After her bath, Halle slipped into the clothes she had worn the previous day. She then stepped out of her room where she found Zade on the phone, his back to her. The crisp white of his shirt cut sharply against the broad lines of his shoulders, his black trousers fitted to a tall, lean frame. She caught herself staring, an unwilling admiration flickering in her chest before she quickly smothered it.
After a few minutes, he hung up and turn towards her with a quiet authority that filled the room.
Halle was already sitting in the living area, legs crossed as she scrolled through her phone with more focus than she usually had.
When he settled into the chair across from her, she put the phone down deliberately.
"I'm all ears for your conditions, baby," he said, and she hated that the word "baby" left a warm sting in her chest. That was definitely going on the list — no more nicknames. But she'd start with something more practical.
"First off, I want my own room." She said without hesitation,. "And full freedom to do whatever I want without needing your permission."
His lips twitched in something that wasn't quite a smile. "Noted. Go on."
"I want to keep my job if I choose to. I want my own schedule. If I want to travel, I travel. If I want to stay out all night with friends, I stay out."
He didn't flinch, but his gaze sharpened — the kind of look that told her he was already deciding which of these he'd break first.
"And since you're my husband," she added with a cool smile, "you'll be providing me with everything and anything I want. Clothes, jewelry, trips… whatever I say, you deliver."
His eyes locked on hers, the weight of his stare making her chest tighten. "Anything?"
"Anything," she repeated, sweetly.
"Interesting," he murmured. "And this generosity of mine—what do I get in return?"
"You get a wife who behaves in public," she replied smoothly. "Trust me, I didn't want any of this, and if you make things unpleasant for me, I can be… dramatic. Very dramatic. And I want all of this drafted into a legal agreement. Something we both have to stick to."
The corner of his mouth lifted in a slow, assessing smile. "I hear you, baby."
For a long moment, silence stretched between them. Zade leaned back, resting one arm lazily over the back of the couch, eyes locked on hers like he was peeling away every layer of her resolve.
She broke eye contact first, glancing away to collect herself. He stood then, straightening his cuffs.
"I have business to take care of," he said. "It'll take a while before I get back. I'll have someone bring you breakfast."
"That won't be necessary," she replied, standing as well. "I will be visiting a friend."
He glanced at her, and she could tell from the flicker in his eyes that he didn't like the idea. But all he said was, "Alright, I'll drop you off."
Normally she would have argued, but she'd noticed the previous night that this neighborhood was practically carved out for the rich. Finding a cab here would be a nightmare.
When they stepped outside, the cool morning breeze wrapped around her. Zade moved ahead of her, and she waited deliberately for him to open the car door for her. There was something almost intoxicating about watching a man like him — handsome, wealthy, and utterly in control — doing something so small for her.
She slid into the leather seat, glancing up at him with a faint smile. She would definitely make him question whether it was a good decision to choose her.
During the drive to Jessy's place, Halle had decided to keep her lips pressed together. It wasn't that she didn't have things to say—she had tried, once—but his reply had been so suggestive it had turned her cheeks a furious shade of red. After that, she decided silence was safer.
They drove in quiet until Zade finally eased the car through the gates and into the parking area of Jessy's apartment building. Just like the last time, Halle waited for him to come around and open the door for her. He did, and she stepped out gracefully, murmuring a polite, "Thank you," before turning toward the elevator.
She had barely taken two steps when she felt a firm tug on her wrist, pulling her back into his chest.
"How about I see a little 'good wife' behavior, hmm? We're out after all."
His voice was low, teasing, carrying that confident weight that made her pulse skip despite herself.
He leaned down, his breath brushing against her ear as he inhaled her scent, his closeness wrapping around her like an invisible tether. For a split second, she stilled in his arms, her body caught between wanting to push him away and… something else entirely.
When she finally tried to step back, his hold only loosened enough to give her space without actually letting her go.
"We're on private property," she countered with a small, knowing smile, trying to mask the way her heart thudded in her chest.
He leaned in again, his lips grazing the side of her neck in a fleeting, maddening touch. Her breath hitched at the contact—she'd be lying to herself if she said her body hadn't reacted.
"One of these days, you're going to fall for me, baby," he murmured, his gaze locking on hers as he slowly drew back. "And when you do… I will make you beg for it."
Halle's stomach tightened, her chest warm with a cocktail of irritation and something dangerously close to longing. She didn't know what kind of spell he had over her, but she knew one thing—she couldn't let him see it.
"That day will never come," she said firmly, though the way her voice softened at the end betrayed her.
He let her go, but his eyes followed her every step as she walked away toward the elevator.
She really didn't know what she did to him. How a single glance from her could stir something so primal inside him, how her stubborn defiance only seemed to make him want her more. Every time she pushed him away, it only pulled him deeper into this maddening need to have her—to claim her in every way he could.
He wanted her with a hunger that went beyond desire, a craving that clawed at him every time she was near. His wolf urged him to take her right there, to mark her as his. But he ignored that instinct—barely. It was a dangerous game he played with his own control, holding himself back when every cell in his body screamed to close the distance between them and never let her go.