Most of the men he’d come into contact with were all the same. They were only interested in their own affairs. He wasn’t about to tell Skye his thoughts on her boss. Arthur had been so focused on creating new software and always looking toward the future, he’d handed over all responsibilities to his nephew.
Skye was one of the best assets Sanderson had, and as far as Noah was concerned, she’d been worth every single cent he’d invested so far. He wasn’t even done yet with it.
“I can carry something.”
“You’re not going to carry a thing. Just relax.”
“It’s kind of hard to relax. You look ready to kill someone or something.”
“Yeah, right now, that someone is you.”
“Stop it. You don’t have to be like this.”
“How would you like me to be? You want me to be calm?”
“Noah, you don’t have to take care of me. I can take care of myself.”
“You’re not doing a good job of it.”
She folded her arms and looked ready to spit and curse. He liked her fighting spirit, even if she was going to lose. There was no way she was going to beat him on this. No chance at all.
The elevator doors opened up, and he stepped onto his floor. There was no other apartment here, and he liked that. His privacy meant a great deal to him, as well as lots of windows. Being locked in a windowless cell for a period of time had caused that.
His therapist had said his constant acceptance of the way he was, was one of the reasons she wasn’t worried about him being a danger. He knew his own limitations and what he wanted and why he did what he did.
Closing the door behind Skye, he flicked the light on. Again, he hated darkness. After the nights they spent talking while it was so dark, he had to always be able to have light. If there was a power outage and for whatever reason the backup generator didn’t work, he possessed no fewer than twenty flashlights. He didn’t like candles. They were a waste of time. By the time he’d lit all of the ones he needed, they first lot had blown out. He’d spent an entire weekend planning that and making sure he knew what he needed to feel safe and secure.
“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” she asked.
“I do.”
He walked across his main room, past the dining room, kitchen, library, and went straight to his bedroom. His apartment had three bedrooms, but with Skye, she was going to be sleeping next to him.
“This is your spare bedroom?” she asked, touching the sheets.
“No, this is my room.”
She jerked her hand away. “I’ll take the spare bedroom.”
“No.”
“Noah.”
“I’m not going to force you to have sex with me.” He put her case down on the floor. “You’ll be doing that willingly.”
She shook her head. “I don’t recall you being like this.”
He winked at her. “It’s a gift. I get what I want.”
“By not taking no as an answer?”
He stepped up to her. “You told me over dinner that your husband couldn’t get you aroused. You had to use lubrication.” He stroked his finger over the pulse in her neck. “You and I both know that’s not true with me. You came on my fingers. I’ve gotten you off time and time again. Now, tell me this, you and Martin weren’t compatible. You wanted something from him, didn’t you?”
“Don’t,” she said.
“You like it when I’m forceful like this. When I take what I want and I don’t ask for your permission.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “I bet you even asked Martin to force you, right? To hold you down. Not to hurt you but for you to know that he was the one in charge. That he could protect you just as much as he hurt you.”
“I don’t want pain.”