Chapter 5 New Year's Gift

VALERIE’S POV

"I am NOT for sale!"

The words tore out of me without any thought. My hand was still raised from the slap, my palm throbbing, my whole body shaking with rage.

He stared at me, the red Liam on his cheek standing out against his skin. His jaw clenched, and something dangerous flickered in his dark eyes.

"Not for sale?" His voice was deadly quiet. "Then what do you call what happened tonight?"

"I call it desperation!" I shoved at his chest, but he didn't move. "I call it doing whatever I had to do to save my sister's life! That doesn't mean you own me!"

"Doesn't it?" He stepped closer, backing me further against the window. The glass was cold against my spine. "I paid fifty thousand dollars for you to be on my arm tonight. I saved your sister. I gave you a job. What exactly do you think that makes you?"

"It makes me someone who will pay you back!" My voice cracked. "Every cent! With your stupid interest! But it doesn't make me yours!"

"No?" His hand shot out, gripping my chin, forcing me to look at him. "Then why are you still here? Why didn't you run the moment you got what you wanted?"

"Because I'm not a coward! Because I pay my debts! Because I keep my promises even when people like you try to humiliate me!"

His eyes blazed. "Humiliate you? I saved you."

"You branded me!" I tried to jerk away, but his grip tightened. "That gift? That was you Liaming your territory in front of everyone! That was you telling the whole company that I'm your…"

"Mine," he finished in a growl. "Yes. That's exactly what I was telling them."

"I'm not…"

He moved so fast I didn't have time to react. His hand slid from my chin to the back of my neck, pulling me toward him, and then his mouth crashed against mine.

It wasn't a gentle kiss. It was hard, angry, and demanding; it was a kiss that claimed me. I couldn't tell if the sound I made was a protest or a surrender, but then his free hand clamped down on my waist, holding me in place.

I should have pushed him away, slapped him again, done anything except what I did… I kissed him back.

My hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer even as I hated myself for it. His mouth was hot and demanding, and I was drowning in it, drowning in him, drowning in everything I'd been holding back since he'd walked into my life three days ago.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard the party below explode into cheers.

Midnight.

He pulled back just enough to speak, his lips still brushing mine. "Happy New Year, Valerie."

Then he released me so suddenly I stumbled.

He stepped back, his chest heaving, his eyes burning with something I couldn't name. His hand came up to touch his lips, like he couldn't believe what had just happened.

Neither could I.

"Sir, I…" My voice was barely audible.

"Don't." He cut me off, his voice rough. "Don't say anything."

He moved away, walking to where the box of lingerie had fallen during our confrontation. He picked it up slowly, his movements controlled again. The moment of raw emotion was gone, buried beneath that cold mask.

When he turned back to me, he was the terrifying CEO again.

"You're right about one thing," he said in that deadly calm voice. "You're not for sale."

Relief flooded through me.

"You're collateral," he continued, and the relief died. "You're mine until every cent of that fifty thousand dollars is paid. With interest."

"I know. I'll work…

"At minimum wage?" He laughed. "Do the math, Valerie. How long do you think it will take you to pay off fifty thousand dollars plus interest on your current salary?"

I had done the math in the elevator on the way down to the party. Years, it would take me years.

"I'll find a way," I said stubbornly.

"You will," he agreed. "By doing exactly what I say, when I say it." He walked toward me again like a predator approaching its prey. "Starting now."

He shoved the box into my hands.

"You sent me a picture of a bunny," he continued. "So I bought you a new outfit. A better one. More expensive and fitting for someone in your... position."

My stomach dropped. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that when I call you at three in the morning because I need coffee, you bring it. When I need a date for a business dinner, you smile and play the part. When I want you in my office, you come running." His eyes locked onto mine. "And when I give you a gift, you wear it."

"No." The word came out weak, barely audible.

"No?" He raised an eyebrow. "Would you like me to call the hospital? Tell them there's been a mistake? Have them remove your sister from the transplant list after all?"

Ice flooded my veins. "You wouldn't."

"Try me." He moved past me, walking to his desk. He unbuttoned his suit jacket and draped it over the back of his chair. Then he sat, leaning back, watching me with those cold, dark eyes. "Well? What's it going to be?"

I looked down at the box in my hands. He wanted me to put it on here and now… in his office while he watched.

"This is insane," I whispered.

"This is business," he corrected. "You owe me. I own your debt. And your debt starts being paid tonight."

"By degrading myself?"

"By learning your place." He crossed one leg over the other, perfectly relaxed. Perfectly in control. "You wanted to sell yourself to a sugar daddy, didn't you? Well, congratulations. You got one. Now show me what I paid for."

Tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"I hate you," I said quietly.

"I don't care." His voice was flat, emotionless. "Now... Bunny, put on my New Year's gift.”