Mr. CEO(60)

No fucking way am I walking into her apartment. Not without knowing what the fuck she’s doing, and whether or not I’m even welcomed.

“Rose?” I call out to her as she practically stomps to the kitchen island and snatches something off the counter.

She walks back to me with a deadly look. “This Johnny Black?” she asks, her voice accusatory, with a raised voice, shoving the card in my face.

I take her wrist in my hand and lower it, keeping my eyes on hers as a warning. She’s upset, but I don’t fucking like the way she’s talking to me.

Her breathing is still frantic, but she seems to calm slightly. As she looks at the floor, I take a look at the card.

“Yes,” I say and her eyes reach mine and they flash with a knowing look. “Where did you get this?” I ask. My voice is low and threatening, but not toward her. I’m fucking pissed that she had any contact with that snake at all.

“I’ve been online, I’ve been searching and searching for the name of the woman you did this to before, but I couldn’t find anything.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Anger makes me push the door open and slam it shut behind me. She takes a step back into her foyer and keeps eye contact.

“He told me you’d done this before.” She motions to the card. “You don’t know how much it hurt me,” she says and her voice cracks and her eyes glass over. The strong suit of armor crumbles into dust and the pain I know she’s feeling comes through as her shoulders hunch and her arms wrap around herself. “I couldn’t believe you’d do this to me,” she says in almost a whisper before wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Never,” I say just above a murmur, taking another step forward and slowly pulling her into my chest. “I would never. I have never done that. I would never do anything to hurt you,” I whisper into her hair. Her body is tense and stiff, but after a moment, she relaxes against me.

“He lied to me,” she says softly, letting her cheek rest against my hard chest. Although anger is coursing through my blood, holding her in my arms is taming the beast that’s pacing inside of me. I’ll save my anger for them.

Right now she needs me.

“I don’t know what to believe.” She speaks so low, I barely hear her. She pulls away slightly, and it cracks a barrier that’s kept me from taking her. Her words trigger something in me. A need to prove to her that she’s mine. That I would never hurt her.

I take a step forward and then another. Her eyes widen and stare back at me as her back hits the wall of her small apartment foyer.

“I didn’t do that to you.” There’s a hint of anger in my voice. I’m angry that she doesn’t trust me. “I didn’t set you up and I will make him pay for hurting you.”

She still seems slightly uncertain and I hate it. “I’ll destroy him for what he did to you. He tried to hurt me. Not you. You got caught in the crossfires.”

She looks wounded and raw, so full of emotion and I’m not sure which is winning out.

I take her shoulders in my hands to steady her and lower my lips so they’re almost touching hers. “You need to trust me, Rose.”

Her eyes search my face and her breathing picks up. Her plump lips part and she sinks her teeth into her bottom lip with her eyes on my lips.

It’s all I can take.

I crash my lips against hers and cage her small body in.

She instantly melts into me.

“Rose,” I say her name reverently and then push her back against the wall, crushing my lips to hers. My dick hardens and presses into her stomach. I’m angry and frustrated, but mostly relieved. I need her. I need her to feel what she means to me.

I pull back, and look down at her.

“I’m sorry, Logan,” she says in a hushed voice, staring at me through her thick lashes, willing me to believe her. “I didn’t-”

I cut her off, pressing my mouth to hers, my tongue diving into her mouth. My fingers spear through her hair as I kiss her with every bit of passion I have. She pulls away, breathing heavily.

“Please, Logan. You have to know. I’m so sorry. I-”

“Stop.” I close my eyes and rest my forehead against hers. “I-” I stop myself before I say words I shouldn’t. My chest pangs with pain and I ignore it. I ignore everything and whisper into the hot air between us, “Just let me hold you.”

She leans up and presses her body to mine. “I need more,” she whispers. My hands roam down to her waist and ass, until I finally pick her up and carry her to her sofa.

I lay her down and kiss the crook of her neck as she frantically unbuttons my shirt.