Craving My Ruthless Ceo novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Anna’s POV

My fingers hovered over the pen.

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Every cell in my body screamed at me to tell him to fuck off again, to shove the papers back in his smug face and walk out with whatever dignity I had left, just like I did last time.

But then Drago’s face flashed through my mind. The knife pressed against my mother’s throat. The terror in her eyes. My sister’s muffled screams.

Blood. So much blood in my imagination. My mother’s body crumpled on the floor. My sister’s lifeless eyes staring at nothing.

I could not let that happen.

My eyes skimmed the document one last time, but the lines kept slipping past each other. Employee agrees to… Employer’s right to…

It all felt intentionally vague, with words like compliance, availability, and discretion scattered everywhere without clear meaning.

A smarter part of me wanted to stop. To read every clause properly, the way I had been taught. But I knew that if I slowed down to really read it, I would panic and change my mind.

Whatever twisted consequence he had in mind, I would deal with it when it happened. That was the lie I told myself to make this easier.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I turned to the last page, the one with the dotted line waiting for me.

I signed very quickly. Then I closed the folder and pushed it back toward him.

Roman picked up the folder and flipped through the pages to make sure I had signed everything.

His lips curved into that infuriating smile.

“Good job, Ms. Winters.”

He said it like I was a child who had finally done what she was toll.

He slid the folders back into his drawer, and for a split second I wondered if I had just made the worst mistake of my life. But I could not think about that now, not with Friday closing in.

“How soon can I get the payment?” I asked, hating how small my voice sounded. “For the NDA?”

He looked up at me, amusement dancing in his dark eyes. “It is always about the money, is it not?”

Then he rose from his seat.

My breath hitched in my throat.

God, he was tall. I had forgotten how imposing he was when he stood at his full height. The custom–tailored black suit hugged every line of his body, broad shoulders that could pin a woman down, a lean waist that tapered into strong legs.

This was not the soft physique of a man who lived behind a desk. This was muscle, discipline, power. The kind of body that came from early morning workouts and complete self–control.

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Chapter 17

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He walked toward me with the confidence of a man who had never been denied anything, and I could not tear my eyes

away.

Heat surged through me as he approached. I hated that my body betrayed me like this. I hated the shiver that raced across my skin when his piercing blue eyes locked onto mine.

Stop it. Stop reacting to him. He is the enemy. He is arrogant and controlling and….

Beautiful

God, he was beautiful in the worst possible way.

As he turned to face me fully, I tried to take a step back. But my legs hit the edge of his desk, my butt pressing hard against the polished wood.

He did not stop until he was right in front of me, so close I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. So close I could smell his cologne, woody and musky, expensive and masculine. It was the kind of scent that made my head spin and my knees. weak.

Now I was trapped between his body and the hard desk.

“You know.” his hand lifted, fingers trailing down my cheek with agonizing slowness, “after all that self–righteous nonsense about integrity and dignity, I actually wondered if you would prove me wrong.”

His fingers paused. His gaze dragged down my body, from my flushed face to my rising chest to my trembling legs, then back up again.

I barely had a moment to react before his finger pressed gently against my lips, cutting off any protest.

A dark fire flashed in his eyes.

“But I have seen girls like you,” he murmured, his thumb tracing down my jawline. “And that is how I knew you would come back. I knew all that fire was just for show. Underneath, you are just as desperate and willing as the rest. Willing to sell yourself for the right price.”

Fury shot through me.

How dare he? How fucking dare he insinuate I am selling myself As if I came crawling back for his money.

My cheek burned where he touched me. His fingers slid down my neck now, feather–light but scorching. My breathing quickened. My breasts rose and fell rapidly, pushing up against my shirt cleavage, and I was so tempted to…

Do not lean into it. Do not give him the satisfaction.

But God, why did his touch feel so good?

Get it together, Anna.

I tried to lean away but the large desk behind me dug into my lower back, making it painfully clear I had nowhere to run.

I sucked in a deep breath, trying to find some control. “You are the last person to judge me for my choices. Not after what you just had me sign.”

“I never would have judged you if you did not put up that little miss innocent show.”

His arms wrapped around my waist suddenly, yanking me against his chest with such force it knocked the air from my lungs.

A small gasp escaped my throat before I could stop it.

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Chapter 17

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My soft curves pressed flush against the hard planes of his chest Every nerve in my body came alive. I could feel every inch of him, the strength in his grip, the solid wall of muscle, the way his chest rose and fell with each controlled breath.

“But now, I think the same about you as I do everyone else.”

His hand came up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. The gesture was so tender, so gentle, completely opposite to the harsh, belittling words spilling from his mouth.

Anger burned in my chest. I shoved at his hand.

“Mr. Blackwood, you do not have any right to touch me like this is inappropriate. By your own standards. Remember?”

His fingers wrapped around my wrist, stopping me mid–push. 1 held it trapped between our bodies.

I yanked against him. His grip only grew firmer,

You seem to be the one who forgot, Miss Winters. The contract is clear, you are at my beck and call. Morning, night, whenever I want.” His other hand dropped to my hip, fingers pressing possessively. “You come when I call.”

My lungs tightened. “I do not remember reading anything like that.”

What? No. There is nothing like that. Was there?

Think, Anna. Think. Maybe I skimmed too fast, flipping through the pages, focused only on the signatures and the disciplinary parts. Maybe it was there somewhere, and I just did not see it.

The contract also states…”

He dipped his head, his mouth brushing the curve of my throat

“I can touch you wherever I want.”