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Madison left the building for a lunch appointment. I’m already edgy as hell because she seemed cagey about where she was going, but when she comes into my office smelling like Eleanor Harrington, my wolf rages.
Those damn high society humans. We mix with people like the Harringtons at our charity events. We’ll take their money, we’ll manage their investments, but they are nothing like us.
I’m not pissed at Madison. Scratch that. I definitely am, but my wolf isn’t. My wolf wants to protect her.
Sully believes she is, most likely, the unacknowledged daughter of Brett Harrington, Eleanor’s son. It’s not clear whether he knows he has a daughter and wants nothing to do with her or whether he’s been in the dark the entire time.
What is clear is that Eleanor anonymously paid for Madison’s prep school education and made phone calls that ensured her entry into Princeton with a generous financial aid package. I gauge Madison’s mood. She doesn’t seem shaken up or disturbed now, not like she would if she’d just learned the old lady’s secret.
“I’m sure you remember the company holiday ball is tonight.” She’s in a sweater dress with cutout shoulders and a peek-a-boob chest. I already had her up against the window this morning, but I’m feeling territorial, and that makes me desperate to get inside her again.
“Yes.” I purposely direct my attention at my computer because I’m not fully in control at the moment. My wolf needs to tone it the fuck down.
“I have to be there early, but we need you there by seven or eight to formally greet everyone.”
“We’ll drive over together,” I clip, still not looking her way.
“I have to be there by five-thirty to make sure everything is running smoothly.”
Now I give her my full attention, and it’s with the air of a reprimand. “When I gave you the task of liaising with HR for the party, it was not for you to run it. It was for you to represent me and my interests. You’re not their staff; you’re mine. So you’ll go when I go.”
My wolf is disgruntled by the lie. She’s not mine. Not the way he needs her to be.
She hesitates for a beat. “You’re the boss.”
“Big Bad Boss,” I mutter as she turns to sail away.
“Madison.” I catch her before she reaches the door, my tone business-like.
She pivots. “Yes, sir?” She still plays subordinate seamlessly which tells me what I always suspected–that it’s been an act and a game from the very start. I never had her respect, nor her fear.
Why do I love that so much?
“With whom did you have lunch?”
She hesitates a second before tossing back, “Why do you ask?”
“Answer the question.”
She must hear I’m not fooling around, but she still cocks a hip. “Am I not allowed to take a lunch break?”
I don’t answer. Don’t release her from my gaze. But I should remember that Madison has negotiation skills that far exceed her age or station. She simply lifts a brow, staring right back.
“Are you looking for a new job?” My voice is deadly now because the thought of losing her makes my wolf surge to the surface. He’s jealous. Possessive.
Very, very dangerous.
Regret flickers over Madison’s face, and my wolf thrashes beneath the surface. “No. Though I am keeping my options open.”
I get up from behind the desk and walk around to the front of it. I don’t trust myself to get close to her for fear I’ll snatch her up and never let go. Instead, I lean back on my desk and fold my arms. “Why?”
She lifts her shoulders, and the scent of her regret agitates me. Or is it pain? Either way, I can’t stand it. I want to do everything in the world to change it. “I’m screwing the boss.” She sounds sorry, like something sad but inevitable has happened. “This probably won’t end well for me.”
I narrow my eyes, not liking any of this. “That’s pretty fatalistic, isn’t it?” I beckon her to me, desperate to touch her, to have her scent closer, but still not trusting myself not to throw her over my shoulder and carry her home to mansion row. To tie her to my bed, mark her with my scent and keep her forever.
She comes as bidden, arms wrapped around her middle. I force myself to move slowly when I settle my hands on her waist, dislodging her hold of it.
“I don’t want to lose you.”
