Adam glanced at the wall behind him and then at the cold, unreadable face of his wife. Her eyes were locked onto his with an intensity that made him feel like a schoolboy cornered in the headmistress’s office.
He asked softly, "lon? Are you going to hit ? Should I fear for my life?"
lanie scoffed, almost offended by the question. Without breaking eye contact, she placed both hands flat against the wall on either side of him, closing the space between them, her arms caging him in.
"Do you have any idea how it felt," she began in a biting voice, "to discover that you were the Chairman of Stordge in the middle of a board eting? No warning, no clue, just... boom. I asked and Max was like here you go... And there you were sitting there saying things like ’This is about cleaning up.’ ’ what am I supposed to do with your sorry?’ Like it was just another Tuesday. Like you hadn’t been hiding the entire truth from for so long.
She narrowed her eyes, " Do you even realise what it felt like, sitting there, trying to keep a straight face, trying not to let it show that I was just as stunned as the rest of them?"
Adam opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off with a raised hand and another tirade.
"And then, then I had to introduce you to them. I had to sit there while all those old fossils looked at like I was the one who kept secrets. Do you know they kept asking in the eting later, ’Why didn’t you tell us in advance?’ Like I had known! What was I supposed to say? ’Surprise, I just found out too?’"
She finally stopped for a breath, and Adam gave her a cautious, slightly guilty look. His mouth opened again, apology on the tip of his tongue.
But lanie didn’t give him the chance.
"You have no idea, do you?" she said as her eyes scanned his face. "How completely hot you looked in that CEO mode? Like—ruthless, in control, sharp as hell. Better than the bad boy thing you always keep pulling off."
Adam blinked. Once. Twice. The apology froze sowhere between his lungs and lips.
"lon, I’m so—" he started, almost by habit, but then paused mid-sentence. The words short-circuited.
He stared at her, confusion overtaking guilt. "Wait. What?"
Adam blinked, trying to process the last few seconds. Had he heard her right?
Surely not. His brain was definitely fooling him
And yet... even as his brain scrambled to double-check, lanie leaned in closer, her face inches from his, the space between them shrinking until he could barely breathe. Her hands slid from the wall to his shoulders and he gulped as she leaned in close and whispered. "What? Cat got your tongue now?"
She tilted her head studying him closely before smiling at him. It was a dangerous smile, really Adam thought and then heard her continue, "You’re not apologizing anymore? Isn’t that your favourite line tonight?"
Adam opened his mouth, then closed it again. His thoughts were a blur. He wasn’t sure what this was anymore...his senses were already clamoring.
"So tell , Adam," she whispered in his ear, "what exactly am I supposed to do with you?"
Even as she said it, her hands began to move—slowly sliding up from his shoulders, fingertips grazing the sides of his neck. His skin prickled with awareness. Then her fingers found his hair, curling through it, tugging lightly as she rose up onto her toes.
"You had no idea, did you?" she murmured, her breath warm against his ear. "How hot you looked sitting there in that chair, calling the shots like you’d been doing it your whole life."
Adam shut his eyes briefly, trying to resist the way his body reacted to her nearness, her touch, her words.
"All I could think of," she whispered, "was jumping you and kissing that annoying, perfectly pursed mouth of yours."
He blinked again, his hands now hovering awkwardly at his sides, as though he’d forgotten what to do with them.
"You..." he began slowly, struggling to focus, "...you looked angry."
lanie laughed quietly, the sound soft and dangerous, and he felt it vibrate through him like a string pulled taut.
"Uh huh," she said, her mouth close enough that he could feel the shape of her smile against his skin. "Of course I looked angry."
She pulled back just enough to look at him, her fingers still tangled in his hair.
"I was angry," she said, eyes sharp and amused. "I had to sit through an entire eting pretending to be calm when all I really wanted to do... was jump you."
Adam swallowed hard.
Her hands slid from his hair, down the sides of his neck, fingers trailing along the fine edge of his collar. Adam had to force himself not to shiver and close the distance between them. Then, without breaking eye contact, she slipped her hands under his suit jacket, palms gliding over his shirt covered pecs and then lower.
He inhaled sharply as her fingers curled around his waist, holding him in place- not that he had any plans of moving.
"You’ve kept a lot from ," she murmured, her lips just brushing his as she spoke. "And right now... I’m going to punish you for it."
Adam swallowed hard, every nerve in his body locked onto her.
And then she kissed him.
Her lips pressed against his with purpose, deepening the kiss almost imdiately. Her hands slid further under his jacket and around his back, holding him close. Her fingers clenched the fabric of his shirt, pulling him toward her.
That seed to break the spell that was holding him back. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. His hand moved to her waist, gripping her firmly. The other hand slid into her hair, holding the back of her head as he kissed her back just as hard, thankful that she was not angry at him.
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