Adrian:
"We're so close to the finish line. We just need a few more."
I pause, listening to the response on the other end.
"Good. I'll be in touch."
I end the call and set the phone down on my desk.
My father won't see it coming.
I've spent three years moving pieces into position. Three years of hiding stock purchases behind shell companies and offshore accounts. And when I finally have majority control, everything is going to change.
I can finally get my mother out of his clutches.
A knock on the door interrupts my thoughts.
"Come in."
James, my head of security, steps inside. His expression is serious.
"Mr. Lockwood. I have the photos you requested."
He crosses the room and hands me a manila envelope.
I open it and pull out the photographs.
Raven. Getting into a car with the same man I saw her with the last time. Sitting close to him. His hand on her arm. Both of them looking at a laptop screen.
The last photo shows her face. She's smiling.
My wolf goes still. Then explodes.
"Do we have an ID on the man?"
"Not yet, sir. We're running facial recognition. We should have something within forty eight hours."
"Keep the surveillance active. I want updates every time she leaves her apartment."
"Yes, sir."
James leaves.
I stare at the photograph of Raven smiling at this stranger. Letting him touch her. Meeting him in secret.
My hand crumples the edge of the photo.
I'm in my car before I can talk myself out of it.
I drive to her apartment in a blur, my foot heavy on the accelerator, taking corners faster than I should.
I take the stairs and pound on her door.
Nothing.
I pound again.
The door swings open.
Raven stands there in an oversized t-shirt, her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She looks like she just woke up.
She sees me and rolls her eyes.
"It's twelve in the morning. What are you doing here, sir?"
I walk past her into the apartment.
"I don't remember asking you to come in."
"We need to talk."
"I'm sure whatever it is can wait until Monday." She crosses her arms.
I pull the envelope from my jacket and throw it on her coffee table.
The photos spill out.
She stares at them. Then picks one up.
"Where did you get these?" Her voice is too calm.
"Does it matter?"
"Yes. It matters." She looks up at me. "Were you following me?"
"I had someone follow you."
She's furious now.
"That's stalking."
"I was trying to protect you."
"Protect me?" She laughs but there's no humor in it. "You hired someone to spy on me and take pictures without my knowledge. That's not protection, that's surveillance."
"I needed to know you were safe."
"Safe from what? From having a private conversation?" She throws the photo back on the table. "You have no right to do this."
"I have every right when you're in danger."
"The only danger I'm in is from you showing up at midnight acting like you own me." She starts pacing, her voice rising with each word. "This is insane. You can't just follow me around and invade my privacy."
Something dark and possessive moves through me at the sight of her like this. All that fire directed at me.
"Do you see what you're doing to me?" The words come out rougher than I intend.
She stops pacing. "What?"
"You. Challenging me. Pushing back. Getting angry." I take a step toward her. "It's driving me insane."
"Who is he?"
She blinks at the sudden shift. "What?"
"The man in the photos. Who is he?"
"None of your business."
"Everything about you is my business."
"No. You're my boss. That's it. You don't get to demand answers about my personal life."
"I like it when you challenge me." The words come out before I can stop them.
She blinks. "What?"
"You push back. You don't just agree with everything I say because you're afraid of me." I take a step closer. "You stand your ground."
"Cancel the security detail."
"No."
"This is…."
"Not until you tell me who he is."
"He's a friend."
"What kind of friend? What were you looking at on that laptop?"
"It's none of your business."
"Are you seeing him?"
"Are you serious right now?"
"Answer the question."
"I don't have to answer anything." She turns away. "Get out."
I move faster than she expects.
"Get out before I call building security."
I step closer. She backs up until she hits the kitchen counter.
I cage her in, one hand on either side of her body, trapping her between my arms.
"No security would dare touch me." I lean in and whisper in her ear. "You'd be wasting your time."
Her breath hitches.
"I just want to know you're safe." My voice drops lower. "I promise I would never hurt you."
"Then why are you doing this?"
"Because I can't stop thinking about you Raven." The confession slips out. "The thought of you with someone else makes me want to break things. Because you're driving me insane and I don't know what to do about it."
Silence.
"Who is he?" I ask again.
"No one." Her voice is barely a whisper.
Her eyes drop. To my chest. Lower. To the obvious bulge straining against my pants.
Her breath comes out in short, shallow puffs.
She looks back up at me and I see it. The shock. The arousal. The conflict warring in her amber eyes.
We're close enough that I can see the light in the room reflect in her eyes. Her lips are parted and I have an insane desire to find out how they taste.
"Look at me."
She does.
My hand comes up to her face.
She pushes hard against my chest.
"Adrian." Her voice shakes. "I'm begging you. Please leave."
I don't move.
"If you really want to keep me safe," she says quietly, meeting my eyes, "cancel the surveillance."