Chapter 2 Unsent Email
With every exhalation, the air was pushed out of Iris's lungs in short bursts, as he finally released her wrists. However, she could still feel the heat of his hand upon her wrists, and the phantom of his touch lingered on her body like a brand of fire. As the tension in the air made the penthouse office feel constricted and stifling, her heart raced with an intensity that she could hear in her ears. She rubbed her wrists with her hands as she gazed at him with a look of anger and something very dangerous - realization. It was as if the awareness of him had consumed all of her senses: from the heat radiating from his body; the scent of sandalwood that penetrated her senses; and the way he tracked every little thing that went on in her onyx eyes.
"You cannot carry this out," she stated with an assured yet shaken voice. Her young hands trembled as she crossed her arms over her chest to conceal that her body was betraying her; a flush was creeping its way up her neck. The combination of anger (tightly clenching her jaw), fear (widening her bright green eyes), and an unwelcome spark of heat (in her lower belly) created a swirl of emotions in her body. She is a strong woman. She has lived to tell her story after a terrible accident stole a piece of her life from her. Therefore she can also survive a self-important, arrogant billionaire who believes he owns everything in the world, including her.
With his arms crossed, Lucien leaned against the side of his huge black desk. He wore a pressed suit that was tailored to fit him perfectly, and his shoulders were broad enough that the fabric pushed against the front buttons of his shirt. He had an impassive demeanor while standing there; however, there was a momentary flash of pleased darkness in his eyes when he realized she was not leaving for a quick exit down the elevator. “I have already sent your transfer papers to be processed. Your transfer takes effect immediately; your supervisor will now be me and you will no longer work in the open office style pits nor will there be people around you who may inquire as to what is going on at work.” "Your new desk will be prepared for this office floor and ready for you soon."
Iris laughed bitterly, the sound raw and edged with disbelief. “Just like that? You snap your fingers and rearrange my entire existence? Who the hell do you think you are?”
The person who has sheltered you and fed you for the last eight years,” he said, his voice low. He pushed himself away from the desk and made a deliberate step forward, towering over her. The glow of city lights cast sharp shadows on his chiseled features, especially the sharp lines of his jaw and the intense look of his gaze. The accident was not a coincidence, Iris. Someone wanted you gone. That crash, it took your memories. I ensured they would not succeed. I have been watching it since. Preventing anyone from getting close enough to attempt again.
Her stomach sank. A look of shock cropped up on her face, as her twisted metal started flashing in a harsh light. The nausea was overwhelming and she pressed her hand to her temple. We are lying The cops said it was a drunken driver. Intentional crashing. You were never mentioned regarding threats or.
The eyes of Lucien darkened with raw emotion possessive fury, but haunting pain cracked his cold mask for a heartbeat. The cops watch what I permit them to observe. I have a possession of this city you can’t imagine. Graves Enterprises is merely a front. The source of real power runs deeper, with enemies. Your enemies would destroy you to destroy me. If they knew how much you mattered.
Iris retreated, her spine hitting the glass wall as she stared at the endless New York skyline behind her. Her heart was racing that much; she was rising and falling under her blouse. I am insignificant in your eyes. I am a nonentity. A hired analyst who doesn’t get involved. Why choose me? Why at present?”.
Again, he reduced the distance slightly, placing a hand on the glass beside her head, not completely closing the gap. Being this close sent sparks of energy through her veins. The warmth of his body enveloped her, while his flaring nostrils revealed the effect she had on him. He gently moved some of her brown hair that fell on her cheek using his free hand slowly. The soft touch was at odds with the storm brewing in his eyes. Hunger, obsession, and something darker, as if grief buried long ago.
“Because you were mine before the world tried to take you away,” he murmured, voice rough with visible restraint. Emotions played across his face: fierce protectiveness, dark desire, and a vulnerability he quickly buried. “The night of the crash, you were coming to meet me. We had plans. A future. Then everything burned. You survived, but your memory didn’t. I chose to wait. To watch from the shadows. To give you the normal life you seemed to crave. But I couldn’t stay away forever. Not when the threats are circling again.”
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but Iris blinked them back fiercely, her strong will surging forward. She shoved at his chest with both hands, feeling the solid wall of muscle beneath. He didn’t budge, but the contact sent a jolt straight through her unwanted heat pooling despite her anger. “This is madness. Stalking disguised as protection. You’ve been in my emails, my phone, my apartment probably. That unsent email tonight? You answered it for me, didn’t you? Solved problems before I even voiced them. Doors opening like magic. That’s not love or protection that’s control. Possession.”
Lucien’s jaw clenched, a muscle ticking with barely contained emotion. His hand slid down the glass, stopping just short of her waist. “Call it what you want. But every move I made kept you safe. The rival analyst who was blackmailing junior staff? Gone the day after he looked at you too long. The landlord who raised your rent unfairly? Suddenly reasonable. Even the coffee this morning your exact order, delivered hot because I knew you’d skip breakfast again, buried in work to avoid feeling alone.”
Iris’s breath hitched audibly, cheeks flushing with a mix of humiliation and reluctant arousal. She hated how her body responded to his nearness, nipples peaking against the fabric of her bra, thighs pressing together instinctively. “Stop. Just… stop knowing everything. I don’t want this. I don’t want you.”
His eyes dropped to her lips, darkening with raw hunger. For a moment, the air thickened further, charged with immediate conflict. Lucien leaned in closer, his mouth hovering inches from hers. “Liar. Your pulse is racing. Your body knows what your mind is fighting. You feel it too this pull. The way the world shifts when we’re close.”
She turned her face away, but not before a soft, involuntary gasp escaped her. Emotions warred visibly on her features: defiance clashing with confusion, fear battling an emerging, terrifying attraction. High stakes pressed down on her the loss of her carefully built anonymity, the threat of his overwhelming power, the unsettling sense that his words held fragments of truth her damaged memory couldn’t grasp. “If you really cared, you’d let me go. Give me space. Let me choose.”
“Choice is an illusion when your safety is at stake.” Lucien straightened slightly, though he remained close enough that his breath brushed her forehead. He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a sleek black phone, different from hers. “This is yours now. Untraceable except to me. All your old contacts have been migrated. Your apartment has new security cameras, locks, a driver waiting downstairs. You’ll move into the executive residence wing by morning. It’s not a request.”
Iris snatched the phone from his hand, her fingers brushing his and sending sparks racing up her arm. She glared up at him, strong character shining through her trembling frame. “I’ll fight you every step. HR, lawyers, the press if I have to. You can’t own people, Lucien Graves. No matter how much money or power you have.”
A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips the first crack in his controlled facade, revealing the predator beneath. Emotions surged in his stormy eyes: admiration for her fire, dark pleasure at her resistance, and a possessive vow that chilled and heated her simultaneously. “Fight me, Iris. I welcome it. Your defiance only makes the inevitable sweeter. But know this every escape route is already closed. Every ally you think you have has been neutralized or turned. You’re in my orbit now. And I don’t lose what’s mine.”
He stepped back finally, giving her a fraction of space, but the weight of his presence remained suffocating. Iris’s legs felt weak as she pushed off the glass, clutching the new phone like a lifeline. Her mind raced with plans call a friend, sneak out, disappear but deep down, a nagging voice whispered that he was right. The world had already rearranged itself around his will.
As she moved toward the elevator, Lucien’s voice followed her, smooth and commanding. “One more thing. The unsent email? It was a test. You almost sent it to the wrong department would have cost the project millions and drawn unwanted attention to you. I fixed it. You’re welcome.”
Iris froze, hand hovering over the elevator button. Visible frustration and reluctant gratitude warred on her face. She hated him. She feared him. Yet the pull the inexplicable sense that his touch, his voice, awakened something long dormant in her fractured soul terrified her most of all.