She nods and solemnly looks away. “Come here, sweetheart,” I gently instruct, opening my arms to her. She scoots to the edge of the bed and snuggles into me. Note to self: continue adding sleep medicine to her Blyss. I don’t want her having to deal with nightmares.
“Why are you all dressed up?” she asks, just now realizing that I’m wearing dress clothes.
“I’ve got a little bit of business to take care of today.” With this news, the look on her face is one of worry, not one who belongs to someone scheming for escape. “I want you to make yourself at home, Julianna. What’s mine is yours. I promise I won’t be gone but for half the day.”
“What if I need you? What if something happens? How am I supposed to get in touch with you?”
I take pause, regarding her sudden separation anxiety, trying to figure out if it’s real or not. “You’re perfectly safe here; in fact, you’re so safe I don’t need to post but one guard at the gate.” I throw that little tidbit out there on purpose, blatantly lying just so I can plant that seed in her head, but she only looks more worried with the news.
“Sweetheart, I’m king of the mountain out here. Number one, nobody is going to find us, and number two, nobody would be foolish enough to challenge me, even if they knew where we were.
My eyes drift down to her hands; their movements having caught my attention. She’s wringing them nervously, and I can plainly see she’s not faking it. I cradle her cheeks, giving her a chaste kiss on the lips.
“If it will make you feel better, I will write down the number to my cellphone, okay?”
She nods emphatically. “Okay.”
I regard her for a moment, arching my brow before I turn toward the nightstand and rummage through the drawer to find a notepad and pen.
I write my number down and hand it to her, and she takes it with a pout on her face. “It’s only half the day, sweetheart. C’mere, let me give you a kiss to get you through.” She leans into me, wrapping her arms around my neck, pleading with her angel eyes for me to stay. The look almost makes me cave. I bend down and capture her lips in a sweet kiss, but she’s not having it. Her tongue traces the seam of my lips…and oh, fuck, I’m in heaven. I slip my tongue into her mouth and groan, ‘cause damn if I don’t want to fuck her right now. My dick is already on-board with that idea.
I pull away before our heated kiss gets out of control, and rest my forehead against hers. “As much as I want to stay and have you blackmail me with your hot kisses right now, I can’t,” I rasp. “The cook has come and gone already. She even made you a huge breakfast so you’d have lots to choose from. The food is in the oven warming drawer waiting for you.”
“Nick, please. Don’t leave me right now,” she pleads, grasping onto my shoulders.
“Baby, look. By the time you shower, eat, and explore around the house, I’ll be back. I promise you I won’t be gone for long, okay?”
I can see her warring within herself as she thinks it over. “Okay,” she says reluctantly.
“Good girl.” With one last kiss on her lips, I turn to the nightstand to retrieve a bottle of water and give Julianna her morning medication.
I haven’t gone anywhere. I had planned on observing her for a few hours today from my computer room upstairs so I could watch her every move and see what she’d do when I gave her a moment’s freedom. One of the good things about being near the mountains is there’s no way anyone is ever going to find us. Lance Oakley doesn’t even know of this place.
My heart falters when she takes her first step outside past the threshold of the house by herself, and into what she thinks is freedom. She tips her head back, bathing her face against the morning sun-rays as her fingers thread through her long hair. My God, the woman has a natural beauty and she doesn’t even recognize it. I watch as she scopes the edges of the property line, which is full of trees. The blood rushing through my veins comes to a screeching halt, stopping the beat of my heart as I wait with baited breath for her next move. I’m not a fool; I have a few men on the perimeter of the property, just in case she decides to bolt.
I slump back in the chair when I see her casually meandering her way to the edge of the pool. She balances on one leg while dipping her toes in the water, testing the temperature.