Heated Desire

On the top floor of the Blackwood Empire skyscraper, Adrian stood rigid by the floor-to-ceiling glass window.

Outside, the storm raged, mirroring the chaos in his chest. Below, the city streets were blurred by heavy sheets of rain. Yet, his eyes instantly locked onto a single, delicate figure rushing out of the building.

It was Isabella.

She ran into the downpour, her small shoulders hunched against the wind. Even from this height, he could sense her pride-shattered but still fiercely defiant.

Adrian's jaw clenched so tightly that the muscles in his face ached with a sharp, throbbing pain.

He wanted to run down there. He wanted to throw his expensive coat over her shoulders and carry her away from the cold. But he couldn't. Not yet.

Suddenly, the silence of the massive office was broken. His phone buzzed violently on the sleek mahogany desk.

Adrian didn't break his stare from the window. He reached out blindly, swiping the screen open and placing the phone to his ear.

"Did she sign?" the voice on the other end demanded immediately. It was low, tense, and dripping with anxiety. It was his private investigator, Marcus.

"Not yet," Adrian muttered, his voice sounding like gravel. "She walked out."

Marcus let out a heavy, ragged sigh over the line. "She walked out? Adrian, you pushed her too hard. She isn't like the corporate sharks you usually deal with. She has a heart."

"She will sign," Adrian growled, his knuckles turning white as his grip on the phone tightened to the breaking point. "She has no choice. I've backed her into a corner. By tomorrow morning, she will realize that I am the only shield she has left."

"Adrian... are you really sure about this madness?" Marcus's tone dropped to a cautious whisper. "You are playing a dangerous game. If she ever finds out the real reason you targeted her-if she learns what happened to her father fifteen years ago-she will hate you forever. She will never look at you again."

The mention of her father felt like a physical blow to Adrian's chest. The dark memory threatened to swallow him whole.

The corporate war. The betrayal. The bloodline that had been ruined because of the Blackwood family name.

"She won't find out," Adrian rasped, his voice dropping into a dangerous, chilling registry. "I've buried the files. I've bought the judges. I only need one year, Marcus. One year to protect her from the people who are still tracking her family's lineage. One year to right the wrongs of the past."

"And what if your plan fails?" Marcus pushed, his voice filled with dread. "What if she falls in love with you before the twelve months are up? What happens to her heart when the truth finally explodes?"

Adrian slowly tore his gaze away from the rainy street. He looked over at the desk, where the pristine marriage contract sat under the dim office light.

A sharp, agonizing ache bloomed in his chest-a sudden, suffocating emotion he wasn't prepared for. He quickly forced it down, burying his vulnerability beneath a thick mask of absolute ice.

"There will be no love in this house," Adrian whispered darkly into the receiver. "I am the villain in her story, Marcus. I will make sure she never loves a monster like me."

Before Marcus could reply, Adrian hung up.

He tossed the phone onto the desk. The silence rushed back into the room, heavy and suffocating.

Adrian walked back to the glass window, his chest heaving. He watched as Isabella's figure finally disappeared into the crowded subway entrance down below.

He was lying to Marcus. Worse, he was lying to himself.

He didn't just want her signature to ease his guilt. He didn't just want a legal arrangement.

He wanted her. He wanted her smiles, her defiance, her warmth, and the fiery spirit that had captured him from the moment he saw her.

Adrian's eyes darkened with a terrifying, predatory possessiveness.

"Let them try to take you from me," he whispered into the empty room, his breath fogging the cold glass.

His enemies were closing in, and Chad was already moving his pieces. But Adrian Blackwood never lost a war. He would burn this entire city to ash and ruin anyone who dared to look at her before he let a single soul touch his contract wife.