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He nods toward the coffee. “You’ll probably need that for what I’m about to tell you.”
Alarm sweeps through me. I push the mug onto the nightstand, swing my legs over the side of the bed, and stand up. Something terrible has happened. Something involving my family.
Oh, god, that’s what it is. Another emergency.
My security team must have gotten through to Emerson, and now he has to deliver the news. He’ll have to be the one to get me back to the city. I’m going to have to leave now. If it’s Leo—if something happened to him, and it’s because of me—
I force my thoughts to shut up for a second and face Emerson. “What’s wrong?”
My voice shakes, but it’s better than staying silent. I need more information. I can’t be shut out again. I have to know.
“You’re not getting your phone back,” he says, his voice eerily calm. And definitely determined. “Not until I’m sure you won’t run.”
Individually, the words make sense. They’re simple enough sentences. And Emerson’s tone isn’t particularly harsh. It’s matter-of-fact. In one way, this is a good thing. It means there hasn’t been a family emergency. Any emergency, really.
You’re not getting your phone back.
“You took my phone?”
“Yes.”
Not until I’m sure you won’t run.I’m pretty sure my heart is going to fall out of my chest and onto the floor and crack like a glass paperweight.
“What do you mean?” I look Emerson in the eye. I need every available piece of information about what’s happening to me right now. Emerson is the only person here. He’s the only one with any answers. “What do you mean, until you’re sure I won’t run?”
My throat closes with fear as he looks at me, his eyes calm. I see the change in them the moment before he speaks.
I see the way they glint and narrow.
I see the danger there.
Real danger. Like I felt in his body when I made that comment.
It’s here in plain sight now. Not hidden at all.
A full-body shiver rocks me back on my heels. Emerson takes note of this. He’s always taking note of everything, and now I am the only thing in view.
I’m the artwork in his private collection.
“I want to show you my art, Daphne. I think you’ll love it.”
“Why?” My lips feel numb. Mouth dry. I haven’t been this scared since I found Leo in his office. I didn’t think it was possible to feel this afraid about anything else. “Why do you think that?”
“Because you’re part of it now.” Emerson doesn’t smile, but satisfaction lights his eyes. He’s so beautiful like this. So terrifying. And his voice—this isn’t dirty talk in the heat of the moment. He’s serious. “You’re my newest acquisition.”
