AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, you have no idea.” Blindly, he buttoned up his shirt and tightened his tie. “I have the day all planned out. We’ll eat lunch. Your brother explained I would only be working the first part of the day, so Richard already knows I won’t be coming back until tomorrow. After your appointment, I’ll drop you off at home and pick you up for dinner. Seven sound okay?”
“Perfect.”
As I fixed my pants and put on my coat, I couldn’t stop from smiling. I felt lighter. So much more relaxed now that he’d made me release.
Zain led me out and only a few people looked over as we got onto the elevator. The ride down was a blur, as I stayed trapped in his gaze. There was such intensity that I was shifting to have more of him. The moment the doors opened, Brace met my gaze and I smiled, nodding my head just the slightest bit.
We turned to the right and I didn’t glance back to see if my guards were following. I had no doubt they were. When we made it to my car, Zain got in and started it, looking over. He was truly happy. The big smile he wore was nothing like I’d seen in our past. Even at our happiest moments, his face had never lit up as much as it was now.
“This is great, right? You, me, work. And here I am, taking you to lunch and a doctor’s appointment, like I should have always been doing. It really couldn’t get better than this.”
“I suppose not.” I smiled, a million things bombarding me. I might have been happy that this was the way our lives were turning out, but there was still a lot on my mind. Like Saul, for one. And then there was the whole Slade thing. How long was he going to put restraints on our relationship? It aggravated me. I felt so…out of my control. I’d had it for so long and now I didn’t. And Zain had no part in that. I loved submitting to him, but…there were things that just weren’t right.
We left the parking garage and headed onto the main street. Warm air engulfed me from the heater and I tried to let myself relax. The problems would be there until they were addressed. In the meantime, there was no use in worrying over them. My guards would be keeping an eye out for any threats and time was the only thing that was going to assure my brother. I just had to take it day by day and with Zain by my side, I knew everything would be okay.
Chapter 42
Zain
One hour? Two? How long did Lily’s appointments usually last? I’d assumed an hour, that was the standard amount, but she’d been in there for over two and at the moment, I could hardly think. There was only one thing on my mind and it took me over completely.
I scrolled through the display of rings on my phone, not really seeing anything that felt right. My slave would need the best, but not the usual style most women wore. She was special, therefore needed something just as much so. If I could get an idea of what I wanted so I could show the jeweler, I’d be better off.
A groan poured from my mouth and I glanced back at the door that sat between us. What in the world was going on in there? If I didn’t know she was perfectly safe on the fourth floor, I’d have been knocking to check on her already.
“Sometimes it takes a while.” Brace entered the lobby area, sitting down next to me. His hand came up to rub over his shaved head and I lowered the phone.
“Define a while.”
He shrugged. “Longest it’s been was a little over three hours. Lily doesn’t have a set time. When she’s finished, she’s finished.”
“Ah.” I lifted the phone, beginning to scroll again. My eyes cut back over to Brace. “You’ve been following us all day. Is that a precaution on your part, or a lack of trust on hers?”
The confused expression melted from his face into something of annoyance. “How the hell did you see us? We stayed as far out of view as possible. Any more and we would have missed everything.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I look out for Lily, regardless of what she may or may not order.”
My forehead drew in. “Did she order you to or not?”
“That’s between me and her. I like you, Zain, but one hundred perfect of my loyalty is with Lily. You have to understand that.”
“Are you going to sit outside of my house when she stays over in the future? Or when she moves in with me?” It had been made as a joke but from the look on his face, I sat up straighter. “You’re not going to still be there, are you?”
Brace sat back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “If Slade wants me, or even Lily, all she has to do is say the word and I’ll be there. I have to admit, I don’t think I’ll back off until this uncle of yours is taken care of. I don’t like Lily under that sort of danger.”
“That makes both of us, but you have to know that I’m always on the lookout. I won’t let anything happen to her again.”
“Oh, I know you won’t mean to. It doesn’t mean to say that something won’t happen that’s beyond your control.”
A sigh left my mouth and I looked back down at the phone, moving to the next page. “Lily will be safe. I’m putting all the precautions out to protect her from all angles. If you want to follow us around, that’s fine, too. It will just mean she’s safer.”
“Exactly,” he agreed. Movement from the corner of my eyes caught my attention and he leaned in closer. “Rings, huh?”
“Yep. I’m trying to find the right one and it’s proving to be harder than I thought.”
“Does Slade know you’re going to ask?”
