Regina’s body reacted before her mind could catch up. The moment Cole’s hand slid forward...confident, entitled, filthy...something inside her snapped.
“No.”
The word came out raw, cracked, shaking.
He touched her anyway and that was it.
She crashed out.
Regina shoved him so hard he stumbled backward into his desk, papers scattering like startled birds. Her palms burned. Her chest heaved. Her eyes were wild, feral, full of a fury she didn’t even know she still had.
“Don’t f*****g touch me!” she screamed.
Cole blinked, stunned for half a second...then laughed.
A nasty, condescending laugh. “Look at you,” he sneered. “You come begging for help and suddenly you’ve got dignity?”
Regina’s hands shook, but she stood tall. “I’d rather rot in poverty,” she spat, “than spread my f*****g le
