CHAPTER 12
Blade Wrapped in Silky Ribbons
An old, lethal dread—something she thought she had buried under years of fame, money, platinum records, and a few other classes—clawed its way back to the surface. It was a visceral, skin-crawling sensation she had not felt since she was much younger, a jagged nervousness that felt like cold fingers dancing just beneath her pores. She had made a silent, ironclad vow years ago that she would never let a man make her feel small or hunted again. She had built a fortress around her life specifically to keep this feeling out.
And yet, here it was.
Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the phone, her eyes still searching the dark skyline for a reflection of his gaze of which she could not find from outside her penthouse’s massive glass window. She
