The heat radiating from his bare chest was scorching She could feel the heavy, frantic poundingof his heart against her ribs.
Harding looked down at her. His eyes were completely black in the shadows, stripped of all control and civilization.
"Anissa” Harding gritted out, his jaw muscles jumping "You are absolute torture. | didn't goto London because | was disgusted by you. | went to London because | was terrified of myself."
Anissa stopped breathing She stared up at him her eyes wide.
“That moming in the hallway," Harding confessed, his voice thick with desperate hunget if 1 had stayed inthis apartment for one more second, 1 would have thrown you onto this bed and k ept you here until you couldn't walk. | ran away because | didn't want to break our contract. | didn't want to ruïn this,”
The confession ripped through Anissas chest. The heavy, suffocating weight of rejection vanished entirely. She felt the hard, undeniable evidence of his desire pressingagainst her thigh He wanted her, He was goingcrazy for her.
Anissa let out a shaky breath. She lifted her arms, sliding her hands up his chest, feeling the rigid muscles jump under her palms. She wrapped her ams tightly around his neck
She looked upinto his burningeyes
“Then don't control yourself,” Anissa whispered
100.0% 1227 m.
< Marrying My Exs Powerful Bllonare Un... #> 4190 Points at most The second the words left her mouth, the fast thread of Harding's sanity snapped
He let out a low, guttural groan that vibrated de ep in his chest. He dropped his head and crashed his mouth against hers.
Suddenly, Harding stopped.
He pushedhimself up on his forearms, his chest heavingviolently. Sweat glistened on his forehead. He looked down at her flushed face, his eyes burningwith a terrifying intensity.
“Anissa’ Harding rasped, his voice shakingwith the effort to hold himself back. "If we do this... the contract is dead. You are mine | will never, ever Tet you go. Are you sure?"
He was givingher one last chance to run
Anissa looked at the man who had saved her, protected her, and given her the power to destroy her enemies. She felt a profound, overwhelming surge of absolute certainty.
She reached up her fingers tracing the sharp line of his jaw. She pulled hisface down and pressed her lips softly against his throat, right over his racing pulse.
“Im sure” Anissa breathed against his skin
Harding let out a ragged breath. He crushed his mouth to hers again, and the storm finally broke
The bright morning sun pierced through the curtains, warming Anissa's face.
She slowly opened her eyes. She blinked confused. She wasnt in the dark guest room. She was lying in the center of the massive master bed She was wearing a fresh, oversized white t-shirt that smelled strongly of cedarwood. Harding had cleaned her up and carried her back to their room while she sl ept.
She turned her head
Harding was sitting in the velvet armchair by the window, wearing loose 0.0% 1232
Smit $8 +120 Points at most gray sweatpants. He was holdinga steaming mug of black coffee. He looked completely relaxed, the harsh tension permanently erased from his shoulders.
He saw her open her eyes. A slow, devastatingly handsome smile spread across his face.
He set the coffee down, walked over to the bed, and leaned over. He pressed a soft, lingeringkiss to her forehead.
“Good morning Mrs. Snow,” Harding murmured, his voice thick with sle ep and satisfaction
The title wasn't a legal term anymore. It was a brand. It was real. Anissa's face flushedbrightred. She pulled the heavy white duvet upover her nose, hidingher face. Harding laughed, a de ep, rumblingsound that vibrated in his chest. He reached out and ruffled her messy hair through the bianket,
“Get up" Hardingsaid softly. | made breakfast."
Anissa smiled underthe covers. She felt incrediblylight.
Ten minuteslater, she walked into the diningroom. Harding had actually cooked-eggs, bacon, and fresh toast. She sat down, pickingup her fork. Suddenly, her cell phone resting on the edge of the glass table, beganto vibrate violently.
Anissa glanced at the screen. The name Lorraine Roy flashed brightly The warm, fuzzy feeling in Anissa's chest instantly vanished r eplaced by a cold block of ice. She pickedup the phoneand swiped to answer. “Anissa’ Lorraine's voice came through the speaker, It sounded tight, laced with a venomous kind of desperation. Listen to me. The Roy Family's annual children's charity luncheon is happening today at Le Bernardin. Your father was supposed to be the honorary chairman. He's still inthe hospital, and his absence is causinga panic If you don't show up to r epresent the family, the foundation's major donors will pull their funding by this aftemoon. Hundreds of sick children will lose their medical grants because of our family feud. The press is already sniffing around. You have to come. Just for one meal. No fighting Just a public display to save the foundation"
Anissa stared blankly at the wall. It was a masterful, disgusting trap. They didn’ care about sick childrer they were using them as human shields for moral kidnapping They knew she couldn't risk the PR nightmare of letting a children's hospital wing collapse on her watch as 361% 1222 N81
< Chapter a7 +120 Points at most the new Mrs. Snow. Harold wouldn't be eating rich French food at a Michelin-star restaurant if he actually cared about the charity.
Across the table, Harding saw the shift in her expression His jaw clenched. His eyes darkened, silently askingif he needed to intervene Anissa shook her head slightly at him She pressed the phone closer to her ear
Fine" Anissa said, her voice completely devoid of emotion. “Twelve aclock. 1 be there.
She hungup the phone She was goingto walk right into their trap, and shewas goingto bumit to the ground
100.0% 1252 ml
< Marrying My Exs Powerful Billonaie Un. #2 +120 Points at most At exactly noon Anissa st epped out of the armored SUV and handed her keys to the valet outside Le Bernardin,
She was wearing a razor-sharp, black Alexander Mc Queen tailored suit She wore no jewelry, save for her massive diamond weddingring and a single, heavy bracelet hidden beneath the cuff of her left sleeve. She looked like an executioner arriving for a scheduled beheading
She walked into the hushed opulent dining room. The maitre d ' immediately recognized her and bowed, leading her past the crowded tables toward the exclusive private diningrooms in the back.
He opened the heavy oak door to Room 3.
Anissa st epped inside The door clicked shut behindher, sealing the room. She stood at the head of the long mahogany table and slowly sw ept her eyes over the occupants. A cold, cynical smile touched the comers of her mouth.
Sitting around the table were Loraine, holding a lace handkerchief Ashlee, her eyes artificially red; Connor, wearing a slightly wrinkled suit with his arm still ina cast; and Beatrice Snow, Connor's mother, sitting rigidly with her chinheld high
There was no sick father. There was no hospital bed. It was exactly the ambush she had expected.
Lorraine immediately stood up forcing a tragic, trembling smile onto her face. She reached her hands out toward Anissa ‘Oh, Anissa darling. Thank God you came, Sit down, please.”
Anissa didn't move. She didn't take Lorraine's hands. She pulled out the chair at the head of the table, furthest away from all of them, and sat down. She placed her Hermes bag on the empty chair next to her. “Where is Harold?" Anissa asked, her voice flat and bored. "| thought he was supposedto be saving the children”
Lorraine's hands dropped She looked nervouslyat Beatrice. "Yourfather... he's doing damage control with the press at the hospital wing We came as his r epresentatives to negotiate.”