𝑺 𝑬 𝑹 𝑬 𝑵 𝑰 𝑻 𝒀 (18+)

Thirty-five

S E R E N I T Y

♥

Dominic Bullion wasn't a very smart man. If he was he would've never attacked me, he would've never tried to press charges against Noah, and he would've never assumed I would go down quietly. Even if I couldn't watch him burn I was going to be the reason he did. My legal team would make sure of it. Not only was I pressing charges against him, I demanded at least 2.5 million dollars in restitution. He obviously couldn't afford to give me money, so he'd be working off what he owed me in prison.

His lawyers were in a frenzy, so they made me a deal. Bullion would drop his charges against Noah if I lowered my restitution to 250k instead. It was a lazy deal but I took it and raised the restitution to 500k. We came to an agreement in private court—Dominic would be spending his nights in a holding cell until sentencing began for his sexual assault charges. I was wiping my hands clean of him and I didn't care what became of him after I left that courtroom.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side, you don't play fair," Noah laughed.

We'd driven to court together against the advisement of both our lawyers. They thought it would make us look like we were in cahoots but I guess it didn't matter either way. We both got what we wanted in the end.

"You've been on thin ice since I walked into your office ten months ago Harrington."

"Says the seductress," he mumbled while opening the car door for me.

"Hey, you kissed me first."

"I continue to pay for it every day."

...

This was absolutely ridiculous. I was convinced I was living in a parallel universe with a different Noah Harrington. A Noah Harrington that was kind and gentle. A Noah Harrington that laughed, and made jokes—jokes that were better than mine. A Noah Harrington that seemed to forget what he initially asked of me. One that forgot that this was just sex and inviting me to spend the holidays with him in Aspen was NOT a part of that deal.

I wanted to remind him. To be freed from this fantasy and forced back into reality. The reality where Noah and I would never end up together but I didn't. Instead, I marked my calendar for December 22nd and I packed a bag way too early. I fantasized about the things we'd do and the things I wanted him to do to me. I imagined it'd be dirty, filthy, perverse. I'd pretend like it wasn't intimate which it was we were way too intimate. I'd let him run me baths and make me breakfast. I'd let him play me a tune if he'd agree to bring one of his many instruments.

I wouldn't let him know that I was falling for him. I had love for him sure, but recently it's been transforming into something unknown, unwavering. I wouldn't let him know that I was seriously considering turning Jane down because some stupid voice in my head told me to stay with him. I wouldn't let him know that I'd never felt like this before, not even with Carter Montgomery. I wouldn't let him know because he wouldn't take it well. He wouldn't take it well because we were boss and employee that somehow ended up having sex. And then we turned into friends having sex but sometimes it felt like we were more than friends.

He wouldn't take it well because he knew this wasn't what he wanted but something deep down, maybe the same voice I heard in my head told him he liked it. He loved it. And then that voice made him do stupid things like gift me custom dresses and tell me I'm beautiful. Threaten to kill men that wished me harm and looked at me a little too passionately during sex.

What the fuck was I thinking? I couldn't go to Aspen with him for eleven days. Eleven whole days. I had no sensible parties around to tell me this was a bad idea. Bev would never talk me out of it. She strongly encouraged the idea along with Vanessa who bought me an entire box of candied panties. I couldn't talk to Andrew about it he'd been acting strangely, almost hesitant. I assumed it was work. He was CEO for a week and he barely had any work ethic, to begin with. Maybe it was just space he needed.