Chapter 276
Chapter 276:
June studied the bags on the rack, her dark eyes narrowing slightly. It was difficult to believe any hotel offered this level of service at five in the morning.
Then she saw the logos on the thick paper bags.
Loro Piana. La Perla.
Her exact preferred brands — the quiet, understated luxury she had always gravitated toward. The sheer convenience of the situation overrode her instinct to question it. She had absolutely nothing else to wear.
𝗣𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻
“Thank you,” she said, her voice flat. “Leave them inside the door p>
She pulled the bags into the room and let the door click shut.
Out in the hallway, the manager pressed a handkerchief to the back of his neck and reached for his radio to confirm the delivery.
June opened the first bag and drew out the La Perla black lace lingerie. The delicate fabric slid through her fingers like water. She checked the small silk tag.
Her exact measurement. Down to the millimeter.
A strange, uncomfortable heat rose to her cheeks. It felt shockingly intimate — as though an invisible pair of hands had quietly mapped every detail of her body. She pushed the feeling down and attributed it to hotel data analytics.
She dropped her bathrobe and stepped into the lingerie. The fit was terrifyingly perfect. She pulled the charcoal Loro Piana cashmere dress over her head and turned to the mirror. The woman looking back appeared elegant and entirely untouchable. The expensive fabric concealed everything — the torn blouse, the chill of the rain, the bruise forming on her cheek. But only June knew the truth: beneath that soft, luxurious surface, her muscles were still coiled tight, unable to shed the physical trauma of the past few hours.
She took a slow breath, picked up her file folder, and unlocked the bedroom door.
In the living room, Crawford sat on the leather sofa, a portrait of calm control. Across the room, Cole paced like a caged animal, his wet jacket discarded on a chair, the violent energy rolling off him thickening the air. He had been stalking back and forth for the past half hour, phone pressed to his ear, barking orders at his security team as he tried to trace the origin of the attack. He was a predator denied his target, and the frustration was consuming him.
Crawford heard the soft click of the bedroom lock. He set his encrypted tablet face-down on the table and slowly raised his head.
June walked out into the dim light of the suite.
Crawford’s pupils dilated instantly, bleeding into two bottomless pools. The cashmere dress fell against her curves exactly as he had imagined when his fingers had moved over the fabric in the boutique. A heavy, dark wave of predatory satisfaction moved through him.
She had no idea that every inch of silk and lace touching her bare skin had been chosen by him. She was entirely wrapped in his possession, and she didn’t know it.
“I’m ready,” June said, her voice strictly professional. She addressed Crawford only, deliberately refusing to acknowledge Cole’s thunderous presence.