Daisy didn't speak to Xander the next morning.
Not as she dressed in silence.
Not as she walked past him to the car.
Not even when they entered the elevator together, the air between them thick with tension.
He had seen her with the folder.
She had seen him watching.
And neither of them had said a word.
But the silence? It wasn't safe. It was dangerous.
Because underneath it all, Daisy was unraveling.
And Xander… he was burning.
The office day passed in a blur.
Daisy sat at her desk, stiff and detached, her fingers barely functioning on the keyboard. She didn't respond when Xander gave instructions. She didn't flinch when he looked at her.
Until finally…
He snapped.
"Inside. Now."
She followed him into his private office. The door slammed behind them.
"Do you have something you want to say, Daisy?" he asked coldly, standing behind his desk.
She looked up at him, eyes stinging.
"I saw it, Xander. The file. The records. You froze my father's accounts. You orchestrated everything."
A beat passed.
And then his voice dropped.
"I did it to protect you."
She blinked. "Protect me?"
"Your father owed money to men who would have hurt you. I paid them off, but I needed leverage. I needed a reason to pull you into my world before they could drag you into theirs."
"You used me."
"I saved you."
Her voice shook. "No. You manipulated me. You put me in chains and called it safety."
Xander's jaw clenched, his eyes a mix of fury and pain.
"I never wanted to fall for you, Daisy."
The admission stunned her.
He continued, stepping closer.
"I wanted to control you. I wanted your obedience, your submission, your body. But somewhere along the line I wanted more."
Silence.
Then, voice trembling:
"Then why does it feel like you never gave me a choice?"
Xander took one step forward.
"I didn't give myself a choice, Daisy."
Before she could speak again, he reached for her not forcefully, but with a quiet desperation.
And she let him.
Their lips collided fierce, messy, raw.
His hands cupped her face like he was afraid she'd disappear. Her fingers gripped his suit jacket like it was the only thing anchoring her to this moment.
"I hate that I want you," she whispered, breaking the kiss.
"Then show me," he growled. "Hate me in the way only you can."
In the Office Bathroom
He didn't wait. He led her to the en-suite bathroom sleek, private, made of glass and stone.
The moment the door shut, he turned her around and lifted her onto the counter.
"I've imagined you in here," he confessed, his voice like gravel. "On this counter in front of this mirror. Eyes locked with mine while I ruin you."
Daisy gasped as he tugged her skirt up, hands already exploring, mouth trailing fire down her neck.
"Xander…"
He turned her to face the mirror.
"Look at yourself," he whispered. "Look at how much you want this."
Her reflection didn't lie.
Her cheeks were flushed. Her lips parted. Her body trembling in anticipation.
Xander reached around her waist, sliding her panties down with excruciating slowness. His other hand gripped her breast, teasing her nipple until she moaned.
Then he bent her over the marble sink.
"Spread your legs, pet."
She obeyed, heart pounding, the thrill of being taken in a space so forbidden only feeding her lust.
He pressed into her hot, hard, slow.
Their moans tangled.
His hand slipped around to stroke her as he moved, his thrusts controlled and devastating.
"I want you to come," he murmured against her ear. "Then I'll come. Then I'll take you again."
And he did.
From behind.
Then on the counter.
Then seated, with her straddling him.
All while the office bustled unknowingly just outside the doors.
Afterward, they didn't speak for a long time.
Daisy lay against his chest, spent, breathless, yet still unsure if any of it meant safety or surrender.
That night, Daisy sat alone on the edge of her bed, the documents from her father's file spread before her.
The facts were clear.
Xander had manipulated the situation.
But had he done it out of obsession or out of love?
She wasn't sure which scared her more.
Later that night, her phone buzzed again.
"I warned you, Daisy. He's more dangerous than you think. He's not just your master he was your father's enemy.
Meet me tomorrow at the old rail station. 8 p.m.
Come alone. Or don't come at all.
Her hands trembled.
And then came another message. This time from Xander.
"Do not go anywhere without telling me especially tomorrow night."
She stared at both messages, her heart thudding.
Two men.
Two truths.
One decision.
And everything was about to fall apart.