14
IVY
Way out of my league.
Way, way, way out of my league.
Rupert was nearly dragging me down the hall, and my stomach somersaulted with nerves. He hit my senses like a freight train, terrifying and tantalizing all at once.
My boss, my guardian… was he actually going to fulfill the shameful cravings I’d always had for a dominant partner who protected and punished me?
He was a force of nature in his tailored, black wool suit, and I was a simple snail, retracting myself into my shell whenever danger was in the air. Unfortunately, my threat response was unreliable—dialed way too high when it didn’t need to be, and sleeping on the job when the peril was very real.
Self-harm was my protective armor and shielded me from the pain of existence. The place I ran away to escape from the sham
