“Excuse me!” she snaps, her cheeks turning red with anger. “You don’t own me, Simon. You don’t get to decide that.This is my life, and I amnotyour prisoner! Or am I?” she demands.
I groan, too tired to be fighting her now. “You aren’t my prisoner. But you are under my protection, and I need you to learn to trust me to make the right choices to keep you safe.”
“Trust you,” she scoffs quietly, as though the idea of trusting me is a joke to her. She shakes her head and turns away from me in the pool. I reach out and grab her arm, pulling her back toward me, a little too close as she slips in the water and ends up pressed against my chest with her hands on my waist.
I pretend not to notice how my body spikes instantly, heated with desire, feeling her curves pressed against me.
“Simon!” she blurts out, surprised by my forcefulness, but her lips part as she takes in a sharp breath. Surely, she feels it too.
“You promised not to try and escape again,” I remind her with warning in my voice. Her eyes trail over my lips, then up to meet mine.
“And you promised I could return to my old life,” she counters.
“Only when it’s safe,” I say again, regretting that I pulled her so close. Our lips are inches apart, and all I can think about is kissing her.
Her dark browns eyes are flooded with emotion, and she holds my gaze.
I’m so close to leaning down and pressing my lips into hers.
But suddenly she pushes away from me.
“You can’t keep me locked up here forever,” she snaps angrily, taking another step back and creating more distance between us.
I sigh, drained from the day, and I lean back and let myself float in the water for a moment. The coolness of it covers me in relief.
When I look up again, Blair has climbed out and is wrapping a towel around her beautiful body.
I don’t know what to do with her. But I’m going to have to do something to stop her from rebelling and changing her mind about staying.
Maybe I should lock her up after all,I muse with a smirk.
***
The next morning, after a good night’s rest, I have a plan, and I’m busy putting it in motion.
This plan has nothing to do with Jaco and everything to do with keeping Blair happy and close to me. My family has extensive reach and resources in this city, and there is no reason why I shouldn’t use them to my advantage.
This is what leads me to start a whole new company, but one that I already have some experience in.
It doesn’t take me long to set up a small office on the third floor of a building I already own. Five employees running a legitimate company that sources and negotiates the purchase of very rare books, then researches and decides which to keep as an investment and which to sell to a higher bidder.
Blair wants to go back to work because she’s bored, but she doesn’t have to go back to her old job, exposed and in the open, and somewhere that makes it hard for me to protect her.
This way, she can do what she loves, work with books,andwork in the security of one of my buildings. It’s perfect.
And to my relief, Blair is thrilled about it. I don’t tell her I set up the company for her. I make it sound like it’s something I’ve been working on for a while, and now that I’m ready to launch it, she has a safe job where the men who are hunting her won’t be able to reach her.
“Sourcing rare books? That sounds more exciting than my previous job,” she says, smiling. “But are you going to be watching over me in the office every day?” she adds, scrunching her nose.
“No. I work on the upper floor in the same building, but this is a side project of mine; I don’t have time to manage it, and expect you and the team to manage it fully on your own.”
“I can do that. Definitely. Thank you for thinking of me. I appreciate this,” she says.
Early in the morning, she stands next to me in the elevator, excited to start her first day at her new job. The door chimes and slides open on the third floor. She grins and turns toward me. “I’ll see you later then?” she says, making it clear that she doesn’t want me to walk her all the way to the office door.
“I’m on the top floor if you need anything. Good luck with your first day,” I smile, making no move to leave the elevator. She doesn’t know it, but I have access to the office security cameras. I will be able to keep an eye on her from upstairs.
“Thanks,” she says with relief as she steps out of the elevator and the doors slide closed, blocking her from my view.
