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“We’re two adults, and however we enjoy our free time is not up to the company to determine.” He turns his gaze to me, swirling like caramel with possessive fire. “Ready?” he softly inquires while I search his eyes for the confidence I don’t feel, but something in his gaze encourages me to take a leap.
Grabbing my phone and bag from the drawer where I keep my belongings, I step toward him regardless of how much is at stake. Perhaps because I’m feeling rebellious, or tired of people telling me what I can and cannot do. Tired of being afraid, looked down to. Tired of battling my demons alone. Tired of losing.
“Yes. I’m finished here.”
And he smiles, encasing my hand in his and kissing my knuckles as a statement. “Good night, Robert, see you tomorrow.” He grabs my coat from the rack, and we walk out.
“Good night,” I holler to Robert, and he dips his head in acknowledgment as Mark pulls me toward the elevator.
I’m confident Mark won’t allow anyone to mingle in our romantic quest. I’m just not sure if the aftermath will be worth the pain. But as he leads me out of the office and Fading Ink, the storm inside me calms, and contentment fills me up, soothing my battered heart.
10
Golden Cage
~Mark~
She’s far too silent for my liking like a storm just before wrecking everything in its path. I can feel a wall of ice between us, but I’m not going to let her push me away. Not when I found her, not when her presence beckons me to claim her. Her unique taste lingers in my mouth and her cries of abandon echo with my heartbeats as my mind replays our little adventure on her desk.
“We’re here.”
She twists to look at me, biting her lip shyly. “This place’s quite high-end. We don’t have to go here.”
I lean over, grasping her face in my hands until our eyes connect. “I’m not going to hide you like a dirty secret. I’m not that kind of man.”
“I thought you didn’t want anyone knowing about us.”
“You’re wrong. I don’t want anyone ruining us before we have a chance to figure out who we are.”
“Oh,” she simply utters, and her face transforms into a grin.
Stepping out, I round the car to open the door for her. Her hair shines under the streetlights like silk, and her features look almost fairy-like. When we settle in the most remote corner of the restaurant, we order wine and some snacks and wait for our main course to arrive.
Cassandra’s full lips enclose the rim of the glass, sipping red wine as I observe her, scanning the room. “Do you like it here?”
She nods, touching the glass to her lips as if to hide her happy grin. “It’s cozy and intimate.”
I brush away the hair from her face, enjoying her content expression.
“Tell me why a woman with so much wealth chose to work at my publishing house for a basic salary. Why not travel and taste everything the world has to offer? You lived through enough as it is.”
Her pale eyes glaze over with anguish like shrapnel’s clawing at her soul. “To be honest, I feel guilty using Logan’s inheritance or living without a financial limit.”
With that level of wealth comes restraints and I have a feeling the Cades tried to chain my bird.
“Why would you? You’re the mother of his children.”
She nods, but deep sadness vibrates off her stiff shoulders, and my fingers tighten around the glass.
; “His family doesn’t think I’m worthy of his name, and after he died, the pain turned into bitter animosity. I think they could have easily left me without anything.”
“But they didn’t,” I state, swirling my wine in the glass, already knowing who held them back from ripping her to pieces.
“Because of their other sons, Logan’s triplets. They stepped in,” she simply explains, watching the bottom of her empty glass she probably could fill with sorrow. “I tried to fix our relationship at first, but I don’t think Helen’s ready to forgive me or accept me. Don’t get me wrong, they love my kids. They shower them with attention and gifts, but I’m a different matter.” Cassandra’s gaze gets lost somewhere beyond my reach, so I bring her face toward me and brush my lips against hers.
She gasps and her eyelashes flutter closed.
