로그인Belle I pushed through the front door and didn't look back. The journey home was quiet. I sat in the back seat of the car, looking out the window, and let myself feel it without trying to fix it. The house was empty. Jenna was at work. I set the box down and dropped onto the sofa. The tears came suddenly before I had even fully sat down. It was an ugly mess. I grabbed my phone and called the one person I knew wouldn’t freak out about what I had just done. Jenna’s voice came through warm. “Hi, baby girl.” “I resigned today, Jenna,” my voice broke immediately. “I’m out of Wilders Corporation.” “Oh, Belle.” Her voice went soft. “I’m so sorry. I know how much that place meant to you.” I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth. “My dream is over. I worked so hard and I just…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. “Stop…” She paused, searching for the right words to pull me back. “Your dream is not over. You have a new job you thought you were never going to get. You got it on your
BelleTypical James. He still couldn’t stand any man that wasn’t him being overly close to me. Not in the same office, room, or even in the same industry apparently. He wanted to keep me at the office, even though his best decision would have been to let me go because of that. There he could see me, so he had dressed it up as concern and protection, but I knew what it was.Obsession.God forbid I was out of his sight and flirted with by another man. He’d lose it. Not that I even wanted to.Still, it didn’t make it any easier to deal with his overbearing jealousy. And the most inconvenient part of all of it was that some dark, irrational part of me loved it—how he couldn’t stand it. How the thought of another man looking at me made him lose his composure entirely.His obsessive possession. I knew it made no sense. Probably the last thing I should be loving about him. Still, it didn’t stop it.We made love all night. He moved inside me deliberately slow, drawing out every sensation unti
BelleSnap out of it, Belle.I lay there staring at the ceiling and gave myself the reminder firmly.I knew how James was. One second he was hot, the next he was cold, shutting me out, and every time he did, he left me more confused than before.He said he could never love me. I had to force myself to believe it. If I let myself forget it, even for a second, I would be done for.I breathed in his warm, woody, musky scent as my eyes opened. I blinked, tracing his face. Ruggedly handsome in a way I couldn’t not notice. His dark brows. His strong nose. His defined jawline. His full lips. Everything about him tugged at me in ways I hated and wanted at the same time.What was I going to do?I wanted to be with him so badly it made my chest ache.But look at the mess I made at the office. I lost it in a jealous moment and forgot that I had a career to protect.Contract or not, I couldn't lose myself to him.If I did, I could kiss every late night in college, every sacrifice, and every bit
BelleWhat choice was I going to make?The image of him and Davina flashed in my mind, making me lock up for a second.Her hand on his face. His mouth on hers. The sight of them kissing from that doorway.My stomach churned. I pressed my lips together and looked down for a second because I could not let him see how much that still affected me.“I’ll think about it,” I muttered.“Okay.”And I guessed that settled it.He didn’t push it or argue. No cold smile. No trap to test if I would be obedient.Just the word, okay, and my heart did not know what to do with that. The touch was warm and tempting, and it sent another tremor through me. He led me out of the closet and across the room toward the bed. I followed because I could not seem to do anything else when he touched me like that. Because even now, angry and hurt and confused, I still wanted him in a way that made me feel exposed.He reached down and pulled the covers back.His eyes never left mine.He said nothing.Then he lay do
Belle“Screw you, James Wilder.”I looked him straight in the eye. My chest hurt, but I didn’t let it show.“I can live with that.”He did not flinch. Not even a little. He just stood there and took it, his face hard, his eyes locked on mine like he was not about to let me run from this.I turned toward the door and forced my feet to move. “I’m going to need to go home and pack my things.”“You don’t have to.”I stopped with my hand near the handle. My fingers gripped, then loosened. I turned just enough to look at him over my shoulder.He walked past me, close enough that his arm brushed mine, and that small touch sent a sudden shiver through me before I could stop it. He pushed open the walk-in closet door, then stepped back and waited.I looked inside.My breath caught.One side of the closet was his. Neat. Luxurious. Totally James. The other side had been made for me.Dresses. Trousers. Skirts. Blazers. Shoes lined up along the bottom shelf in perfect rows. Heels. Flats. Every kin
JamesI paced the bedroom. My shoes struck the hardwood. My hands flexed at my sides. She had to come.I glanced at my watch again. The tenth time in as many minutes.The door opened.Belle walked in. Her bag hung from one shoulder. Her eyes found mine.Everything in my chest released. She came. I crossed the room and drew her into my arms. Her body hit mine. I locked my arms around her. My palms spread across her back. I buried my face in her hair and inhaled. Vanilla. Jasmine. All her.She collapsed into me for one breath. Then her muscles went rigid.“What do you have to explain?” She pushed back. Looked up at me. No softness. Just demand.I kept my hands on her arms. I needed the contact to feel her under my fingers. I didn’t want her to want to be away from me again. “It was all Lorena’s idea. She wanted to spin the narrative. Give the media something else to talk about.” I searched her face for any sign she believed me.“It’s not real, Belle. There was never an engagement. S







