Hold On

I play to her sympathy and she rolls her eyes, but her cheeks turn a deeper shade of pink, telling me I’m easing her down the path I’ve chosen.

“You said two things. What’s the second?”

“You’ll never run from me again.” Her eyes filled with confusion. “If there’s ever anything I do that you don’t understand, anything I’ve done or said…anything, you ask me about it. You don’t run. Got it?”

Her eyes dart from me to the ground, and she shuffles a foot on the pavement, crinkling her nose in thought before she raises those sparkling green eyes and nods.

“Okay. No running.”

“Good.” I return her nod, then reach down and take her elbow in my hand. “Because, just for the record, I’ll chase your ass down, Now, you’re coming home with me.”

“What?” She scoffs. “I’m not going with you.”

I don’t stop walking us toward my car. “You accepted the job; it starts right now.” She stops and I turn to remind her. “And no running.”

“But, I have my car…”

“Don’t worry. When we get to my place, I’ll have a service come and bring it to the house.”

“This is so dumb. I’ll just drive it…”

I shake my head. I need her next to me, with me. After what I saw inside that office, the feeling I had when that fuck was touching her, there’s no way I’m letting her out of my sight. No one will ever soil what belongs to me again.

In my heart, I know it’s impossible to keep her with me every second of every day, but for the moment I am not taking any chances. Every man in this world is now suspect, and if I have to chain her to my side to keep anyone from touching her again, so be it.

“I am not an easy man to please, Emmy. You may need to get used to me having things my way and understand there is a reason behind everything I do. It is your best interests that I will have at heart. Always.”

She considers that for a moment and finally puffs out an annoyed breath but eases forward, and I take her by the hand, leading her to my Bentley and securing her in the front seat. As I lean in close, I take a deep draw of her sweet, cherry scent.

When her body tightens, I ease back. I want her. But I will wait until she’s ready. I will not force this; I will restrain myself to the best of my ability until she’s half-crazed and begging for all I plan to give her.

I only pray it doesn’t take long, because there’s only so much a mortal man can take.

AS I WALK HER THROUGH the front door, all I can think is I don’t want her ever to leave. I want to build walls around this place to keep the world out and her in.

This monstrosity of a house I’ve lived in for nearly ten years finally feels like a home, and I swear, in some faraway echo, there’s laughter, the sound of children’s voices and the scent of fresh-baked bread. It’s like coming home only to a home I never knew before now.

Now that she’s safe inside the house, I feel a weight lift.

I’m not done with that fuck Carver, but she is my priority, so I will deal with his harassing ass another time. But I vow that he will pay more dearly than with a minor beatdown. Once upon a time, I thought violence was the only way to hurt someone, but it isn’t. There are many more effective methods, and I have them all at my disposal.

Emmy walks in front of me toward the kitchen and watching her ass move in those too-tight jeans nearly gives me a stroke. On top she’s wearing the company polo. She doesn’t dress overly sexy, but from now on, if I have my way, if she’s ever out in public without me, she’ll be wearing a potato sack and those black orthopedic shoes.

Even so, she’ll be the most beautiful thing in the world to me.

“Buddha!” She exclaims as the slobbering dog lumbers around the corner into view.

The dog that hates everyone breaks into a little jog, and I swear he pulls back those droopy lips, exposing his underbite and crooked teeth in a sort of canine smile.

She’s once again on her knees with the fucking dog, only this time, it’s worse—she rolls onto her back and he climbs on top of her, lapping his tongue all over her face as she laughs and scratches him down his back in a way I pray someday she does to me while I’m on top of her.

Wingman my ass. More like cock blocking traitor.

“See?” I step around the two rolling around on the floor, making me jealous as fuck, and into the kitchen. “He needs you. I had Hank here for three years, and he could barely pet him. He bit every other person that tried. Even my mother and everyone loves my mother. Made my last housekeeper quit.”