AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“My aunt.” She double-checked to be sure the call was dead and put the phone down. “She said the delivery time and place are changing. She’ll let me know what it is the day before.”
He frowned. “Did she say why?”
“Something about staffing, she wasn’t sure. It was a lie, though,” Ariella said. “I’m getting better at hearing them now. Her lies.”
Bastian folded his arms over his chest. “What else is bothering you?” He gave off an authoritative air when he stood like that, and she had no doubts he did it on purpose.
“Nothing.” She picked up the guitar. “Thanks for bringing this in for me.” She walked it back to the piano, laying it on the bench.
His eyebrow peaked. “Try that answer again.”
“It’s nothing. I’m fine.” She grabbed her phone from the couch, tucking it in her back pocket.
Bastian walked to the living room entrance and pulled the two sliding doors together, closing them inside. His long fingers grasped the lock and twisted it. The metal bolt sliding against the chamber sent a clear message- they were utterly alone. When he turned around to face her, he stared at her intently. Another message- he was in control of the room.
“Do you honestly think after seven years, you can look me right in the face and lie?”
Ariella’s throat dried beneath the underlying warning in his expression. Lying was definitely against the rules.
“Maybe you need a reminder about how I feel about dishonesty?” He ran his hand over the thick belt of his trousers, coming to rest on the buckle.
She flicked her gaze away from his hand, there was nothing but trouble there, and her ass was still tender from the day before.
“I remember fine.” She wished she had something to do, somewhere to go, so she wasn’t just standing there beneath his stare like a foolish girl.
He lowered his chin, looking up through hooded lids with a deeper twisted smile. “You sure? Because I don’t mind. I’ll teach you over and over again until you learn the lesson.” The outline of his thick cock appeared near the zipper of his slacks.
In two strides, his toes pressed against the tips of her slippers. He slid his hands beneath her hair, cupping her head, and pulled her to him.
“What were you thinking about? What has you worried?” he asked, his voice heavy.
She stared at his lips, at the dark stubble of his beard running along his jaw. This man was more than just a soldier for her father; this man was her protector. He was her keeper, and as of the night before, she belonged to him.
“I was thinking about last night. About what the three of us did.” She stuck to the truth. He’d see through anything else. “And how I need to focus on my new life. I need to figure out a place to stay, get a job, you know, all the things I came to Kassel to do.”
“Why would you need to do any of those things right now?” He asked, concern pulling his brows down. “We have time to sort all of that out.”
“But you’ll have to go back. My father would see it as a betrayal for you to stay here, and when he finds out I’ve been with you…” They both knew what her father was capable of when he felt wronged. Having one of his soldiers touch his youngest daughter fell completely under that category.
His eyes searched hers.
“What did we tell you last night? Who do you belong to now?” His voice dipped; his arousal headier than before.
She took a slow breath. “I know what you said, but-”
“No. Ariella. That’s the beginning and the end. You belong to us, with us, until you decide otherwise, not your father or your aunt or anyone else.” His pupils dilated as he spoke. “As for your singing, that’s what I came to tell you. One of Garrick’s singers tonight canceled on him. There’s a spot open, and we want you to take it.”
“What? Tonight?”
“Eight o’clock.” He nodded. “The rest will wait until later; we’ll figure it out. But you have to trust me. Trust Garrick. Can you do that?”
She stared into his eyes, into the depths of his sincerity. She’d known this man for seven years, and never had he let her down or anyone around her. Even in the times he was being the biggest, bossiest bastard, he did it to keep her safe. And Garrick had a fierce dominant personality; he wouldn’t allow anything to hurt her. She didn’t need to know him for years to feel that; she sensed it the first time he kissed her.
She could trust them.
For now.
“Yes, I can do that,” she answered softly.
