Chapter 5

Dominick slowly turned around. He set the half-filled whiskey glass down on the marble bar. The heavy crystal made a sharp clink.

"If you already know, why are you asking me?" he said. His voice was completely flat, like they were discussing the weather.

His utter indifference snapped the last thread of Aubrey's sanity. "Three days! You've been in New York for three days, and I had to find out from Carter Dalton's Instagram story!"

Dominick frowned. He looked more annoyed at the breach of security than his wife's anger. "Carter is an idiot."

"Is Carter the point?" Aubrey stepped toward him, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "The point is you treat me like an absolute fool!"

"It's a multi-billion-dollar hostile takeover, Aubrey. My schedule is highly classified. Not even the board knew," he stated, using his Wall Street logic to shut her down.

"Classified? Classified enough to hide from your wife, but public enough to parade a Hollywood actress down a red carpet?" Aubrey's voice cracked. Her eyes were red.

Dominick's eyes turned to ice. "Veronica's husband has massive influence on the Senate Finance Committee, and his opinions sway SEC directions. I needed her as a smokescreen. It's just business."

"Business? What isn't business in your world? Is our marriage just a line item on your balance sheet?" Aubrey let out a desperate, hollow laugh.

Dominick walked to the bar. He opened a drawer, pulled out a limitless Centurion Black Card, and slid it across the marble toward her.

"If you feel wronged, go buy out the entire seasonal collection at Bergdorf Goodman tomorrow. Consider it my apology." He used the only language he knew.

Aubrey stared at the black card. Her stomach twisted violently. She felt like a high-priced escort being paid off. The humiliation was suffocating.

She snatched the heavy metal card off the counter and hurled it at him with all her might. The card fluttered weakly against his expensive suit jacket before falling silently onto the thick carpet. That weightless, quiet rejection somehow felt infinitely more damaging than a physical blow.

"Screw your black card! Dominick Carrillo, you make me sick!" she screamed. She spun around and marched toward the stairs.

Dominick's face went completely dark. He closed the distance in two massive strides and clamped his hand around her wrist.

He yanked her backward with terrifying force. She stumbled and crashed hard against his chest.

"Let me go!" she fought him wildly, slamming her free fist into his shoulder.

Dominick didn't let go. His other hand shot up and gripped her jaw, forcing her head up to look at him.

"Are you insane? I explained it. I apologized. What else do you want from me?" he gritted out, his jaw tight with fury.

"I want you to respect me like a human being! Not like a pet canary you keep locked up on Fifth Avenue!" A single tear finally broke free and rolled down her cheek.

The hot tear dropped right onto the back of Dominick's hand. The heat of it made his pupils dilate instantly.

He stared at her flushed, tear-stained face. The wild beast he had kept locked down for three years suddenly shattered its cage.

Without a single warning, Dominick crushed his mouth down onto hers.

It wasn't a kiss. It was a violent, punishing act of possession.

Aubrey's eyes went wide with shock. She clamped her teeth shut, refusing to let him in.

Dominick's large hand tangled in the hair at the back of her head. His other arm wrapped around her waist, lifting her off the ground and pinning her back against the wooden banister.

He forced her lips apart. The heavy taste of whiskey and raw male aggression invaded her mouth, short-circuiting her brain.

Aubrey's struggles weakened. Her body betrayed her, melting against the overwhelming heat of him.

Dominick scooped her up into his arms. He carried her down the hallway, his strides eating up the distance to his master bedroom.

He kicked the bedroom door open, walked through, and let it slam shut behind them, locking the storm outside and starting a new one inside.