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He was letting me pick out my own clothes—something even my father had never let me do.
I was his prisoner, but he had also protected me from the predatory guard. The room he had given me was in his home, and he ensured I was comfortable. Maybe he always housed his prisoners in such opulence.
That thought made no sense. Of course he didn’t let prisoners into his home regularly. I had been in his prison cells.
Had I been so sheltered that even an iota of kindness from a kidnapper was enough to practically throw myself at a male that should terrify me?
Closing the laptop, I gently set it beside me and folded my hands in my lap, waiting. My tuned rabbit ears listened beyond the walls for sounds outside, but if Ash was out there talking to anyone, I couldn’t hear it.
I couldn’t let this go, though. He wanted to kiss me, too. It wasn’t one-sided. Why did he get so mad about it?
It was probably a dumb question in hindsight. I was his hostage, and I shouldn’t have tried to kiss him in the first place, but the energy between us was undeniable. A force had pushed us together, and he was having no issue ignoring it.
I was having a much harder time with things.
I pondered this for a long while until a gangly woman with a hard, lined face appeared before me, causing me to jump. I hadn’t sensed her arrival until she was upon me.
“Ash requests your presence at the main house for breakfast,” she intoned.
I gawked at her, realizing she was one of the guards.
“Really?” I asked hopefully. Maybe he wasn’t as upset as he’d seemed when he’d stormed off. I jumped up and nodded eagerly. “Yes, I’ll join him for breakfast.”
The guard said nothing as she pivoted on her heel and strode out of his office, expecting me to follow. I couldn’t help but wonder if she noticed my excitement. I wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding it.
I almost ran to keep up with her long legs, huffing by the time we entered the courtyard. Her one step equaled two of mine, but I didn’t complain, even though I was in a mild sweat by the time we got back to the estate.
“You’ll see yourself to the dining room.”
She didn’t give me a second to argue that I had no idea where anything was in the huge house before she was gone, leaving me in the entranceway again, looking around desperately for someone to ask for directions.
“Hello?” I called out, hoping my voice would find one of those house staff members that Ash had promised me the night before.
Almost instantly, a liveried housekeeper appeared in front of me, eyes huge with surprise. “How did you get in here?” she demanded. “The Master will not like this—”
“I’m Briar,” I interjected quickly. “I’m staying here.”
She clamped her mouth closed instantly and looked me over. “Oh.”
“I think he’s waiting for me in the dining room,” I continued. “But I don’t know where that is.”
“This way, Madam.”
She gestured for me to follow her through the main floor. This woman was much easier to walk with, her height more akin to mine, and in two minutes, I stood at the threshold of a dining room where Ash was seated. The chamber was so big, he seemed like a dot in the distance, his head a dark orb floating against the back of the chair.
“Excuse the intrusion, sir. This woman said she was looking for you?”
“Thank you. You’re dismissed.”
Ash didn’t look up from his plate. His hand curled around a fork as he continued to eat his breakfast, and I tentatively stepped inside the room.
“Sit down,” he ordered me gruffly.
Ambling toward him, I looked over the twenty-four place settings, unsure of which seat to take.
“Anywhere,” he instructed, grunting. “The food tastes the same no matter where you sit.”
Blushing, I grabbed the first chair in front of me, sliding into the seat, and less than a minute later, a plate was served in front of me by a silent butler.
