Chapter 6 Smoke and Shadows.

Riley's POV

The wind hit harder than I expected the moment I stepped out of the hotel.

It wasn't cold, just sharp. Like the air itself was punishing me for thinking I could walk away from last night without consequence.

My robe was cinched tightly, but I still felt exposed. Not from the chill, but from what I'd left behind.

Michael Gray.

The man who made my skin burn and my pride bleed. Who offered me a blank check like I was something to be owned.

My heels clicked against the pavement as I walked, fast, without knowing where I was going. I didn't care. I just needed to keep moving before the guilt, or worse, the desire, caught up to me.

I didn't even realize I was crying until a tear slipped past my cheek.

Not from weakness, but from the rage and shame he awakened in me.

I wasn't the kind of girl who woke up in strange beds with strange men, finding blank checks beside my lingerie.

Except I was.

Just this once.

My phone buzzed in my purse, but I ignored it.

The second time, I pulled it out and checked. It was Aria, so I picked up.

"Where are you? Are you okay? you didn't come home last night."

"I searched for you everywhere in the club, and I called your line several times, but you didn't pick up. Please tell me you didn't wake up next to anyone."

Too late.

My silence said everything I couldn't.

How do you admit to your best friend that your dignity came at the cost of your silence? That you had said no with your mouth, but your body had begged for something else?

"Aria, I'm fine, but I can't talk right now."

I ended the call and shoved the phone away.

Then another buzz came, but this time it wasn't from Aria.

It was from an unknown number.

"You made your move. Now I'll make mine."

I stopped walking.

For a moment the street seemed to spin. Not because I was dizzy, but because instinct kicked in.

Even without a signature, I already knew who it was.

Michael Gray doesn't need to write his name. His words left a mark all on their own.

I slipped into a corner café just to get off the street. I ordered a coffee, not because I wanted it, but because I needed to hold something warm and real.

My hands kept shaking. It wasn't fear, but anticipation. Because men like Michael don't bother with threats.

****

Michael's POV

The footage came through at midnight.

Riley, storming down the street, robe whipping behind her like a cape. Her chin tilted upward, eyes red, breath fogging in the air. She looked magnificent, furious, rattled, and somehow glorious.

I watched it twice.

Once as a man, then again as the predator she made me become.

She tore my check and left without looking back.

But I saw the flicker in her eyes when she read the note, and it left me puzzled.

I leaned back in my chair and clicked over to the signed contract draft. Damon had outdone himself. He clearly stated each clause, consequence, and golden thread that would bind her to me without ever tying a single rope.

Naturally, she would resist. But resistance always made surrender sweeter.

I looked out at the skyline. The city didn't know what was coming, neither did she.

But soon she would, because I wasn't done with Riley Jordan yet. Not even close.

****

Riley's POV

Later in the day, I walked into my apartment and closed the door behind me.

I dropped my purse on the floor, and curled up on the couch like it was the only thing that would still have me.

My coffee had gone cold. My stomach had nothing in it. And my mind... it wouldn't stop replaying him.

The way he touched me.

The way he spoke to me like I was already his.

The way I wanted it, even when I shouldn't have.

The lock clicked.

Aria burst in, red lipstick slightly smudged, her heels already in her hands.

"Riley," she said, her voice breathless. "Where the hell have you been?"

I didn't look up. "Out."

"That's not an answer," she snapped.

I said nothing.

She walked over, crouched in front of me. Her eyes searched mine.

"Why are you sitting here like someone just crushed your soul."

I remained silent, the words lodged in my throat.

Then Her voice softened.

"Talk to me."

"My throat tightened as I looked at her, my best friend. The one who had always been my safe space, my witness."

"I made a mistake," I whispered.

Aria's eyes narrowed. "What kind of mistake?"

I swallowed hard.

"I slept with someone."

She blinked. "Okay... not a crime."

"In a hotel suite."

Her brows rose. "Okay..."

"With a man I met at the club last night."

"Okay, now I'm panicking."

I exhaled slowly. "It was Michael. The same Michael who owns Gray Enterprises.

Aria went still.

Then stood.

"Michael Gray? Are you insane? That man is..."

"I know what he is," I interrupted, voice sharp.

She stared at me. "Did he hurt you?"

"No."

"Did you want to?"

I hesitated. Then nodded once.

"That's not the part that scares me," I said quietly. "It's what came after."

Aria folded her arms. "Tell me."

I met her eyes.

"He left a check on the table. Blank. And a note asking me to be his girlfriend... for public appearances with no strings."

Aria's jaw dropped.

I kept going.

"He called it an arrangement. Said I could name my price."

She sat back down, stunned.

"And you...?"

"I tore it up. Told him to go to hell."

"Aria didn't smile or even raise her voice."

She just leaned forward, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Then why do you look like he still has a piece of you?"

I blinked fast, biting the inside of my cheek.

Because he did.

And I hated that I wanted it back.