Severed Ties: A Dark Stalker Romance (Tainted Love Book 1)
Severed Ties: Chapter 12

Anger crashes down on me with every beat of my heart. She’s going on a date? In the nine months since I started following her, she’s never shown even an ounce of interest in dating, but suddenly she wants to go out with a guy from work?

I mentally run through all the assholes who work for the legitimate side of Frost Industries, trying to work out who’s brave enough to make a move on my woman. There are a lot of men who work for the Saint James family, but most of them are far older than Clara, and while that doesn’t completely discount them, I don’t think that’s something she would be into.

“Frost Industries doesn’t allow dating between coworkers.”

I’m grasping at straws right now because I don’t know the first thing about the HR policies for the legitimate side of the business, but I have to say something, I have to stop her from going by any means possible, even if that means tying her up here with me for the night until it’s too late for her to go out with anyone.

She glares up at me. She’s barely holding on to her contempt. “Seeing as I’ve just spent the last week reading through the policies now that Snow and I are taking over as CFO, I can assure you that there is no such policy,” she snaps. “Now, I really need to get going. Like I said, if something goes wrong, don’t call me.”

She shoves at my chest again and instead of feeling uncomfortable, like when everyone else on earth touches me, I lean into it. Her hands aren’t intending to harm me because Clara couldn’t hurt a fly. She’s innocent, and even though that fact would make me leave her alone if I were a better man, the darkest parts of me want to dirty her up. I want to corrupt her, break her down until she’s nothing but a sobbing mess just so I can build her up with a soul as black as my own.

I close my eyes in an attempt to regain control of the beast inside me. He’s fucking feral at the thought of our woman going on a date with another man. But I can’t allow her to see that side of me…can I? Would it scare her? Would she try to run from me? The possibilities make my cock grow heavy in my slacks, and I pull my hips back just far enough she won’t feel how fucking hard I am for her.

“You. Are. Not. Going. On. That. Date.” Each word comes out harsher than the last, and even if I hate speaking to her like this, I need her to understand this isn’t happening. She can kick and scream and fight to her little heart’s content, but it’s still not fucking happening.

Clara huffs out a sigh. “Why not? Huh? Tell me why I can’t go.”

“It’s not safe.”

“Wynter set us up. Would she put me in danger?” she challenges.

“Not knowingly.”

“So that’s not a reason. Try again.”

I stare down into the eyes I’ve lost myself in more times than I care to admit, but I don’t have any excuses except for the truth. The words are on the tip of my tongue but are quickly interrupted by an alarm going off on one of the monitors. The sound drags both of our attention toward the wall of screens, and I immediately pinpoint the issue. There’s a fight in the crowd, and I need to get out there and defuse the situation before it can escalate any further.

I turn back to Clara and grip her chin between my fingers so she’s forced to look me in the eye. “You are to stay in this room. If I return and you’re not sitting in that chair, you will not like the consequences. Do we understand each other?”

Defiance flares to life in her eyes, but she nods despite it. Perhaps her self-preservation is stronger than her need to fight me at every turn.

I hesitate for another beat before turning on my heel and taking long strides toward the door. “Lock this door behind me. I don’t want you to unlock it for anyone but me.” But I don’t wait for her response before slipping out into the hallway and sprinting toward the fight.

Maybe I’ll get my share of blood tonight after all. The possibility has my heart beating harder in my chest. It’s been too long since my hands have been coated with thick crimson, and it’s time to satisfy the beast.