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The room laid out before me was breathtaking. But the first thing that captured my attention was a huge white and gray stacked-stone fireplace with a pale wooden mantle. Along one wall, facing the floor to ceiling windows and framed with cream-colored curtains, sat a long, comfy-looking dark leather couch. Matching chairs and glossy, polished end tables and a coffee table in the same pale-colored wood as the mantle surrounded it.
“I-I just assumed a handsome man like you would be married,” I confessed as he carried me past a huge kitchen with gleaming stainless steel appliances and dozens of white wooden cabinets above cashmere-colored quartz countertops. In the center of the room stood a matching quartz covered island, and at the far end, in front of another wall of windows, stood a white, rectangular wooden table with six matching chairs.
“Sorry, darlin’, you assumed wrong.” He smirked before he turned and began carrying me up a wide staircase.
“Where are we going?” I asked, peering up to the second floor.
“My room.”
While my hormones began throwing awe’re finally gonna get laidparty, anxiety crowded my brain.
“What for?” I didn’t bother masking my apprehension.
“Because the supplies I need to re-clean your wounds are in my bathroom. Of course, it would be better if you showered first to get off any dirt I might have missed, but I doubt you’re comfortable doing that.”
Only if you joined me.I quickly bit my tongue. No way was Blade lusting after me, like I was him.
“A shower sounds heavenly, but it sort of defeats the purpose if I have to put my dirty clothes back on.”
“You don’t. I’ll find you a pair of shorts with a drawstring, and a T-shirt, if you want.”
The idea of wearing his clothes sent a strange and baffling thrill of arousal swirling through me. I’d never felt anything like it. Then again, I’d never been stranded with a man as hot or as domineering as Blade. He was like an alpha wolf…beautiful and regal, but dangerous. Still, the longer I was with him, the more I wanted to toss all social norms aside and jump his sexy ass.
It was as if he’d awakened something primal inside me. Something I never knew existed. That, or I was suffering an adrenaline dump after my near-death experience. Either way, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t offering me his body, just some clean clothes.
“I’d like that.” Thank you.”
As he strode down a long, wide hallway, I counted three guest rooms, a large bathroom, and an office.
“As soon as we get these bandages off, I’ll start the water for you,” he said, stepping into his massive master bedroom.
Unlike the bright white decor of the other rooms, this one dripped with potent masculinity. The gleaming mahogany dressers, nightstands, and huge, four-poster bed, draped in a dark gray comforter—poised against another wall of windows, framed with dark, maroon drapes—was what I’d expected his entire house to look like.
Past the windows, in the distance, I saw a group of big, black cows grazing in a lush, green field.
Without a word, he carried me into a pristine, white bathroom, then eased me onto the wide, gray and white granite vanity. I set my purse beside me, and as Blade stepped back and began gathering supplies, I spied a big, jetted spa tub in the corner. I nearly drooled. There wasn’t a single thing I missed about New York, except the giant soaker tub in my bathroom.
As Blade started peeling off my bandages, I felt a little guilty for not mourning the loss of anything from my former life, except the bathtub. But then again, there wasn’t much else to grieve over. I certainly wasn’t going to miss working to earn my parent’s approval. I’d spent my entire life trying to be the perfect daughter…trying to live up to their expectations, but always failed. It was only when my father informed me I was going to marry Wesley Fairchild—no, the asshat never bothered to propose—that I finally decided to put my foot down. I told my father no. Though shocked, he said the decision was final.
He didn’t care I wasn’t in love with Wesley.
Didn’t care a thing about my desires or wants.
Didn’t care a thing about me at all.
The only thing he cared about was the windfall of money from the merger.
I tried to reason with him, but he wouldn’t listen. The next day, he and Ted Fairchild put out a press release. Within minutes, news of the wedding between Emma Bishop and Wesley Fairchild was trending like wildfire.
During my trek from New York to Texas, I’d religiously scoured every television station and media outlet I could think of, but couldn’t find a single word about the blushing bride skipping out on the wedding of the century. In all honesty, I hadn’t expected to. Neither my father’s nor Ted’s egos would allow the embarrassing truth to be broadcasted to the world.
In a way, it was a relief. I didn’t have to worry about my face being plastered on every television station, website, or newspaper in the country. It gave me a window of anonymity I needed before I completely changed my appearance. Still, I wasn’t stupid. I knew my parents and Wesley’s parents had put a silent bounty on my head. There were probably dozens of private investigators combing the world at this very moment trying to find me.
Thankfully, I’d prepared for that as well. Weeks before the wedding, I’d started talking, ad nauseam, about Paris. I droned on and on about wanting to visit the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and spend days relaxing in Versailles. I’d mentioned it so many times, my mother finally begged Wesley to cancel the honeymoon he’d planned in the Maldives and take me to Paris…to shut me up. He refused. Instead of wailing and demanding he bow down to her wishes, she seethed in silence. I knew then, she didn’t want to make any waves that might risk the precious merger. Money my family didn’t need was more important than anything on the planet…including their only child.
Though I had no way of knowing, I prayed I’d planted the Paris seed deep enough the families were focusing their search there and not the US.
The tornado had put an unexpected wrinkle in my plans, but I was confident I could iron it out. All I had to do was convince Blade to drive me to a quaint Richardson suburb and wave goodbye to him. Once he drove away, I’d call an Uber to take me to a local bank and cash out one of my cashier’s checks before dropping me at the nearest car rental agency. Once I had a new set of wheels, I’d find a salon to cut my hair short and dye it black. After that, I’d buy a new wardrobe and tinted contact lenses, then find a discount hotel chain, and get a room.
