Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“She needs to be told, Robert. If you want to be the one to handle it, go ahead. But I'll step in if you fuck this up. It’s for her safety above everything else.”
I nod but wait until he turns and strides back down the stairs, disappearing into the kitchen.
Evan lingers and raises his eyebrows. “Worth the wait?” he asks, cocking his head to one side.
I grin despite the threat Goldie faces and the challenge I have to deal with when I return to her. “Worth every second,” I say.
Evan nods, and his smile is so broad, I shake my head and laugh.
Back upstairs, I turn the key in the lock, and as I push open the door, Goldie scrambles to sit up. Her eyes are bleary from sleep and her hair is mussed. Her eyelids flicker in confusion, taking in the room before she stills. She must have fallen asleep and forgotten where she was. Without the restraints and pain inflicting implements, the bed in this room is comfortable. She stares at the window, which is covered by drapes, trying to decipher the time of day. It’s only been twenty minutes, but she blinks quickly, clearing deep sleep from her eyes.
“What happened? Is everything okay?” she asks, seeming relieved that it’s me entering the room and no one else.
I shake my head, conscious that my expression is grave. “It’s too late,” I say as nerves get the better of me. I haven’t had time to consider how to deliver the message, and I start in the wrong place. The responsibility weighs heavily. Maybe I should have left it to Hunter. Maybe his bluntness would have cut through the crap. Or maybe Evan could have made Goldie see the good in what I’m about to tell her. Turn the frown upside-down with his humor and cheeky smile.
“What’s too late?”
“You can’t leave.” I shove my hands deeply into my pockets and shake my head.
“What do you mean I can’t leave?”
“I mean, you can’t leave… it’s… it’s complicated.”
She throws back the comforter, getting to her feet quickly. I don’t move as she walks toward me, grabbing her purse en route. “I’m leaving.” She shoves her feet into her boots, but by the time she’s ready to go, I’ve moved to stand in the doorway. I rest my hand on the frame, leaning in, filling the space. She eyes me warily, lingering on my arm and chest. Her cheeks flush red. “You can’t leave,” I say again. “It’s not safe.”
“It doesn’t feel too safe in here right now,” she hisses. “You can’t hold me against my will. That’s false imprisonment, or kidnapping, or some other felony. I want to go home.”
“You don’t understand.”
“So make me understand,” she says, now so close to my face I can feel her breath. My nostrils flare with frustration, mostly at myself. How can I tell her our secret? How can I share something she won’t believe until she sees it with her own eyes. It’s too soon. I feel it in my bones. Best to keep it simple.
“I can’t,” I say. “It’s for your safety.”
“You’re holding me captive for my safety. Why am I in danger?”
I shake my head but hold my ground. I’m huge compared to her. Wide enough to block the doorway and strong enough that she won’t bother fighting with me to let her pass.
“You’ve got to explain this, Robert,” she says, her face darkening with anger.
“Something’s happened,” I say. “Something that changes everything.”
14
GOLDIE
What the hell?
When did my life become this confusing and terrifying thing that I seem to have absolutely no control over?
Control is a delicate thing. It’s something that I have an innate need to relinquish during sex but an innate need to hold close in all other aspects of my life.
I don’t understand it, but that’s how it is.
But now I’m not in control of anything.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, my voice becoming gravelly as my throat tightens. “But you need to explain right now… I’m freaking out.”
“It’s okay,” Robert says, laying a gentle hand on my shoulder. I can’t help my instinctive reaction to shrug it away. “You’re not in danger here, but you are out there.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your store has been damaged.”
“What?”
“Evan and Hunter drove past and saw the fire crew. That’s why they came home early. They wanted me to check that you were okay.”
“Oh my God.” I stumble backward and collapse onto the bed, dropping my purse onto the floor. My head swims. “Who would do something like that?”
“I don’t know.”
Robert comes to sit beside me, close enough that our legs touch. The same magnetic pull that existed before is still there. I want to sink into his arms, bury my face in his chest, and leave the world to fall down around me. The desire doesn’t make any sense, but it’s there all the same, as though his pheromones are narcotic.