Just Before My Wedding: Trapped By My Ruthless Boss novel Chapter 52

Chapter 52

KISAREL

I was so spent it was embarrassing to think about.

I never expected reconciliation with my boss to look or feel like this. To leave me sitting on the edge of his bed at this hour, wincing every time I shifted my weight, with the pleasurable wreckage of the last few hours sitting in every muscle I owned.

I knew I should have held onto my anger longer. I knew that. I shouldn’t have even let him touch me after all the hurtful things he said to me in his office. But somewhere between the wall and the bed. I had lost every thread of anger entirely and traded it for something considerably less righteous and considerably more honest.

The truth was that whatever this was this forbidden, thoroughly inadvisable thing between my boss and me it was the most real thing I had felt in years. And this time, I was going to be the selfish one. The cheat. The one without remorse. Jace and Moon had their time. Now, it was mine.

I was going to let this run for exactly as long as it lasted, until the wedding, and I was going to stop apologizing to myself for wanting it.

I winced again as I felt the same pain I had been enduring since Oceans finally felt he was satisfied, and that we could take a

rest.

I brushed my hair and wrapped it in a ponytail.

“I told you to spend the night, Kiss.” He said from the bed.

“No. I need to go back home. Elgin…”

“I don’t care about him. I want you here,” He said, and sometimes, his words made me feel like he was taking things a little more seriously than supposed.

I only scoffed, not wanting to push or argue, because I knew him too well. The slightest push the wrong direction, and he’s ordering me not to step an inch out of his house.

I kept brushing my hair.

I heard him get up and cross the room toward me. I kept my eyes on my own reflection and did not turn around.

“You don’t have to stay with him anymore.” He leaned against the table to my arrange an apartment for you tomorrow. Somewhere close.”

I set the brush down and turned to face him.ng my c a brother to me, and I can’t leave him at a time

“Kisarel. He called in that controlled tone that I

he…”

left with his arms folded. “I’ll have someone

with both hands. “I can’t. Not yet. Elgin needs me. He’s like

well. “I am one bad decision away from locking this door and Don’t give me a reason to make that decision.”

keeping you here until you stop wanting Cognized

“But, why? What’s wrong with living with Elgin?” I threw my arms in the air.

“He’s a man, Kisarel.” His voice cast a fraction, “Av

speak well of the company.”

young woman like you shouldn’t be seen living with a man. It doesn’t

I breathed through the twelve things I wanted to say in response to that, selected none of them, and closed the distance between us instead.

I lifted my band coward his chest, but hesitated halfway. I wasn’t used to this

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His eyes followed my movement, and just before, I dropped my hand by my side, he caught it with a gentleness that was completely at odds with the controlled, immovable version of him that had been running this conversation.

“Go on.” His tone was low and careful as he guided my hand to his chest, where I intended to touch before, looking down at me with a calmer expression. “Touch me.”

I let myself get used to the feeling of having to touch him this intimately outside of sex. It was… Good.

“Oceans.” I lifted my gaze to meet his, letting my palm caress his chest softly. “I can’t leave my friend just like that. He just lost someone very important to him, and he’s grieving.”

I didn’t want to bore him with all the details about Gerald’s death. That wasn’t his concern right now.

“He’s not into women,” I said, meeting his gaze. “Elgin. You must have noticed.”

“He still has a dick.” Oceans said, with complete seriousness, and I almost laughed. If I didn’t know my boss, I’d think he was jealous. But I understand. He was looking out for a lady. And that was fine.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” I pulled my hand off his chest, but he was fast. He grabbed my wrist and guided my hand back to his chest without a word, pressing it flat against his sternum the same way he had the first time.

I was confused, my brows pulling together as I wondered what was going on with Mr. Stark.

This was the second time… What the hell?

“Don’t. Stop.” He counted his words, like they cost him something he wasn’t accustomed to spending, his gaze pinning me in place.

My gaze traveled from his hand on my wrist, back to his face, my eyes searching his to know what’s going on behind them. But I was only met with his intense, piercing gaze.

“Touch me whenever and however you want, as long as we are alone,” He said, and it sounded more like an instruction, “Don’t hold back. Is that clear?”

I nodded hesitantly.

“Away from everyone else, there’s nothing official about us. You need to start getting used to that, Kiss.” I brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and let my fingers linger there, “I don’t bite. And I want you to always remember that.”

OCEANS.

ADS car, outside the apartment, for another ten minutes, contemplating my listening to her and letting

her return to this house.

Did I act foolishly

Fuck.

Maybe I should have insisted. with Bernard.

I didn’t trust boy around her. Not even one bit. And that’s why I just got off the phone

“Drive,” I ordered my driver when I couldn’t sit with the wild imaginations running through my head anymore.

A call came in.

I checked the screen with no particular interest and picked up when I saw it was Jeff

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Chapter 52

“Talk,‘ I said.

“I’ve been digging further into the routing chain on that email. He didn’t bother with preamble, which was one of the things that made him useful. “I told you before that the sender was untraceable through the standard channels. That’s still true. But I kept pulling at the geographic ghost data the residual timing signatures left in the relay nodes and I was able to narrow it down.”

“How narrow?”

“Not as narrow as you’d want.” He paused. “It’s a wide area. Not a specific address or city. But I can tell you with reasonable confidence that whoever sent that email was operating from somewhere in Minnesota when they sent it.”

I stilled.

The blood in my veins stilled.

The only sound I could hear at that point was the loud pounding of my heart against my ribcage.

Minnesota?

There was no fucking way in hell…

“Mr. Stark?” Jeff called, and I pressed two fingers to the bridge of my nose.

“Keep digging.” I said. “Everything you can find. I don’t care what it costs or how long it takes. I need a name attached to the sender. I ended the call before he could ask the question sitting at the end of that sentence.

I took in a deep, calming breath, pushing back the ugly memories that were trying to take hold of my mind and all the suggestions that came with them.

There was no way it was even remotely possible.

Whatever happened in Minnesota that ugly night stayed in Minnesota.

The dead can’t fucking talk.

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