Chapter 8

I swallowed hard, my breath faltering as anxiety gripped my chest. What was I supposed to do now? Trouble loomed large, and I could feel it in the air.

"S-Sir... you asked to see me," I stammered, my voice trembling as my teeth worried my lower lip.

I couldn't answer the question he asked earlier-what was I supposed to say?

His lips curved into a smirk-the third time I'd ever witnessed him smile. And my God, did he wear it well. His piercing gaze pinned me to the spot, a quiet chuckle escaping his lips before he released me from his hold.

I inhaled sharply, only then realizing I'd been holding my breath. The power he held over me was staggering, utterly disarming.

"Sit," he commanded, gesturing to the chair opposite his. His tone brooked no argument. I nodded quickly, sinking into the seat as he settled into his own.

"Why do you find it so difficult to follow instructions?" he asked, his voice reverberating with authority, carrying the weight of unspoken consequences. My heart raced, and I startled slightly under the gravity of his words.

He didn't elaborate. Instead, he studied me with unnerving intensity, as though I were some enigmatic work of art he couldn't yet decipher.

Clearing my throat, I forced myself to respond. "I don't understand what you mean, sir. You asked me to come to your office, and here I am." My words came out steady, and for that, I felt a fleeting moment of pride.

Without a word, he loosened his suit jacket, undoing two buttons of his shirt to reveal the barest glimpse of his toned chest. My throat tightened as an unwelcome desire coiled low in my stomach. I swallowed hard, forcing my errant thoughts back into submission.

"What's my name?" he asked, his voice snapping me out of the dangerous spiral of my imagination.

"Raphael," I answered cautiously, my brow furrowing in confusion. Why ask such an obvious question?

"And at what point did I ever instruct you to call me 'sir'?" His voice was calm, but his eyes gleamed with something wild-mischief wrapped in chaos.

Then it hit me, like a bolt of lightning. He'd only ever asked me to address him that way in bed.

Heat surged to my face, and I fought the urge to groan at my own stupidity. He was toying with me, and he knew exactly what he was doing.

Feigning ignorance, I said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

He laughed then-a rich, unrestrained sound that sent shivers racing down my spine. His smile was radiant, but his laughter? It was devastating. Yet, as quickly as it appeared, the warmth vanished. His features shifted into a mask of unreadable calm, an expression so void of emotion that it chilled me.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked abruptly, his bluntness cutting through the tension like a blade.

My heart stumbled over itself. "N-no, I don't," I replied, bewildered. "Why does that matter?"

A low groan escaped him, frustration simmering just beneath the surface. I lowered my gaze, wondering why my addressing him as sir seemed to bother him so much. Everyone else called him that. Why not me?

"Have you been sexually active?" he asked, his tongue brushing his lower lip, his gaze fixed on me as though waiting to catch a lie.

"N-not in the last three years," I managed, my voice barely above a whisper.

He nodded thoughtfully, running a hand through his hair as though deliberating something significant.

"What's your favorite dessert?" he asked, his tone shifting unexpectedly.

"Gelato," I answered, my confusion mounting.

"And your dream destination?"

"Bali," I admitted hesitantly, shifting in my seat. His questions were unsettling, yet it was the way his gaze lingered-burning, probing-that truly unnerved me.

"What are your core values?" he asked, his hands steepled as he leaned forward, his eyes never leaving mine.

I swallowed. "Honesty, accountability, discipline, and integrity." The words tumbled out in a rush.

His gaze darkened. He sat back, studying me, tapping his fingers against the desk in slow, deliberate movements. Then, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke.

"I want to fuck you."

My breath hitched, my entire body locking up. "Excuse me?"

He leaned forward slightly, his expression unreadable. "I thought honesty was one of your core values."

I stared at him, stunned beyond words.

"So here's the truth," he continued, his voice smooth as silk but laced with unmistakable danger. "I want you. Plain and simple. I want to bury myself so deep inside you that you forget every other man who has ever touched you. And when I'm done, I want you so ruined, so wrecked, that you never entertain the thought of another man again."

A strangled gasp escaped my lips, my hands gripping the armrests of the chair as if they were the only thing tethering me to reality.

This man was impossible. Unpredictable. And perhaps just a little unhinged.

He watched me, as if waiting for me to protest. To deny the electricity crackling between us. To run. But I sat frozen, trapped beneath the weight of his words.

And then-just as swiftly as he'd thrown me off balance-he shifted.

Reaching into his desk, he pulled out a file and slid it toward me. "Read it."

With trembling hands, I opened the file, scanning its contents. My confusion deepened with every word I read.

Marriage contract.

I looked up sharply, my pulse hammering in my ears. "This is a-"

"Contract," he finished smoothly. "Binding and non-negotiable."

I shook my head, feeling like I was losing my mind. "I don't-this doesn't make any sense!"

He arched a brow. "It makes perfect sense, Amy."

I swallowed, trying to regain control of my spiraling thoughts. "You're asking me to marry you? Why?"

He exhaled, running a hand through his hair, his expression unreadable. "You don't need to know that. You just need to sign."

I let out a hollow laugh. "And if I don't?"

His smirk returned, slow and dangerous. "Then, my dear, we are gonna have a conversation , on why I don't handle rejection well". He said. "So sweetheart", his voice getting deep. "You would sign it".

I shivered... The weight of his words, pressing down on me, like a vice.

Trouble.

This was Trouble.

And I was standing right

.