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“Meaning?”
“It’s just you and me now, my dear.” The curl to his lips deepened. “And I hold all the cards.”
“What cards?” The smoky undertones of his cologne smelled like burned fibers from the rope I was at the end of. I couldn’t think straight with him so close.
“You work for me. You live here. Your so-called friends work here.” His dark brown eyes narrowed. “And just today, I secured the guardianship paperwork you requested from my lawyer.”
“It’s done?” I hadn’t been certain he would uphold that part of our bargain.
“I’ve done everything I said I would do. And you,” he placed his hands on the armrests of my chair and his mouth near my ear, “you owe me.”
His warm breath stirred wisps of hair that had escaped my ponytail. But I couldn’t escape him.
Knowing there was no way out, I tried to suppress the shiver that rolled through me. A soul-deep one that cracked open something inside me. Truth I didn’t want to acknowledge, but that Martin had ruthlessly pointed out, flooded me with bitter darkness rather than affirming light.
Andy’s voice suddenly spilled into the room, and I turned my head. It sounded like he was right beside me, but it was just the sound system.
After apologizing for starting late, he introduced the song “Busted.” Barry clacked his sticks, and ABCR’s music brought sound into the room where a moment before there had been silence.
Refocusing on Martin, I asked, “What do you want?” The music hadn’t affected him. His focus remained on me.
“What I’ve always wanted since I first saw you.” He held me captive with his gaze. “You.”
Trapped, backed into a corner with no escape, I stared at him, knowing to the depths of my soul that I should never have accepted anything from him. Not shelter. Not the job. Not the guardianship papers. I did owe him, and debts to a man like Martin always had to be paid.
“All right.” I swallowed hard. “I’m here.”
He had me. I owed him, but he didn’t own me.
“What exactly do you want?” I asked bitterly. “Should I strip for you? Bend over your desk? Suck your cock? There are so many options.”
I tried not to shrink back from him. I didn’t want him to see my fear, only my defiance.
“I want many things.” His eyes narrowed. “But for tonight, we’ll start with you putting on that dress.” He pointed to a garment bag with a designer label hanging from the standing coat rack by his door.
“And then what?” I gulped in more of his obnoxious cologne
“Then you and I are going to sit in the VIP section together. Watch the band. After that, we’ll see.”
There was nowein this situation. I got what Martin was doing, showing off his prize. He wanted everyone, including my former boyfriend and probably even my best friend, to know I belonged to him. He wanted me to know and accept it.
But ABCR wasn’t fired. Rachel’s paperwork was done and would soon be in my hands. The band’s future would be secure, especially my sister’s and Barry’s. I would pay what I owed.
Martin had won, but it was only a temporary victory.
• • •
Holding my head high, I stepped into the VIP section and moved toward Martin in my new dress.
He ran his proprietary gaze over me. At my insistence, he’d left his office and come to the lounge while I’d donned the Vera Wang cocktail dress he’d procured for me. It was silver and matched the platinum stripes on his black Boss suit. The bodice hugged my naked breasts and tied over one shoulder. The skirt was tulip-shaped and just skimmed my upper thighs. In only a lacy thong underneath the cool satin, I felt naked and exposed, vulnerable, which was probably what he wanted.
“You look ravishing.” Martin stood, unbuttoning his suit jacket when I joined him. His eyes glowed with pride. Taking my hands, he pressed his firm lips to my cheeks, first one and then the other.
“Thank you,” I murmured, surprisingly registering the warmth of his kiss as he glanced at the stage when Collin clanked a wrong chord.
Looking too, I knew he’d seen Martin kiss me. His silver eyes blazed, and I could feel the heat of his anger. But after all that had happened, all that he’d said, that was the only thing I registered.
I was behind my wall, insulated behind layers of concrete blocks that sound and emotion couldn’t penetrate. Collin might be jealous about Martin, or maybe he was just irritated with himself that he’d hit a discordant chord. Maybe our whole relationship had been just that, an off note for both of us.
