I couldn't move. Couldn't speak. The Alpha prowled toward me, each step deliberate and predatory.
"I told you not to let me see you again." He stopped inches away, towering over me. "Yet here you are. In my building. In my office."
"I didn't know you'd be here. I was just hired. I didn't realize this was your company." The words tumbled out in a rush.
"Liar."
"I'm not lying!"
His hand shot out and gripped my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes. "Women like you don't end up in my office by accident. Who sent you? What do you want?"
"No one sent me. I needed a job. That's all."
He studied my face, his expression unreadable. Then his gaze dropped to the necklace on his desk. "That belongs to you, doesn't it?"
I nodded, unable to speak.
"I found it four years ago. After a woman came to my room, seduced me, and disappeared before dawn." His thumb brushed across my jaw, the touch rough. "That woman was you."
My heart hammered. "I didn't know who you were. I was drunk. I wasn't thinking clearly."
"You left money on the nightstand. Like I was some common whore you'd hired for the evening."
Shame burned through me. "I thought you were. The tavern had a reputation. I didn't mean to insult you."
"Insult me?" He laughed, cold and bitter. "You did more than insult me. You disappeared. For four years, I searched for you. I turned this kingdom upside down looking for the woman who'd been in my bed."
"Why?" I whispered. "Why did you look for me?"
His grip on my chin tightened. "Because no one takes from me without consequences. And you took something that night, didn't you?"
My blood turned to ice. Did he know? Did he somehow know about Cody?
"I don't know what you mean," I managed.
"Don't you?" He released me abruptly and stepped back. "I could have you thrown out of this building. Out of this kingdom. One word from me, and you'd have nothing."
"Then do it," I said, lifting my chin. "Fire me. Banish me. I don't care. But I won't stand here and let you accuse me of things I didn't do."
Something flickered in his eyes. Surprise, maybe. Or respect.
"You have fire," he said quietly. "I'll give you that."
He walked to his desk and picked up the necklace, letting it dangle from his fingers. "You want this back?"
"Yes."
"Then work for it. Prove you're actually skilled enough to be in my company. If you can last a month without failing, it's yours."
It was a challenge. A game. And I had no choice but to play.
"Fine," I said.
"One more thing." He moved closer again, so close I could feel the heat radiating from his body. "Stay away from me. Don't come to this office unless I summon you. Don't speak to me unless spoken to. And don't ever lie to me again."
"I wasn't lying."
"Weren't you?" His eyes bored into mine. "I can smell a lie, Aurora. And you reek of secrets."
Before I could respond, he turned and walked away, dismissing me without another word.
I fled the office, my hands shaking, my wolf howling in distress.
He suspected something. I didn't know what or how much, but he suspected. I had to be more careful. I had to protect Cody at all costs. Even if it meant working for the one man I should have stayed far, far away from.
