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Then, Eoghan’s hand reached for mine as he steered one-handed, and as our fingers bridged, I stared down at the connection. One that was physical but morphing into something else.
Emotional too.
Another shaky breath escaped me as he stated, his tone cool and calm, “This has been brewing for ten years, Inessa. We kindled a fire that was already starting to burn.”
“People are going to get hurt.”
He sighed. “People always get hurt. It’s what they do.”
I bit my lip at that. At the weariness in his voice. “Don’t you ever get sick of it? Of all the death?”
“A wise woman told me something recently, and she was right—there’s no running away from this world… It will consume you until you take your final breath, Inessa. The only peace is in death, and I still have a hell of a lot I want to do with myself, and you’re younger than me, you still have plenty left to do.” He cut me a quick look. “Now probably isn’t the best time to tell you this, especially when I’ll have to increase your guards—”
The news of extra guards didn’t come as a surprise. Being watched every time I left the house was the story of my life. It was why sneaking out with Lisandra had been so much fun—fraught with terror at being caught, which I almost always had been. But it had been worth the punishment.
So, bored with talk of guards, I interrupted, “Tell me what?”
“I never intended for you to stay locked up in the penthouse, Inessa. You’re free to live your own life. The only stipulation, and this goes for both of us, is that the penthouse is our base.”
I knew immediately what he meant.
No going to NC State with Lisandra.
But…regardless, fuck. My eyes pricked with tears as I stared down at our hands.
“You mean that?” I asked softly, quietly, hoping he wouldn’t hear the pathetic emotions in my voice.
“Of course. I have no desire for you to be a doll I take down from a pedestal to play with from time to time. Quite frankly, if I was the center of your life, you’d not only be bored shitless, you’d drive me insane.”
A sharp laugh escaped me. “Thanks, I think.”
His grin was like liquid fire as he shot it my way before focusing on the streets ahead. Streets that were getting crammed with cop cars. The sirens and the sight of so many police put me back on the edge he’d just alleviated me from.
I hadn’t done anything wrong—well, not technically—we were just driving along, minding our own business, but a distaste for the cops was bred into me.
“If you want to go to college, go to college. If you want to do something like Aoife has, do that. I don’t care. I’ll give you an allowance so you don’t have to work—this isn’t about money. It’s about you not thinking you’re living in a prison, because you’re not.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, even as I totally believed it.
Confusing, huh?
It made no sense. After a lifetime of being locked away, I was suddenly being allowed out into the world without having to sneak about. But, also, this was Eoghan.
He wasn’t my father.
And he was younger. And he had faith in his team.Trustbecause they were there through loyalty. Which meant I was safe with them, and which meant he could allow me some freedom.
He’d prettied it up by saying the penthouse was both our base, but I knew my reins were still tighter than his. Yet, what he was offering was so much more than I could have ever dreamed of that I felt like I was floating.
Options.
Suddenly I had them, and it was heady stuff.
Not as good as my orgasm earlier, but definitely fucking awesome.
He fell silent, evidently aware that I needed time to process a lifetime’s conditioning. I’d thought my childhood, though restricted, would be freer than when I was married, but it was turning out to be the opposite.
I suddenly knew how captives felt when they were allowed outside for the first time, staring with stinging eyes into the sun.
