Chapter 6 - Empires Built for Two
Six months later, the third-floor study in the Voss estate looked remarkably different.
The maps were gone. The highlighters had been replaced by leather-bound ledgers detailing the legal acquisition of three shipping yards and a freight logistics firm that now operated entirely under federal maritime regulations.
And the door to the hallway was wide open.
I stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, wearing a tailored cream wool suit and a pair of Christian Louboutin pumps that I had personally picked out on Michigan Avenue. In my hand was a cup of Earl Grey tea, hot, fragrant, and entirely unthreatened by burst pipes.
Behind me, the door opened.
Adrian walked in, wearing a sharp navy suit that emphasized his broad shoulders. He looked completely healed, the slight stiffness in his stride long gone, though the scar beneath his ribs would forever match the tiny white line on my temple where Julian Moretti’s gun had grazed me.
He didn't speak. He simply walked across the room, wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, and pulled me flush against his chest.
I leaned back into him, tilting my head to rest against his shoulder, smiling as his lips found the soft curve of my neck.
“You’re late for the board meeting, Mr. Voss,” I murmured.
“The board can wait,” Adrian replied, his voice rich and low. His hands rested over mine where they held the teacup. “How is your brother?”
“He passed his corporate accounting midterms,” I said proudly. “And he asked if you would stop sending armed escorts with him to the campus library. He says it’s ruining his dating life.”
Adrian chuckled, the deep vibration rumbling against my back. “I compromised. I pulled the snipers from the roof of his fraternity house. He should be grateful.”
“You are a tyrant.”
“I am an investor protecting his assets.” Adrian spun me gently around in his arms, his hands settling on my hips. His dark eyes softened as he looked down at me, the warmth in them a permanent fixture now, reserved exclusively for this room, for this life. “Speaking of assets. Mrs. Gable told me this morning that the plumbing in the east guest suite is making a suspicious rattling sound.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“She offered to call an emergency technician.” Adrian took the teacup from my hands, set it on the mahogany desk, and pulled me back into his embrace, his fingers tangling in my dark curls. “I told her that was entirely unnecessary. I have a specialist on retainer.”
“That specialist retired from housekeeping,” I reminded him, wrapping my arms around his neck, standing on my tiptoes so my lips were a breath away from his. “She’s the Chief Operating Officer of Voss Logistics now. Her hourly rate is astronomical.”
“Name your price, Miss Bennett,” Adrian murmured, his eyes darkening with a familiar, dangerous heat that still made my knees weak.
“A promise,” I whispered, looking into those gray-blue eyes that had once terrified me, but now felt like the only safe harbor in the world.
“Anything.”
“No more lies. No more secrets. And if you ever take another bullet for me without asking my permission first... I will personally find that mop and finish the job.”
Adrian’s mouth broke into a wide, breathtaking smile.
May you like
“Agreed,” he said softly.
He leaned down and kissed me—a slow, deep, possessive kiss that tasted of cedar, promises, and the unshakeable certainty that no matter what storms broke outside these walls, we had built an empire that would never fall.
