Billion Dollar Bad Boy (Big City Billionaires)(52)

In my chest, something clutched my heart and squeezed.

Neither of us had moved. His toes pointed at me, his hands—hands that had always been unexpectedly soft—clenching at his hips. He was coiled all the way to his eyebrows, and even so, frozen to the ground.

I could feel every breath he took, my own body swelling simultaneously.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, danger flashing through his tone.

“I'm sorry, sir.” My red-headed pursuer came around, her phone lifted calculatingly. “I tried to stop her, but she just ran back here! I'll call the police.”

“Wait,” he said, motioning for her to stop. “It's fine.”

I felt a twinge of delight at how her mouth flapped. “Sir?”

Silver hadn't stopped watching me. I was rooted to the spot, digging for any fragment of the strength I'd stormed in with. Remember who he is. Cutting into my own palms with my nails, I steeled myself. “We need to talk.”

He eyed me closely. I could feel his pupils trying to slip into my head and understand why I was here. “My office,” he said, gesturing at the stairs. Then he turned enough to talk to the man at the computer. “Florian, send that data to me and I'll finish looking it over.”

“Alright,” the blonde stranger said. He squinted at me again, like he could grasp what was going on if he looked hard enough.

The woman from the front desk stood there another minute. I think she kept expecting Silver to change his mind and tell her to call security after all.

Of course, he didn't.

The office was gorgeous, high ceilings, tall windows, and a black couch that glistened in the corner. Silver shut the door behind us; the lock clanked through the air pointedly. “How did you find me?” he snapped.

“I thought you'd be happy,” I said, not hiding my sarcasm. “You wanted to see me, here I am.”

“You know I didn't mean like this.” Running a palm over his hair, he stayed by the door. The tension in his face made me realize that as big as this office was, there was little space between us.

“Your business card,” I said, shaking his jacket. “It was in the pocket, Keswick.” I spit his real name out, then threw the garment onto the floor by his desk.

Silver's shoulders slid down. “Of course.” He relaxed enough to prop himself on the wall, one knee bent—oddly casual. “I'm guessing you didn't come here just to return that.”

“Of course not!” Filling my chest, I threw my arms down. “I told you to leave me alone, but you still keep trying to reach me! More letters, more f*cking gifts? I never wanted to see your face ever again, Silver!” Lies. “But I'm here, so talk. Tell me why you're risking your safety by contacting me—me, who you know has been talking to the detective who wants to put you in prison!”

His mouth became a thin line. It was his only reaction.

I said, “I need to understand. I can't handle knowing you're out here, waiting for me... thinking of me... until I know why you came back in the first place.”

His next movements were too fast, his body rushing forward until he had me backed against the polished desk. “You don't understand yet, do you, Pet?”

“Don't call me Pet.” It was a frail demand, so I narrowed my eyes. Fuck, he was too close. His heat was washing over me, and with the sharp edge of the desk behind me, I was trapped. “Hostage is better, isn't it?”

I meant to piss him off. Amazingly, a slow smirk spread over his lips. “I'll call you that if you want. My hostage, I f*cking love that. It means you're mine.”

Hot ripples made my lower belly squeeze. No, don't let him get to you. This man was a demon crafted from sexual desire. I had to be strong, I needed to understand what was going on. “I remember everything, you know. That means I remember how you nearly killed me.”

His eyebrows scrunched.

I didn't let him speak, my lips curling back as my anger returned. “You put a gun to my f*cking head. I thought I was going to die, Silver! I was ready to go out into the world and live my life and you stole that away from me!”

My muscles bunched, I shoved forward and pushed him off of me. The baffled light that entered his eyes was glorious. I'd never felt so powerful, so... so right.

“I was never going to pull the trigger—”

“How could I know that? Why does that even matter?”

“You weren't in real danger, Pet, I—”

“I said don't call me that!” I jabbed a finger at him. “Because of you, my whole life went off the rails!” Infused by fury, I pushed him back further.

Hard fingers coiled in my hair. My world spun, his force spinning me so that I bounced against the door. I felt the hinges rattle along with my teeth. It didn't hurt, but it left me stunned.

Silver's nose ground on mine, his searing words kissing my ears. “You're accusing me of planning to kill you when you won't even listen to my side.” He tightened his hands, breathing faster—deeper. “You said you wanted to know why I came to this city, why I came back for you.”

Hot tears of exhaustion prickled the corners of my eyes. “Was it to destroy what was left of me? Is that why you've been playing with me, so you could twist me up inside and f*ck me over? You broke me, you f*cking broke me! Why did you come back?!”