Chapter 2 I Knew He Knew

VALENTINA

Roman's brow lifted, and his grip on my waist tightened slightly. He tilted his head, studying me as though waiting for an explanation.

Heat rushed to my cheeks.

For one horrifying second, neither of us spoke.

Then I remembered who I was.

Valentina Rhodes.

CEO. Billionaire. The woman who could silence an entire boardroom with a single look.

I didn't get flustered. I didn't make reckless demands, and I certainly didn't proposition my bodyguard in a hallway.

I slapped his hands away and took two steps backward.

"I said I want you to fuck Charles over," I lied smoothly, forcing my expression back into its usual composure. "Go into that room, take his phone, wipe any evidence of that woman, and make sure he understands what happens when he embarrasses me."

I crossed my arms, glaring at him as though he were the one who had crossed a line.

"You're paid to keep me alive and the press away, Roman. Not to hold me in hotel hallways while my useless fiancé smokes in a room that smells like cheap perfume."

I lifted my chin.

"Do your job."

Roman stared at me.

I narrowed my eyes. "Unless your hearing has suddenly become selective?"

His honey-colored eyes lingered on mine, far too knowing for my comfort.

He knew I was lying.

I knew he knew.

But he was far too professional and far too smart to call his boss a liar to her face.

"My hearing is fine, Ms. Rhodes," he replied, his voice low and unhurried.

His gaze flicked briefly to my mouth before returning to my eyes.

"I'll handle Mr. Thorne."

He made no move to leave.

Neither did I.

The silence stretched between us, thick with everything we refused to acknowledge.

"Anything else, Ms. Rhodes?"

My stomach tightened. "No."

His gaze dipped to my mouth again.

"Are you sure?"

My pulse jumped. "Yes."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Good." He finally stepped back. "Then I'll take care of your fiancé."

"Get to it," I muttered, turning away before he could notice how thoroughly he'd unsettled me.

By the time I reached the hotel's entrance, rain had begun to fall.

Of course it had.

As if the day hadn't been miserable enough.

I paused beneath the awning, glanced at the dark sky, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

Before I could step into the rain, a black umbrella opened above me.

I turned.

Roman stood beside me, holding it over my head.

How did he always manage to move without making a sound?

The man practically appeared out of thin air.

"Have you handled Charles?" I asked.

"Yes, ma'am."

His voice was perfectly even, as though our exchange in the hallway had never happened.

"I've assigned people to deal with it. I'll take you home now."

Right.

Home.

Where I could disappear for the rest of the night and pretend none of this humiliation had happened.

Roman led me through the rain, keeping the umbrella angled over us until we reached the car. He opened the passenger door, and I slipped inside.

A moment later, he settled behind the wheel and started the engine.

I leaned against the headrest, rolling my neck to ease the tension that had settled there.

"Call Evelyn. I need her tonight."

"All right, ma'am."

Roman kept his eyes on the road, his voice giving nothing away.

I caught his reflection in the rearview mirror and stared a second too long.

As if he'd sensed my attention, his eyes flicked upward and met mine.

I looked away immediately, silently cursing myself.

For the rest of the drive, I kept my gaze fixed on the window. Wet streets blurred past in streaks of reflected light, giving me something to focus on besides the man behind the wheel.

Anything was better than thinking about what I'd almost said to him.

My nightly routine was non-negotiable.

Every evening, I retreated to the private sauna on the lower level of my estate, where an hour of massage helped ease the tension the day had left in my shoulders.

Tonight was no different.

I lay facedown on the padded table in the cedar-scented room, a white towel draped over my hips. The warmth enveloped me, gradually easing the knots in my muscles as I waited for Evelyn to arrive.

My face rested against my folded arms, my eyelids growing heavy.

The door creaked behind me.

I barely registered the sound. Evelyn was always punctual.

Then I felt a pair of hands settle on my shoulders.

I stiffened.

These weren't Evelyn's familiar, delicate hands. They were larger, their palms warm against my skin.

My eyes snapped open.

I lifted my head, the haze of sleep disappearing instantly.

Roman stood at the head of the table.

His dark jacket was gone, and his shirt sleeves were rolled to his elbows, exposing his forearms. The top buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing a glimpse of his chest.

For a moment, I forgot what I was about to say.

Then I remembered that he had absolutely no business being here.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" I demanded, forcing my voice into its usual icy tone.

"Evelyn couldn't make it tonight," Roman replied calmly.

His hands remained on my shoulders, his thumbs moving in slow circles over the tension gathered there.

"An emergency came up."

"And you thought that gave you the right to come down here and put your hands on me?"

My jaw tightened as an unwelcome flutter stirred in my chest.

"Remove your hands before I have you replaced by morning."

I planted my palms against the table, intending to push myself upright and look him directly in the eye.

Then cool air brushed against my hip.

The towel.

It was barely secured around me. One wrong movement, and it would end up on the floor.

I froze.

Roman's gaze flicked toward the shifting fabric before returning to my face.

His hands remained on my shoulders.

"Lie still, Ms. Rhodes," he murmured, utterly unfazed. "Unless you want that towel on the floor."

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?"

"Not at all." His thumb traced the nape of my neck. "I'm only offering to give you a massage."

A disbelieving laugh escaped me.

I kept my body rigid, unwilling to risk the towel slipping any further.

"And what makes you think I'd let you touch me like this?"

"Because I can give you what you desperately want right now."

His confidence sent my heart slamming against my ribs.

I forced my expression into a glare. "And what's that?"

Roman didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he crouched until his face was level with mine.

His honey-colored eyes held mine, and the warmth radiating from his chest made the narrow space between us feel even smaller.

My breath caught.

"Should I say it in words," he whispered, his voice sending a shiver across my skin, "or would you rather I show you instead, Valentina?"