asked for five minutes.I gave him three and used the other two standing outside his study door deciding exactly how I was going to walk into that room.Not like a maid. Not like David Lennox's daughter asking for a favour.Like someone who knew what she wanted and had stopped a
CHAPTER 20Saturday morning I moved a book. Not randomly. I chose the one Matthias had left face-down on the sitting room chair, the one he'd been reading for three days based on how the bookmark had shifted. I picked it up, found his page, and moved it three shelves up on the bookcase. Same sect







