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“Slade, can you leave now? Everything is okay, really.”
He shook his head. “Not until you tell me whether you’re planning on dating him. I want to know right now. Are you going on this date or can I happily toss him out of my building?”
I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath.
“Slade.” Alec took a step forward. “I understand Lily is your sister, but she is old enough to make up her own mind. You’re looking out for her, I see that, but I hope you can look past who I am and give me a chance, if that’s what she wants.”
My brother kept quiet as he continued to stare at me.
Did I want to do this? Date Alec? I’d just told Slade I didn’t have any interest until I turned thirty. Now, here I was, seriously contemplating having a life again. The appeal was there. The guilt over my Master was, too. It felt wrong to say yes. To turn my back on someone I loved and expressed as much. He’s your enemy, Lilian. He associates with people who deal in selling girls and boys for a living. That is not acceptable.
“I think I would like to go on one date with him. Just to see.”
“Shit.” Slade ran his fingers through his hair and turned to Alec. “Her guards will be there the entire time. You are not to make it past the lobby of her building and she sure as fuck isn’t going to your place. Dinner, movie, whatever. Nothing else. You understand me?”
“Slade!” My hand gripped his jacket. “That’s enough. I’m old enough to make my own decisions concerning that. Now, out,” I snapped.
“I’m serious,” he said, turning back to Alec. “You touch her, you won’t have a hand left when I get done with you. That is a threat. Feel free to take it with a grain of salt if you don’t treasure your body parts.”
“Out,” I growled, pushing him toward the door. The moment he was past the barrier, I slammed it shut.
Alec had a smile on his face when I turned back around to face him. “I’m so sorry,” I rushed out. “He’s not serious.”
“Oh, yes he is,” he said, laughing. “I know your brother and I don’t put it past him. He’s dead serious.”
I nodded, knowing what he spoke was the truth. “You still want to go on that date? I don’t blame you if you’re ready to run out of here.”
Three steps and he was before me. “I’ve been dying to ask for months. Threats of missing limbs aren’t going to keep me away now. How about tonight at seven? There’s a restaurant not a block from here called Lucien’s.”
“That’s one of my favorite places to order out from,” I cut in.
“Great. Then you’ll like the food. So, seven?”
All I could do was stare up into his light brown eyes. They weren’t anywhere near as captivating as my Master’s, but they had a certain draw to them. Slowly, I nodded. “Seven.”
“See you then.” He picked up my hand, brushing his lips across my knuckles. The tingling was automatic and I inhaled deeply, unable to stop myself at the shock of contact. Fuck, it had been too long.
“See you,” I breathed out.
As he walked away, I couldn’t stop myself from taking in his wide shoulders and slim waist. Now that was appealing. He looked like he was in good shape. His build was definitely just as attractive as his face. Why hadn’t I noticed before?
The door shut and I reached back for my desk. My legs felt like they were going to give out at any moment. Was I ready for this? Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure. Too many questions were going through my head and I couldn’t think straight. A knock had me pushing myself to stand straight.
“Come in.”
Slade strode back through, his arms coming to rest across his chest. “I’m sorry about losing my temper. I realize you’re old enough to make your own decisions and I smother you at times. You understand it’s because I love you, right? I’m just trying to keep you safe. No one will hurt you again. I won’t let them.”
“I love you, too.” I forced myself to hug him again. “Everything is going to be alright. You’ll see.”
“No, you’ll see,” he said, squeezing. “I’ll make it so.”
There was no point in saying anything else. Slade was determined and at this stage, it was pointless to continue. Instead, I stepped away and grabbed my purse. “I’m heading out early. There are some things I need to do before tonight.” I clutched the strap tighter. “I need you to back off some with Alec. You know I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need this. And I do,” I stressed. “More than you know.”
A groan filled the room as he pushed his hands into his pant pockets. “I don’t like this, Lilian. I don’t. Just…be careful around him. Don’t trust anything he says, and God forbid, if he pushes you too hard on anything you’re uncomfortable with, walk away. Your guards will take care of the rest. You owe this man nothing. You don’t.”
His words hit home and my gaze lowered. Maybe a part of me did feel that way. Even though I’d killed his family because of what they did, I still felt bad that he had to go through that pain. Regardless of whether he denied their closeness or not. And I truly hadn’t killed Jordan. Slade had, but I’d never tell a soul the truth. To the courts, it happened during my mental break, and that was the story I was sticking to.
“I won’t do anything I don’t want to do. You have my word.”
