Chapter 2 - Waking in the Lion's DenWhen Avery opened her eyes hours later, she wasn't staring at the cold wood of the study floor.
She was lying between heavy, charcoal-grey silk sheets in a master bedroom that smelled faintly of cedar, espresso, and expensive sandalwood. The sunlight filtering through the blackout curtains told her it was well past noon.
Then she felt it.
Her right hand was enclosed in another hand.
Large. Warm. Hard-callused.
Avery’s breath hitched. She whipped her head toward the side of the bed.
Dominic Kane sat in an oversized leather armchair, his long legs stretched out, his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows. A white medical bandage was strapped securely across his left shoulder where he had taken a grazing bullet hours earlier. He wasn't sleeping. He was watching her with an unreadable, intense gaze.
“Don’t move too fast,” Dominic said, his deep voice smooth as velvet and cutting through the quiet morning. “Your blood pressure dropped dangerously low last night. Dr. Harris said you ran on pure adrenaline for fourteen hours.”
Avery immediately yanked her hand out of his, her face burning hot as she scrambled to sit up against the headboard, pulling the duvet tightly over her shoulders.
“Mr. Kane,” she stammered, her heart hammering against her ribs. “I—I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I was just finishing the study, and my body simply gave out. I’ll get up right now, I’ll clean the room—”
“Avery.”
He didn’t raise his voice. He didn't have to. The single word hit the room like a physical anchor, forcing her to stop.
Dominic stood up, towering over the bed at six-foot-four, his dark eyes boring straight into hers. “You saved three of my men last night. You walked into a slaughterhouse and took command of an operating theater in my foyer. You don't owe me an apology. And you certainly aren't cleaning anything today.”
Avery swallowed hard, her instincts screaming danger. For three years, she had maintained a strict boundary of absolute invisibility. She was the maid. He was the boss. This intimacy—waking up in his bed, holding his hand—shattered every rule she had built to keep herself safe.
“I need to go back to my quarters,” she said, her voice shaking slightly.
“Stay where you are,” Dominic commanded quietly, walking over to the bedside table. He picked up a small, heavy object resting on a silver tray and set it down right in front of her.
May you like
Avery looked down.
Her breath completely stopped.
