All Chapters of BOUGHT BY THE RUTHLESS WILD BILLIONAIRE : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

DANCING WITH THE ENEMYThe after-party exists in a corner of the ballroom where staff is still clearing but the formal event has ended. Dominic's mother has retired. The business associates have gone home. What remains is a space where the music continues and the lighting remains soft and the champagne continues flowing even though technically the gala is complete.Nora is reviewing final numbers with her team when Dominic approaches. He's removed his jacket. His shirt is partially unbuttoned. He looks like he's decided that formality is no longer necessary."Dance with me," he says."I'm working," she responds."The event is finished. You did it perfectly. Now dance with me because I want to hold you while music plays and I want to do it without hiding."She looks at her team. Claire gives her an encouraging nod. Everyone else is pretending not to watch what's happening but they're definitely watching. They're definitely noting the fact that their boss is about to dance with the CEO o

THE DRIVE HOME THAT CHANGED EVERYTHINGThe car ride to the cabin is three hours of highway and then mountain roads that get progressively narrower until civilization disappears entirely. Nora watches the city fade behind them and she's thinking about the fact that she's never done this before. She's never removed herself from the world with someone. She's never driven away from everything she knows to exist in complete isolation with one person.He drives with his hand on her thigh. He doesn't play music. He just drives and exists with her and sometimes he squeezes her leg like he's checking to make sure she's still there. Like she might evaporate if he doesn't maintain physical contact. She's learning that this is how he communicates when words become insufficient. That touch is his first language and everything else is translation."I want to tell you something," he says as they pass through a small town that's barely deserving of the name. "But I'm terrified that telling you will ch

SHE TOLD HIM NOBy afternoon, the rain has intensified. It's not a gentle mountain rain. It's violent and urgent and makes the cabin feel like a boat in the middle of an ocean. They've been silent for hours. They've eaten lunch without talking. They've sat on the deck watching the storm like it's a performance they're required to attend.She's thinking about the fact that he just asked her to marry him. Not with a ring. Not with a proposal he planned. But with the words I want to marry you and I want to spend the rest of my life learning how to do this better. She's thinking about the fact that she loves him and she's still terrified and she's not sure those two things are compatible."I need to tell you something," she says as the afternoon light is fading. "And I need you to understand that this doesn't mean I don't love you. But I need to say no to something."He's sitting beside her on the deck under the overhang that keeps them mostly dry. He's listening without interrupting which

HIS BROTHER ARRIVESMarcus appears at Dominic's office on Tuesday afternoon without warning or appointment. He walks past the assistant like she doesn't have the authority to stop him. He has the kind of determined expression that suggests he's been building up to this conversation for days. His jaw is set. His eyes are cold. He doesn't greet Dominic with warmth. He closes the door behind him with deliberate firmness like what he's about to say requires privacy and cannot be interrupted by anyone else."You're in love with her," Marcus says without preamble, without small talk, without the usual social courtesies that brothers typically extend to each other. "It's obvious to anyone with eyes. You haven't stopped looking at her like she's the only thing that matters in your entire empire. You look at her the way father looked at his business. Like she's the only thing keeping you alive. And I'm here to tell you that if you hurt her, I'm going to make your professional life very difficul

SHE SEES THROUGH HIMThursday of the following week, Nora is leaving her office on the forty-first floor when she passes through the hallway where Dominic is meeting with his executive team in a glass-walled conference room that overlooks the entire Manhattan skyline. She can see him through the transparent barriers like he's on display, like his power is something meant to be observed and witnessed. She can see him conducting the meeting with the kind of precision that suggests he's been trained his entire life to make decisions with absolute certainty and without hesitation or doubt.She can see him dismissing someone's idea with a wave of his hand, the gesture final and dismissive and crushing in ways that don't require words. She can see the person who made the suggestion shrinking back into their chair, understanding that they've been found lacking. She can see him making a decision that will affect hundreds of people without seeming to consider anything beyond the financial impli