Page 54 of Power

Jace looked down at my red nails, which had entire bites taken out of them. Seriously, a couple of them probably looked like I put them in a wood chipper.

“You don’t chew your nails.” His tone was soft.

I hated that he knew that about me. Every glimpse into my soul felt like something he could hold over me, evidence or an asset he could use as collateral. I didn’t want him to know anything about me. I wanted to take it all back; every morsel of anything he’d garnered about me was mine and mine alone.

“Maybe I do,” I suggested.

“You don’t,” he pressed, which had me clenching those nails into my palms. “You didn’t chew them once this weekend.”

Well, a) I was too busy having him lick my sex until I orgasmed all over his face. And b) FYI,hewas the reason I’d ruined my manicure, not Grabby Hands. But I didn’t say that.

Instead, I went with, “Well, if you’ll excuse me.”

“I’m notfinished.”

The formality and domineering tone of his voice stopped me cold.

“Give me his name,” Jace insisted.

“Pardon me?”

“The man who put his hands on you. He works at this company. I want to know who that is.”

I swallowed, shock and fear battling it out in my chest. My heart started pounding, and my palms started sweating. I had spent last night thinking about what I would say to HR, and already, there had been a huge complication, learning that Grabby Hands was actually part of Jace’s organization. I needed to talk to somebody I trusted about this, somebody who didn’t wield immense power over me the way that Jace did. In short, I needed to figure out my exact play because once I uttered the words, pointing an accusing finger, there would be no taking it back.

I’d have no control over what happened next. I was far too protective of my career to allow that to happen.

“You’ll tell me who did this to you,” Jace pressed.

“Will I?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Because you’re my boss?”

“Scarlett—”

“I don’t even have an NDA protecting me yet,” I pointed out. “Once I have that, I’ll take this under advisement, but for the record, HR is the department responsible for fielding concerns over employees. Not the owner.”

“HR reports to me.”

“Then you can rest assured they will handle this.”

“I don’t want them to handle it. I want to handle it.” Jace’s jaw tightened, his voice bordering on anger.

“Why?”

“Because he did it toyou. He put his hands onyou.”

Everything crystallized into a single, frozen moment. The air between us charged with electricity, time suspended, preservinghis revelation as his eyes darkened to forest green, blazing with a possessive fury that stole my breath. My heart began thundering again, this time so hard that I wondered if he could hear it. Because that tone? That wasn’t just a boss protecting an employee. That was pure, primal male, protecting what he considered his.

And, God help me, some deep, primitive part of me responded to it.

“I’ll consider giving you his name after I have agreed to the terms of the NDA.” The minute I reported the guy, Jace could find out anyway from HR. Hell, he might even have his entire HR team on alert for any complaints. You know, under the guise of smooth transitions.

The thing was, while I wanted to be offended by the power play, I liked how protective Jace sounded when he demanded the guy’s name. I liked the look of vengeance that flashed through his eyes, the tension in his jaw, like he was imagining what he’d do to the guy when he found him. I liked that the thought of someone hurting me bothered him.

What did that say about me?