جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 120

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINECassie was in the kitchen, halfway through wiping down the counter, when she caught movement through the front window and looked up to see her father standing in a suit that looked too formal for a casual visit, hands folded in front of him like a man rehearsing an apology. For a moment she just stood there, dish towel still in her hand, debating whether to answer the door at all. Part of her wanted to pretend she hadn't seen him, let him stand out there and eventually give up and leave. But another part of her, the part that still hadn't fully closed the door on that one honest phone call weeks ago, walked toward the front hall anyway.She opened the door only partway, keeping her body angled to block most of the entrance."You shouldn't be here," she said."I know," Richard said, just standing there patiently as if waiting for an invitation. " I won't stay long. I just need five minutes, Cassie. That's all I'm asking."She hesitated, the memory of that c

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVENCassie woke to an empty bed and the sound of the back door easing shut downstairs, sunlight already fully up outside, later than she usually slept, her body clearly having needed the exhaustion of last night to finally give in. She found him in the garden a few minutes later, sitting on the low stone bench near the hedges, his bad leg stretched out in front of him at an angle that had to be uncomfortable, staring at nothing in particular the way he did when something had settled too heavy to process sitting still indoors."Hey," she said softly, approaching slowly across the wet grass, unsure of her welcome.He didn't look up right away. "Hey.""Can I sit?""It's your garden too, Cassie."She sat beside him, close enough to feel the tension still radiating off him but careful not to reach for his hand the way she normally would without thinking. "You didn't come to bed.""I was working.""I'm sorry," she said, the words coming out smaller than she meant

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN Dom didn't answer her for a long moment, his eyes still fixed on the screen, jaw working like he was trying to physically hold back whatever wanted to come out of his mouth. The wind off the water picked up slightly, catching the hem of Cassie's dress, and she barely noticed it, all her attention locked on the way his shoulders had gone rigid in the space of a single breath."Dom." She put her hand on his arm, feeling the tension locked into every muscle beneath his sleeve, hard as rope. "Talk to me. You're scaring me."He finally turned the phone toward her, his thumb still pressed too hard against the edge of the screen. A message from Whitfield, terse and clearly typed in a hurry, none of the careful, measured phrasing the lawyer usually used.Flagged unusual asset movement from Marcus's accounts this afternoon. Attempted transfer to an offshore holding company, blocked by the freeze order but concerning. I will call first thing tomorrow. Nothing t

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN Her fingers moved to his belt. She tugged the leather free of the buckle with a soft clink. “Need help with this too?”Dom swallowed hard, Adam’s apple bobbing. His voice came out rough. “Yes.”That single word unlocked everything.She pulled the belt open, unzipped him, and freed his cock. It sprang heavy and hot into her hand. Cassie leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the tip before swirling her tongue around the head. Dom groaned, one hand threading gently into her hair. She took him deeper, lips stretching around his thickness, sucking slowly while her hand stroked what her mouth couldn’t reach. Her eyes stayed on him the whole time, watching every flicker of pleasure cross his face.“Fuck, baby… your mouth,” he rasped.She hummed around him, the vibration making his hips twitch. She worked him with a steady rhythm—long, wet strokes, tongue pressing along the underside until his breathing grew ragged. But she didn’t let him finish. Cassie pulled o

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN The Ashford Foundation gala was held at the museum downtown. It's the kind of event where every surface gleamed under perfect lighting and every conversation carried the faint undertone of business being conducted beneath the small talk, fortunes and favors traded behind champagne flutes.Cassie had been holding her own for the better part of two hours, navigating introductions with Leo steady at her side, deflecting a handful of pointed questions about Marcus with the same practiced grace Dom had spent months teaching her, redirecting every barbed comment toward the company instead. She was finally taking a breath in the quiet of the ladies' room, splashing a little cool water on her wrists, when the door opened behind her."Cassie."She turned, and her whole body went rigid at the sight of Vanessa standing there, dressed elegantly in deep green silk, her eyes already red-rimmed like she'd been crying somewhere before finding her way in here, mascara