Page 27 of The Billionaire’s Contract Bride

“Before you knew I needed one.”

“That isn’t an answer.”

“It is the only answer you’re getting tonight.” He set the frame face-down on his desk.

The casualness of the gesture ignited something reckless inside her. Aria crossed the room, grabbed the frame again, and pressed it against her chest. “You don’t get to keep this.”

“It belongs to me.”

“It’s a picture of my mother and me.”

“Taken by my investigator and purchased by my company.”

“You purchased a piece of my life without my knowledge.”

Damien’s gaze hardened. “You will find that ownership is rarely determined by fairness.”

“Then take it from me.”

Silence fell over the room.

Aria had issued the challenge before recognizing the danger in it. Damien pushed away from the desk and crossed the small space slowly, giving her ample time to retreat. She didn’t move an inch. Her lower back met the edge of his mahogany desk as he stopped directly in front of her.

“Give it to me,” he said softly.

“No.”

“You entered a secured room after being explicitly told not to.”

“You designed a bedroom suite for me three weeks before we ever met.”

“Those are separate matters.”

“Not to me.”

His gaze dropped to the frame pressed tightly against her chest. One sharp metal corner rested right above her racing heart.

“Your pulse is visible,” he noted.

“I’m angry.”

“You’re frightened.”

“Of discovering what kind of monster I agreed to marry.”

“You knew what I was when you signed.”

“I knew you were controlling. I didn’t know you were obsessed.” The word changed him. Not visibly enough for anyone else to notice, but Aria was close enough to see the slight dilation of his pupils and the deliberate, measured breath he drew before responding.

“Obsession implies a loss of control.”

“Is that what frightens you? Not you wanting me, but the idea of losing control because you do?”

Damien placed both hands flat on the desk, framing her on either side. He didn’t touch her, but the cage formed all the same.

“You should be very careful with questions whose answers you are not prepared to hear,” he warned softly.

Aria raised her chin. “How long?”