Page 47 of Double Down

“Very smart, princess,” he says, voice rough with pride he doesn’t want to own. “But I called those vendors this morning.”

The floor drops a notch under my chair. “Right. Of course you did.”

“You think I need help?” His knuckles skim my cheek like a question he already knows the answer to.

“No,” I tell him, and the word steadies me. “I think you need something. Even if it’s only one small thing that’s within your control. Everything’s been spinning out. I just…want to dowhatever I can, any way I can. I want to be the one who helps you.”

Something dark flickers in his eyes. Not anger, not quite. Recognition. He sees me. Sees through everything I’m hoping to hide from him.

His fingers slide from my cheek to my throat, slow, deliberate, a warning bell and a promise in one. But he doesn’t squeeze— not yet—he just owns me.

He leans in until the world is nothing more than his breath and my pulse. “How about,” he murmurs, mouth ghosting mine, “you let me have one small thing that doesn’t spin.”

His grip tightens just enough to make the room sharpen into harsh focus.

“Be that,” he says, kissing me one more time— hard, possessive, final. “Be the thing I can control when the world is spinning out from under me.”

11

Conrad

Phoenix is right.I need something I can control.

Everything that’s happened in the last few days has left me reeling. Even after negotiating incredible contracts and cutting what seems like millions in waste, we’ve only managed to save a hard-won seven percent—which just nudges us a tiny bit closer to that impossible fifteen.

That isn’t what makes me feel out of control, though—or at least, it’s not the only thing.

It’s the other threat—the one that could take us all down, and hurthertoo. Knowing someone is watching us, waiting to make their demands, making us wait just for shits and giggles. It puts me at their mercy, and I don’t like that.

Maybe I need someone at mine.

No. Not someone.Her.I need Phoenix to be under my control.

“You think you can help me?” I ask, pressing my fingers into her throat just a fraction more. “You think you can be my good littlesecretary and do as you’re told—follow every command I give you?”

Phoenix’s expression flickers, an infinitesimal tightening around her eyes that I might have missed if I wasn’t so attuned to her. She doesn’t like something about what I’m asking her.

Or maybe she doesn’t like that her body is reacting to my demands.

I run a finger around her jawline, tipping her chin up so her beautifully defiant eyes meet mine.

“You’ve done an excellent job so far of following the contract stipulations, Phoenix. You’ve worn the uniform, you’ve done everything we’ve asked of you. Are you going to continue to earn that check…or are we going to have to look for another…minder?”

Her eyes flame with anger before they flick rapidly down in feigned submission. “I’ll continue to do everything that’s required of me,” she says stiffly.

“Good girl,” I say.

And you’ll end up begging for it.

I don’t say the thought aloud. No need to state the obvious…she’ll be dripping for me soon enough if she isn’t already.

There are so many things I can do with her—so many ways I can make her bend to me. “Where am I going to start?”

Giggles drift from the hall, a reminder we’re in a public space. It’s rarely used, but open to anyone who needs it. That gives me an idea.

“I have a very important job for you.” I smile down at her, and her blue eyes meet mine warily. “This shit has me really stressed, and I have to make another call in a few moments that will only add to my load. Do you think you can be a good girl and help relieve some of that tension?”

She blinks. “Of course. How can I help? Do you need me to organize the contracts or make copies or refill your coffee again?”