<b>Chapter </b><b>16 </b>


    “If you’re done recovering, we continue.” Jeffrey ignored Reba’s anger. His skilled fingers made quick work of his suit buttons before he shrugged off the jacket and tossed it aside.


    Reba instinctively pulled back, her eyes wide with rm. “What are you going to do?”


    “What do you think a man and woman do in bed together?” Jeffrey moved closer<b>, </b>hisrge frame dominating her space.


    She thought about running, but Jeffrey had locked every door in the suite, leaving her trapped.


    “Aren’t you with Andrea?” Reba demanded as he backed her from the bed into a corner. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”


    “You’re mistaken about one thing,” Jeffrey said calmly, noting the sh of anger in Reba’s eyes.


    “I’m not pursuing you–you’re the one who keeps appearing wherever I am,” he continued, advancing with unwavering determination. “You should have known what might happen when you came to a hotel to sell jewelry.”


    “If I had known you were here,” Reba said, her voice steady and clear, “nothing could have made mee.”


    The reason she dared to meet Stanley at the hotel was precisely because she had been here before with Jeffrey for work. Those asions had been entirely professional–just straightforward business discussions followed asionally by a meal downstairs, so she didn’t think much of it.


    Besides, the meeting wasn’t in a private room but a conference room, which made the setting feel familiar and safe.


    Jeffrey’s expression turned frosty. “Is that right?”


    “Yes,” Reba retorted.


    “Too bad we don’t get any ‘ifs‘,” Jeffrey said, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him. “Today, you’re stuck with just me.”


    His mouth found hers in a harsh kiss. She raised a hand to hit him, but he caught both her wrists and pinned them above her head. When she tried to kick out, he easily subdued her.


    In a matter of seconds, he had her cornered against the wall,pletely at his mercy.


    Humiliation burned through Reba.


    “Tears won’t get you anywhere,” he told her tly, watching the angry tears well up in her eyes. “You should be d it’s me. Anyone else would have been far less gentle.”


    “I’d prefer it be anyone else,” Reba fired back, her voice thick with anger.


    Jeffrey’s eyes turned cold as he asked, “Are you absolutely sure about that?”


    Reba forced herself to swallow the words she had been about to say. This version of Jeffrey was nothing like the man who had once doted on her, and she knew that if he actually called other people in here, things would get desperate fast.


    Jeffrey reached up and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, his finger tracing its curve down to her earlobe.


    When he gave it a soft squeeze, she couldn’t suppress a visible shudder.


    “You know you’re out of options, Reba,” he said, his other hand settling on her hip. His voice was a low, rough whisper that felt far too intimate. “No one is buying that ring without my say–so. Your only move here is to please me.”


    “I’d rather panhandle than beg you for a damn thing,” Reba snapped, knowing she could neverpromise with someone like Jeffrey.


    Jeffrey was taken aback by her newfound nerve. “So that’s your strategy for survival?” he asked mockingly.


    Reba knew there was no escaping him. The difference in their size and strength made it hopeless she waspletely outmatched.


    In a final act of defiance, she challenged him, “All this talk just means you want to sleep with me, doesn’t it?”


    Jeffrey’s eyes showed genuine surprise; he hadn’t expected her to be so brutally direct.


    “Then get it over with,” she said, her whole demeanor shifting as she stopped resisting. “Don’t waste any more of my time.”


    Hearing that, Jeffrey released his grip.


    While she was still processing what was happening, he pulled out his phone and made a call right in front of her. “You want her? She’s in the room. She’s all yours.”


    “What are you doing?” Reba asked, a sense of dread washing over her.


    “Didn’t you say you’d rather it be anyone else instead of me?” Jeffrey put his phone away and looked at her, his eyes nowpletely cold and detached. “I’m making it happen for you.”


    Reba’s heart sank instantly.


    A glimmer of fear returned to her eyes, and only then did the icy coldness in Jeffrey’s gaze begin to diminish.


    A cold dread washed over Reba as she frantically scanned the room for anything she could use to defend herself or make an escape, but the ce had been stripped clean.


    It wasn’t long before footsteps sounded outside the suite. The door opened, and Stanley walked in.


    “She’s all yours,” Jeffrey said, his voice cold as he nced at her pale face. “Don’t hold back on my ount. Just ensure she stays alive.”


    Stanley let out a low breath, thinking, ‘He doesn’t make it easy, does he?‘


    “You sure about this?” he asked, his tone carefully neutral as he yed his part.


    “She’s just a housecat that forgot its ce and bit its owner,” Jeffrey said, his voice devoid of any warmth as he looked at her. “Why would I care?”


    “Then I’ll ept without hesitation,” Stanley said with a faint smile.


    Jeffrey gave Reba one final icy nce before turning and walking away without another word. The sound of his dress shoes echoed through the room as the distance between them grew with each step.


    “Ms. Jensen, we shouldn’t waste this precious moment,” Stanley recited the corny line, though what he really wanted was to punch Jeffrey for putting him in this situation. “Shall we get started?”


    “Wait,” Reba said, realizing Jeffrey wasn’ting back. She took a steadying breath before adding, “I’d like to freshen up first.”


    Jeffrey’s shoulders tightened almost imperceptibly as he paused for a brief moment.


    Stanley blinked in surprise before recovering with a nod. “Of course.”


    Reba moved toward the bathroom, remembering something important–the narrow ledge outside the 28th–floor window connected to the next room’s balcony. It would be risky, but if she was brave enough, she could cross it and escape.


    She knew Stanley and Jeffrey wouldn’t let her leave, but she was determined to escape.


    She slipped into the bathroom, locked the door, and cranked the shower on.


    With the water running to cover her noise, she hauled herself up onto the windowsill, where one nce down at the 28–story drop made her limbs


    tremble with fear.


    849%


    The two men outside had no clue what was happening.


    Hearing the shower going, Stanley muttered, “What’s she up to in there?”


    Jeffrey was wondering the same thing.


    He was absolutely sure Reba wouldn’t dare try anything.


    Suddenly struck by a thought, he strode purposefully toward the bathroom and kicked the door open without hesitation. The shower was still running, but the bathroom was empty now, with no sign of Reba.


    A wave of confusion hit Stanley. ‘She just vanished into thin


    thought


    to


    himself.


    Jeffrey’s eyes darted to the window just in time to see a hand slowly feeling its way along the outer ledge. His body went rigid, and his expression turned dark and dangerous in an instant.


    In a few quick strides, he was at the window, grabbing her arm and yanking her back inside. “If you’ve got a death wish, just say it to my face,” he said, his voice low and icy.


    The thought of her falling from that height made his blood run cold.


    20775 800, 14 <b>sept </b>