Power Play: A Hacker Arranged Marriage Romance (Silicon Billionaires) by Alexis Knightly

Author:Alexis Knightly [Knightly, Alexis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-12T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-THREE

LAUREN

What the hell is wrong with me?

I run the faucet as cold as possible, tracing the icy spout up my bare arms. One by one, I rip five paper towels from the dispenser in a manic state, then scrape my skin until it's beet red, trying to pry off the thousands of bugs crawling all over my limbs. Their tiny feet puncture clean through like a thousand needles, sharp and torturous, while simultaneously calling me a complete idiot. Or... that's how my body feels after flirting with my narcissist of an ex-boyfriend. As if I'm nothing but some harbinger of dirty, unwelcome infestations.

After practically slam-dunking the towels into the wastebasket, I huff an aggressive breath, staring at myself in the mirror. Looking every bit how I feel, loose strands of auburn hair poke out of my low bun in tendrils, and my lipstick—that's usually lined so sharply it could kill a man—smudges at the corners, accompanied by the erratic rise and fall of my chest.

Get it together. You're lucky no one walked in during your little temper tantrum.

Fine. Maybe I overstepped a boundary I'd never cross in a million years by inflating Adrien's overzealous ego, but Tristan deserved it. In fact, he's had it coming and so much more. I can't fathom how many lives he's destroyed, how many companies and innocents have fallen victim to his treacherous skills.

Including myself.

I don't know who I'm angrier at. Tristan, for hacking and watching me when he shouldn't. Or myself, for gaining an affinity for the idea.

For the past week, alone in my bed at night, instead of banishing the thoughts of the hacker sleeping in the other room, I fantasize about his dark prowess, of how his eyes have watched me through a camera lens in the worst possible moments. And since that fateful night in his lair, the dangerous thoughts rush through my brain every time he's near, making me afraid of what might come pouring out my mouth if I do decide to talk with him. Which is why I'm distancing myself from him at all costs.

But, forbidden voyeurism kink aside...

He still hurts people, I reiterate to myself. And that's something I could never accept.

Once I finish touching up and curb my emotions, I slide my blazer across my shoulders, then my Birkin down my forearm, and exit the bathroom. But on the door's swivel, I come face-to-face with Tristan—all six-foot-five of him, hotter than sin in an Armani suit.

Alarm bells ring between my ears as I avoid his intense gaze, aiming straight for the meeting room.

"Where are you going?" he asks, catching up beside me.

I don't answer.

"The meeting's over."

I stop. Over?

Dozens of questions bubble into my head, and I nearly voice one, until I realize that would involve actually speaking with him. Instead, I accept the fact that Adrien must've gotten all the answers he needed and the two of them must've gone ahead with scheduling the data center visit. On a swivel, I head for the elevators, my strides long and powerful.

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