Caged By BFF’s Billionaire Dad

Chapter 3

That night's dinner tasted like dust.

Lucas was a perfect gentleman, but he was too safe and too predictable. I sat rigid throughout the meal, unable to stop hearing Soren's furious breathing in the car.

To my dismay, I realized the decent man across the table couldn't make my pulse race the way he did.

The secret struggle between Soren and me reached its breaking point a few days later during a major project review.

It was the first review for Halcyon's flagship-store renovation after its acquisition. Soren sat at the head of the table. When it was my turn to present, he ignored the slides and fixed me with an oppressive stare.

"This is too idealistic, Maya." He cut me off after the first three slides, tapping his Montblanc pen against the table. "Vale Group isn't a charity. Your customer flow ignores the privacy needs of high-net-worth clients. Where is the commercial conversion?"

Every criticism was precise and humiliating. The meeting room went deathly quiet. Everyone looked at the intern who was about to be torn apart by a titan of the industry.

I clenched my teeth, pulled up the supporting data and customer models, and challenged him in front of the entire room. Just when I thought I had ruined everything, the tapping stopped.

"Proceed with this plan," Soren leaned back and swept his gaze around the table. "It shows your inexperience, but it also shows rare boldness. I'll back it."

I collapsed into my chair, my back soaked with cold sweat. Then came a dizzying surge of adrenaline. His ruthless authority made his power even more intoxicating. He wasn't merely a man determined to possess me. He was a formidable leader who ruled his industry.

That evening, the company held a project celebration at an exclusive hotel.

Lucas approached with a glass of wine and warmly praised my performance, but I looked past him and stared at the man in the center of the ballroom.

Soren was the undeniable focus of the room. Several impeccably dressed socialites and ambitious female partners competed for his attention.

He didn't move away. If anything, a faint smile lingered at the corner of his mouth.

The chocolate stick decorating my dessert snapped between my fingers with a sharp crack.

A rush of ugly jealousy erased my common sense. I set my champagne glass down hard, abandoned Lucas, and crossed the room in my heels.

"Mr. Vale." I inserted myself into the group and stared at Soren. "I have an extremely urgent question about one detail in the furnishing budget for the flagship store."

Soren lowered his gaze. The dark satisfaction in his eyes told me he had noticed my jealousy at once.

"Excuse me." He nodded to the women, closed a hand around my wrist, and strode away. Without a word, he dragged me into a shadowed alcove off the staff corridor, beyond the security cameras.

The door slammed behind us, cutting off the music and voices.

Before I could react, he turned, gripped my waist, lifted me off the floor, and pinned me against the cold wall.

I gasped.

His body pressed flush against mine. His knee forced its way between my legs, holding me against his heaving chest and taut muscles.

"Seeing other women touch me makes you this crazy?" He caught my chin in one hand and forced me to meet his gaze. His voice was rough with cruel satisfaction at having exposed me.

"Let me go," I panted. "You're a bastard."

"I am." Instead of taking offense, he gave a low laugh.

The next instant, he bent and pressed his mouth to the exposed skin of my neck. He deliberately avoided the mark he had left before and closed his lips over the pulse on the other side. The wet heat of his tongue sent an uncontrollable shudder through me.

"Don't. Soren, not here." I pushed weakly at him, my voice soft enough to sound like a plea.

He lifted his head. His rough thumb pressed hard against my swollen lips, stripping away the last of my pretense.

"Tell me yourself, Maya." His voice wore down my resistance. "When you looked at that fool Lucas tonight, who were you thinking about? When you trembled beneath this dress, whose touch did you want?"

Tears slid down my face without warning. In that narrow corridor, desire overwhelmed what remained of my judgment and pride. I realized with despair that I couldn't resist him.

"Say it, and I'll kiss you," he offered, knowing exactly how badly I wanted it.

I closed my eyes, clutching the fabric of his suit. Under the crushing pressure, I finally broke.

"You. I was only thinking about you."

He kissed me savagely before the last word had left my mouth, stealing every breath I had.

When it ended, he didn't let me return to the ballroom. He wrapped an arm around my unsteady waist, led me to the end of the corridor, and pressed the button for the private elevator to the top-floor suite.