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Chapter 15 – The Jealous Flame
Eleanor
The already charged atmosphere at Sterling Enterprises took on another layer of tension with the arrival of Sienna Fairchild. She swept into the executive floor like a storm dressed in silk—golden hair cascading in soft waves, a blood-red designer dress hugging her body like second skin, and heels that clicked with purpose. The scent of her perfume lingered long after she passed, a sharp floral cloud that made Eleanor's stomach twist.
She didn’t glance Eleanor’s way as she breezed past the outer office. But her arrival had sent a jolt through Eleanor’s bloodstream—a thrum of instinctive alertness, heat coiling low in her belly. Not desire. Possession. And dread.
Because she recognized the type. The kind of woman Marcus was supposed to be with. The kind of woman who belonged in his world.
Eleanor tried to keep her eyes on the screen, her fingers moving, but her mind was stuck on the night before—the elevator, his mouth almost on hers, the feel of his breath against her skin. The way her thighs had clenched from just the brush of his knuckles along her cheek. And the way her body had ached after, pulsing with heat long into the early hours, betraying everything she told herself she couldn’t want.
Now, Sienna was here. Marcus’s past. Maybe his future.
The glass door to his office opened. Sienna’s voice floated out first—silky, amused, sharp as cut glass. A few seconds later, she emerged with her arm linked around Marcus’s like a claim staked in broad daylight. Her smile was dazzling, her body language proprietary.
Marcus looked… restrained. Courteous. But there was a slight tension in his jaw, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes when they flicked toward Eleanor.
She refused to squirm under Sienna’s too-thorough inspection.
“Marcus was just telling me what a wonderful job you’re doing, Eleanor,” Sienna said, her tone soaked in saccharine sweetness. “So efficient. It’s important, especially with this merger. He’s been working such long hours, hasn’t he?”
Her grip on Marcus’s arm tightened a fraction, and Eleanor saw the message clearly: He’s mine.
Eleanor straightened her spine. “Mr. Sterling is a very demanding—but very rewarding—employer.”
Marcus’s mouth twitched. It was almost a smile, but something about it was… strained.
Sienna’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Oh, I know just how demanding he can be,” she purred, glancing up at Marcus. “We practically grew up together, didn’t we, darling?”
Before Eleanor could process what she felt, Marcus smoothly interjected. “Sienna just stopped by to… discuss a family matter.”
Sienna’s possessive smile faltered for the briefest second, but she recovered quickly. “Of course. Family is so important. Wouldn’t you agree, Eleanor?”
Eleanor met her eyes, calm and unreadable. “Absolutely.”
Marcus
He regretted letting Sienna in the moment she breezed into his office like she still belonged there. Her voice—once intoxicating—now grated like broken crystal.
She talked and talked—plans, dinners, family name-dropping—and he listened to none of it. Not really. Because from the second she walked in, his eyes had drifted past her, toward the woman behind the desk.
Eleanor.
She was pretending to type, but he saw the subtle shift in her shoulders. The way her body stilled when Sienna touched him. The flicker of heat—and pain—that crossed her face when their eyes met.
And God help him, his body responded again. The kiss that hadn’t happened lived on his skin like a brand. The memory of her soft gasp when he got too close, the way her lips parted like she wanted him to close the distance—he could still feel it in his blood. His cock ached with the memory, pulsing despite his silent, disciplined commands to focus.
When Sienna leaned in again, he stiffened.
“I could clear your weekend,” she offered, sweetly. “Just say the word.”
“No.” His voice came out too hard.
She blinked. “No?”
“I’m busy.”
“With her?”
Marcus didn’t answer. Not because he couldn’t. But because he didn’t want to lie.
Sienna’s expression shifted, momentarily wounded before it hardened. “You used to be easier to distract.”
“I used to be a lot of things.”
She gathered her pride and walked to the door, but not before stopping at Eleanor’s desk.
Sienna’s gaze skimmed her with calculated precision. “Efficient,” she said, then turned with a flourish.
Marcus watched her leave, then looked back at Eleanor.
She didn’t look up.
But he knew—something had shifted in him.
And it wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
