Skye’s POV
I followed him to his private elevator‚ the same one from two days ago‚ and my body recognized it before my brain did.
My skin prickled.
My pulse spiked.
My thighs pressed together on instinct‚ and I hated myself for it because this metal box held memories that still made me burn with shame every time I closed my eyes.
Thorne stood on the opposite side‚ his back against the wall‚ his arms folded across his chest.
He hadn’t said a word since we left the break room.
He just stared at me with those freezing blue eyes that somehow managed to burn me at the same time.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Are you going to say something or are you just going to stand there staring at me like I committed a crime?” I asked‚ and I meant for it to come out strong and unbothered‚ but my voice shook.
He didn’t answer right away.
He just kept watching me with that terrifyingly calm expression.
Then he spoke.
“What did the contract say‚ Skye?”
His voice was low and controlled‚ like he was giving me one chance to get this right.
“I know what the contract said‚” I muttered‚ looking away from him.
“Then repeat it back to me.”
”Thorne‚ come on‚ he was just being friendly and I was just—”
”Repeat it back to me.”
The command in his voice made me shake that my mouth moved before my brain could stop it.
“Exclusive availability to you for six months‚” I said quietly.
“No romantic or intimate relationships with any other person for the duration of the agreement.”
”Good‚” he said‚ and the word dripped with something cold and dangerous.
You just chose to ignore it.”
”I wasn’t ignoring anything‚” I said‚ frustration rising in my chest because this was ridiculous and he was being completely unreasonable and he had to know that.
“Mark is a colleague.
A coworker.
Someone I met fifteen minutes ago in the break room during my lunch break.
He asked me about myself and I answered like a normal human being having a normal conversation.
That’s it.
That’s all it was.”
”He asked you to lunch.”
My stomach dropped.
“You heard that?”
”I hear everything that happens in my building‚ Skye.
Don’t ever forget that.”
A chill crawled down my spine.
The way he said it was so casual‚ so matter-of-fact‚ like surveillance was as natural to him as breathing.
I wanted to ask how much he had heard‚ how long he had been standing there watching before I noticed‚ but something told me the answers to those questions would only make me feel worse.
“He was being nice‚” I said‚ my voice smaller now.
“I’m new here and I don’t know anyone and I was just trying to get to know people.
Is that really so terrible?”
He pushed off the wall and took one step toward me.
Just one.
But the elevator suddenly felt like it had shrunk to half its size.
“Get to know people‚” he repeated slowly.
“Fine. Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
Get to know people‚ Skye.
Learn their names.
Smile in the hallway.
Say good morning at the coffee machine.” Another step.
Closer now.
Close enough that I could smell his cologne mixing with something warmer underneath‚ something that made my head spin.
“But the men in this building‚ you keep them at the surface.
You don’t have lunch with them.
You don’t laugh at their jokes like they just made your entire day.
And you absolutely do not sit there looking at them the way you were looking at him.”
”I wasn’t looking at him in any way‚” I shot back‚ and this time my voice did come out strong because the accusation was so absurd it actually overrode my fear.
“He’s a coworker.
I was having a conversation.
You’re acting like I was sitting on his lap.”
Something shifted in his eyes.
A flash of heat so intense it made the air between us crackle.
“You think this is a joke?” he asked‚ and his voice dropped even lower‚ which was somehow a thousand times more frightening than if he had shouted.
“I think you’re being possessive over a conversation that meant absolutely nothing‚” I said‚ lifting my chin because I refused to cower even though my heart was slamming so hard against my ribs that it actually hurt.
“I signed your contract‚ Thorne.
I agreed to your terms.
But I didn’t agree to be locked in a tower where I can’t even talk to people without you dragging me out of the room like a caveman.”