Craving My Ruthless Ceo novel Chapter 174

Chapter 174

Anna’s POV

“Actually drink it, Anna,” Pierre pushed, watching me too closely I can see you’re not.”

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Caught, I took a small sip. The champagne was crisp and expensive, but underneath was there a slightly bitter aftertaste.

I lowered the glass quickly.

“Good girl.” Pierre’s smile widened. “Now, let me ask you something.”

He leaned against the bar, his body angled toward mine, blocking my view of most of the room. “Have you ever thought about participating? In what you see here?”

My eyes widened. “What?”

“The exhibitions.” He gestured casually toward a couch where a couple was very clearly having sex, two other people watching and touching themselves.

“Being watched, watching others. It’s incredibly freeing. Erotic. You might enjoy it more than you think.”

Heat flooded my face. “No. I… no.”

“No?” His eyebrows rose, disappointment clear in his voice. “You hate it then. What we do here.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.” His face hardened. “I can see it on your face Judgment. Disgust.”

“No!” I said quickly, my heart racing. The last thing I wanted was to offend him when I was alone here, waiting for Laurent. “No disrespect to what you have going on. Really. It’s just… it’s not my thing. But that doesn’t mean I think badly of anyone who…”

“Relax,” Pierre cut me off, his expression smoothing back into that corny smile. “I’m just teasing. Though I will say, everyone thinks it’s not their thing until they try it. I’ve seen the most prudish women become absolute goddesses once they let go.”

He studied me with an intensity that made me want to step back but I was already pressed against the bar.

“You’re so innocent,” he murmured, almost to himself. “So pure’d bet everything I own that you haven’t been with a man yet. Have you?”

The question came as a shock. “That’s… that’s personal.”

“That’s a no.” Pierre’s smile turned predatory, “I knew it. I could from the moment I met you. The way you move, the way you react to everything here. Virgin written all over you,”

My face burned with humiliation and anger. “Pierre…”

“Don’t be embarrassed.” He reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. I jerked back instinctively. “It’s actually quite appealing. Rare in this world. You smell like it too!

“Smell like what?” The words came out sharper than intended.

“Innocence” He leaned in, inhaling near my neck. “Sweet. It’s tempting.”

I pressed back harder against the bar, my heart hammering. This had crossed from uncomfortable to creepy.

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14:14 Sat, Apr 4 DA A

Chapter 174

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“I do not appreciate you making assumptions about my personal life, and because of that I feel uncomfortable. I’m going to wait by the door for Laurent.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Pierre’s hand landed on my shoulder, holding me in place. “I apologize. It was never my intention. I just wanted to know you better.”

He clasped his hands together like a prayer, looking almost sincere. I didn’t really have much of a choice.

“Fine,” I muttered.

A small smile tugged at his lips. “We’ll find him when he gets her. Come, let’s sit. You look like you need to relax.”

He guided me toward a curved couch along the wall, thankfully way from the more active areas.

I sat down reluctantly, clutching my purse.

Pierre settled beside me, closer than necessary. His arm stretched along the back of the couch, not quite touching my shoulders but close enough to feel trapped.

“You’re very tense,” he observed. “That’s not good for you. All that stress, bottling everything up. You need to learn to let go.”

I need to get out of here. Where was Laurent? How much longer would he be?

I looked around the room, hoping to catch Celeste or Marcus’s eye, but I didn’t see them anymore.

In fact, the party seemed to have thinned out slightly. Several people were missing from where they’d been earlier.

“Looking for someone?” Pierre asked.

“Just… Celeste and Marcus. I wanted to say…”

“Oh, they left.” He said it casually, checking his phone. “Some emergency came up. They send their apologies.”

My stomach dropped. The few familiar faces I’d had were gone.

“Actually, a few people had to duck out early,” Pierre continued, scrolling through his messages. “Work emergencies, babysitter cancelled, the usual.”

He looked up at me, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. “Looks like it’s just us for now. More intimate this way, don’t you think?”

I glanced around again. There were still people here, the couple on the far couch, a group of three in the corner, a few others at the bar. But no one I knew would notice if something went wrong.

Stop it, I told myself. You’re being paranoid. Pierre is Laurent’s fiend. He’s just socially awkward. Inappropriate, but not dangerous.

But my instincts were screaming otherwise.

My phone buzzed insistently in my clutch, making me jump, I pulled it out, relief flooding through me, hoping it was

Laurent.

But it was Roman.

Roman: You haven’t been answering my calls or messages and you didn’t show up to work today. Where the hell are you?

My breath hitched. I’d been so focused on avoiding him that I’darely thought about the consequences of skipping work without notice.

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14.14 Sat, Apr 4A A·

Chapter 174

Roman: Anna. Answer me.

Roman: Don’t make me come looking for you.

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Roman: I know you’re seeing these messages.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard. Pierre was saying something beside me, but I barely heard him, too focused on the phone in my hand. That familiar anger rose up. The frustration of being monitored and owned.

He didn’t deserve an explanation. Not after everything.

Before I could second guess myself, I typed back.

Anna: I don’t have to answer to you.

The response was immediate.

Roman: The fuck you don’t. You work for me. Where did you go Don’t lie to me.

The presumption in his message made my blood boil. Even now even when I was trying to have one night away from his suffocating control, he couldn’t let go.

Anna: What I do in my personal time is none of your business.

Roman: Bullshit. Everything you do is my business. Where are you right now?

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