“Tell me. Are you?”Jackson Vale. My boss’s rival and the man I’ve thought far too much about since we were introduced last week.Of all the— “I’m not his,” I sputter indignantly. “I’m just his employee. He doesn’t own me.”And for some reason this sets off a flare of intensity and… satisfaction? in Jackson’s expression. That’s it, I officially give up trying to understand any of this.But then Jackson leans over and speaks so softly in my ear I can barely hear it above the falling rain. “If you belonged to me, Miss Cruise, you wouldn’t look so disgusted. True ownership goes both ways. I would own you, but you’d own me, too. A concept I’m sorry to say Bryce Gentry’s never understood.” My breath hitches and I pull back from the intimacy of his voice on my ear, only to get lost in the dark blue of his eyes.“Let me go,” I whisper. He does, but before he turns to go, those brooding eyes pierce me one last time. “I’ll be seeing you again soon.” And then he turns and is gone into the rain-soaked street, leaving me behind, breathless and confused.Warning: Contains triggers and dark themes which may be distressing to some readers.