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As he spun and walked away from me, I was desperate for him to stay, for even one more minute in his presence. “Roland?” I called. When he looked back at me, I said, “Thank you for coming back to work. I was pretty sure the staff were about to come after me with torches and pitchforks if you didn’t.”

He huffed a little laugh. “I’m sure that’s not true.”

“Oh, it is,” I assured him. “Painfully true. I still don’t trust the staff at Crave not to spit in my coffee.”

He smiled and nodded, before turning and heading back to work. It seemed we had called a temporary truce. Even then, I had an awful feeling percolating in my gut. If he didn’t leave things alone, he would end up getting himself killed.

It felt like my whole world was crumbling around me. I’d come so close to losing everything, including my freedom—but at least I didn’t have to lose the hotel, right? I would marry Eva, and she would own half of everything, but the doors would stay open. Roland was destined to remain out of reach forever, but at least I could see him. Maybe one day we could even be friends. It would be no more torturous than every day since I first hired him, right? …Ignoring the fact that I could remember in vivid detail what it felt like to be buried inside him. He was ingrained on my very soul.

Fuck, I was so wrecked.

Roland disappeared into the staff room, presumably to grab his work blazer from his locker. I hated having him out of my sight even for that short period of time, but I couldn’t allow myself to become a stalker. I was being unreasonable. There was obviously no threat in there. He was fine, safe.

Going against my instinctive alpha protectiveness to head toward my office, instead of standing outside the room and waiting for him, was like dragging my feet through wet cement. It certainly didn’t help matters when I emerged in the lobby to see Eva through the plate-glass windows, strolling toward the hotel. For a brief second, I thought Sandy would let her open the door herself, but at the last moment, they did their job, but it was done grudgingly and without a smile.

Wow. For someone as personable and charming as the mayor, she really did seem to be making enemies here at the hotel.

Eva was wearing a slim pantsuit today, her billowing coat long enough that it could be concealing anything—even a weapon. It was hard to imagine someone so poised being that level of dangerous, but appearances could be deceiving. Like a fuzzy slow loris, all cuddly cute but lethally toxic.

I reminded myself to tread lightly, even as my temper reared its head. “What do you want?” I snapped under my breath as she approached me.

“Now, now, is that any way to greet your future wife?” she said, her voice laced with saccharine poison. She leaned in, her perfume cloying, and I held my breath to keep from suffocating on it. I locked my body down so I didn’t cringe away as she kissed me on the cheek. “Whoops,” she tittered, wiping the lipstick off my face. “Wouldn’t want people to get the wrong impression, now, would we? They might think we’ve been up to something naughty.”

I was quite certain that she was in constant control of the impression she wanted to make. It was like a game of chess, and she was always one step ahead of me.

She was too close to me, but if I backed away, I felt like I would be showing weakness. Forcing my words through gritted teeth, I repeated, “What do you want, Eva?”

She pretended to pout at my gruff attitude. “I was just in the neighborhood for a meeting early this morning and afterward wanted to stop by to see if you’d had a chance to look over the paperwork yet.” She walked her fingers up my tie, and it made my skin crawl to have her touching me. Before she could reach my neck, I grabbed her by the wrist and forcibly removed her hand from my body.

“Nope,” I said, popping the P with satisfaction, hoping to needle at her in any way I could. “I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time. And just so you don’t feel the need to come back all this way again for nothing, my lawyer won’t get the chance to go over it until Monday.”

She sighed dramatically, seemingly unperturbed. “Oh well, that’s too bad. Good thing I came by with some binders for wedding planning instead. Hope you’re not busy, we have a lot to discuss. Color palettes and theme, flower arrangements, decorations, the guest list. Oh, and ring designs—I’m thinking a matching his-and-hers set. What do you think?”

I actually snarled, which only seemed to amuse her further. She didn’t actually care about the wedding except for the outward appearance of it. And while hiring a wedding planner to take care of the whole damn thing was more her style, Eva was using this opportunity to make herself a nuisance until I gave her what she wanted.

Well, two could play at that game. I wrestled my mouth into a semblance of a smile. “Sure thing, dear. I have nothing but time for you. Let’s talk flowers. You’d better cancel all your appointments; I could do this all day.”

She narrowed her eyes. If she thought I would give in so easily to avoid spending time in her presence, then she had severely underestimated me. It would be good practice for the lifetime I would have to spend at her side.

Movement from behind me caught her eye, and as she glanced over, her expression shifted to triumph. I looked over my shoulder to see what had caught her interest, and my insides turned to ice. Roland was about to start his shift.

I could sense her intention even before her eyes flicked back to mine briefly, mischief and malintent gleaming. She started to walk in his direction. “Mr. Stohl, so good to see you again,” she purred.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him stiffen, his breath catching. It was a prey instinct. Maybe he’d sensed enough to know she was more dangerous than she first seemed.

Before she could get to the desk, I darted between them, making myself a physical barrier. It was exactly what she’d expected me to do. “That’s enough,” I muttered under my breath.

“Oh, I’m just getting started.” Her full, painted lips widened, her canines flashing in a predatory grin. “So, about that paperwork…”

She knew exactly which of my strings to pull to get what she wanted. “Fine. Let’s step into my office.”

I had stalled all I could. My time was officially up. I had no choice but to sign.

15

Roland

I could tell by the curve of Emerson’s spine that he’d officially given up. I wanted so very badly to tell him not to let her win. It wasn’t over yet.

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