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Bastian zipped up her suitcase and stood beside Garrick, both staring her down.
“You get the bag. I’ll get the girl.” Garrick was in front of her in three strides. As easily as he would pick a flower from a garden, he hoisted her out of the chair and threw her over his shoulder.
“Let’s go,” Bastian opened the door, and Garrick carried her out.
CHAPTER10
Ariella
* * *
“Bastian.”Ariella grabbed his hand to stop him from getting out of the car once he parked at what she assumed was Garrick’s home.
“What?” Bastian turned in his seat. Garrick had driven in his car and pulled past them into the garage. She only had a few moments to be alone with Bastian.
“Please. Just let me do what I came here to do. Let me go.” She softened her voice. “My father’s away. He doesn’t even know I’m not home. Give me at least this time while he’s on his trip to try. This is my only chance.”
He stared at her a long moment, but the hard edges never softened.
“Ariella, one of my jobs is to keep you safe. And particularly while he’s away. And letting you go off on your own in a strange city– that’s not going to happen.”
“If you do, if you give me while Dad’s away, I won’t tell him about what happened at the hotel.” She’d hoped to hold that card a little longer, but she knew if she went into that house, it would be a hell of a lot harder to get out.
Bastian smiled and tilted his head. “Ariella. Tell me what happened at the hotel.”
“What?”
“Say the words. Out loud, tell me what I did to you in the hotel.”
She blanked. The words were there, but they didn’t seem to want to move from her brain to her mouth.
He chuckled. “You can’t even say them to me; how are you going to tell your father?” He cupped her chin, running his thumb over her bottom lip. “Don’t worry. You won’t have to. I can tell him. I’ll tell him that you ran away, and when I caught up to you, I pulled your panties down and spanked you with my belt until tears rolled off your cheeks.” He leaned closer to her, inhaling her. “But I won’t tell him how wet your pussy got while I was doing it.” He winked and pulled away, shoving his door open. “Let’s get inside.”
She watched him walk around the front of his car to her door. Glancing in the rear-view mirror, she checked the gates they’d driven through. They were closed. Probably locked too.
Her door opened, and Bastian gestured for her to get out.
She clung to her purse as she climbed out of the car and looked up at the house in front of them. Now that she was closer to it with more lighting than when they’d driven up the long drive, she could see most of the three-story Victorian home with a porch that wrapped from the back of the house all the way around. Three towers on the top floor stood tall over them with their dark shutters and ominous dark paint.
Garrick stood on the porch, holding the door to the house open. She caught his gaze. The golden porch light hit his dark features, sending an electric jolt down her spine. She’d felt the same excitement when Bastian touched her. It hadn’t been gentle, but the result was the same. And now, just a look from Garrick gave her the same feeling.
“Mrs. Antoinette, my housekeeper, should still be up,” Garrick said once inside the house. They stood in the mudroom. Bastian put her suitcase down and reached for her coat.
“I can keep it.” She tried to shift away from Bastian’s hands.
“Take off your coat, Ariella. You’re not going anywhere tonight,” Bastian grabbed hold of the back of the collar and helped ease it off before hanging it on one of the hooks on the wall.
“Mr. Titon.” A woman in her early sixties stepped into the doorway with a bright smile. Her graying hair was wound up in a loose bun with a few loose strands dangling at her temples.
“Charlotte.” Garrick nodded toward the older woman. “This is Bastian and Ariella. They’ll be staying with us for a little while.” Garrick hung up his coat and stuffed the black leather gloves he’d worn into his pockets.
“Excellent.” She pressed her hands together. “Do you need separate rooms, or will you be together?” She asked, looking at all three of them.
“Separate,” Ariella spoke up.
“For now,” Garrick muttered.
“I’ll take Ariella up, so she can get settled.” Bastian picked up the suitcase. “Just point us in the direction.”
