209: Ooh

Adam didn’t put me down once. He walked straight out of that club with me still over his shoulder, dress bunched up around my waist, one tit hanging out, and my ass bare under the street lights. People on the sidewalk stared. Someone whistled. I didn’t care.My head was spinning and every step bounced me against him in a way that made my stomach flip.He didn’t say a word the whole walk back to the hotel. His hand stayed locked on the back of my thigh, fingers digging in hard enough to leave marks.When we got to the elevator he still didn’t put me down. Only when the door to his room slammed shut did he finally throw me onto the bed.I bounced once and pushed up on my elbows. Adam stood over me, chest rising fast, jaw so tight I could see the muscle jump.“What the fuck was that, Eve?” His voice came out low and rough. “You just fingered yourself on a stage in front of a whole room. Anyone could’ve filmed that. You know how easy it is for that shit to get out. You’ve ruined--”I sat

210: Slut

I woke up with my head pounding and the sheets stuck to my legs. Adam was still next to me, one arm thrown over my waist. For a second I just stared at the ceiling trying to remember how we even got here. Then it all slammed into me at once. The club, the stage and everything that happened after.Oh my God.I sat up so fast the room tilted. My stomach turned. I shoved his arm off me and scrambled out of the bed, almost falling when my feet hit the floor. I grabbed the first thing I saw which was his shirt and yanked it over my head. My hands were already shaking while I looked around for my dress.Adam pushed himself up on one elbow. His hair was a mess and his voice came out rough, “Eve?”I didn’t look at him. I kept searching the floor like the dress was going to magically fix everything, “I need to go.”He sat up fully now. “What are you talking about?”I found the black dress in a heap near the window and snatched it up. My fingers wouldn’t stop trembling while I tried to turn

211: It’s a date ?

I pulled away from his chest and wiped my face with the back of my hand. My eyes still felt swollen and my throat hurt from all the crying. Adam stayed sitting on the edge of the bed watching me. He didn’t reach for me again.“Are you feeling better now?” he asked.I nodded once even though my head still felt heavy. “A little.”He stood up and walked toward the small kitchen area of the suite. I heard the fridge open and close. A minute later he came back with a plate of toast, scrambled eggs and a glass of water. He set everything down on the bed next to me and sat on the other side.“Eat something.”I picked up the toast but didn’t take a bite right away. My mind kept looping the same thing. How did I even end up here. Adam leaned back against the headboard. “How have you been?”I finally took a small bite of toast so I wouldn’t have to answer right away. Chewed. Swallowed. “Fine. Busy with work.”He nodded. “I wasn’t surprised to see you at the meeting yesterday.”I looked up at h

212: Road to forever

I got back to my own hotel room and dropped my bag on the floor. My head still felt heavy from everything that happened this morning. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sat on the edge of the bed. The screen lit up with a bunch of messages from Priya.The first one said she never expected that to happen last night. The next one asked she still had her job. Then three more about the meetings we were supposed to have today.I stared at the screen and rubbed my thumb over the glass. I was so tired and drained I couldn’t even think about sitting in a conference room right now.I typed back that we needed to move everything later. My fingers felt slow. I hit send and let the phone drop onto the mattress. Then I opened the chat with my dad. His last message was just a normal good morning and a picture of a dog. Nothing weird. No questions. I let out a long breath and leaned forward with my elbows on my knees. He hadn’t heard anything. Everything was still fine on that side. I was a

213: Finally in Love

Adam kept walking like nothing had just gone down. His knuckles were still red and a little swollen but he didn’t even look at them. He just guided me out of the building and onto the street like we were leaving a normal meeting. I stared at the side of his face the whole time.“What the hell?” I finally said. “You just beat the shit out of a man and now you’re casually moving on like that?”He glanced at me once then looked ahead again. “You said you were fine. Are you fine?”I blinked at him. “Yeah. I’m fine. But that’s not the point.”He didn’t answer. He just kept walking until we reached the restaurant he had picked for dinner. The host recognised him immediately and took us to a quiet table near the back. Adam pulled my chair out for me before he sat down across from me. I dropped into the seat and immediately started twisting the napkin in my lap. My leg bounced under the table. The deal was probably dead. My father had told me about this exact client for weeks. If we lost

214: Boundless contracts

Adam barely spoke during the drive back. His swollen knuckles kept catching my eye until he caught me staring and curled them into his palm. “Stop looking at my hand.”I folded my arms. “Stop acting like it did not just meet a man’s face.” His jaw tightened. “He deserved worse.”Inside his suite, Adam loosened his tie and rolled his sleeves up. I dropped my bag on the sofa and pointed beside it. “Sit down.”He lifted an eyebrow. “Excuse me?” I pointed again. “Sit before your hand swells into a boxing glove.”Adam sat while I searched the bathroom cupboards. “First aid kit. Under the sink,” he called.I returned with it and sat beside him. “Do you keep one in every hotel for after your scheduled assaults?”He chuckled as he removed his jacket and opened the first two buttons of his shirt. That was unnecessary. Extremely unnecessary.I opened the kit and held out my palm. “Give me your hand.” He placed it in mine, and my fingers tightened around his warmth.“This might sting.” I pr