He held the case and didn’t know what to say. He should have gone about this a different way, but he hadn’t. “You’re mine now, Ellie. Come on. You’re no longer living here.”
“Why not?”
“It’s no longer safe. My boss knows who you are, which means other people know who you are.” He grabbed her arm and lifted her to her feet, ready to take her home.
She pulled out of his hold and growled. “I don’t want to come with you. I can leave. I’ve done it before. It’s easy to be no one.”
He ran a hand down his face. “If you don’t come quietly, I will force you, Ellie. Don’t make me do that. You won’t like it.”
“I don’t like any of this already and you’re still here, forcing me. What do you want me to do?” she asked.
“I don’t want you to do anything. I want you to come with me so I can keep you safe.”
“If you’d left me alone, I would have been safe.”
“Well, I didn’t. I fucked up and now, you’re coming with me.” This time, he didn’t let her go. He dragged her out of her apartment. As they went, she tried to pull away. He was as careful as he could be with her, which was next to impossible because she kept on fighting. There would be bruises where he held her.
Dumping her ass in the car, he left her all alone, locked inside, to go to her landlord. From there, he paid the man to get her stuff packed up and sent to a secure location. She could decide what she wanted to keep at a later date.
Rather than drive her back to the mansion, because he wouldn’t risk her disrespecting his boss, he took her back to his real apartment. The one he’d barely been to since they’d gotten together.
She buckled herself in as he took off and headed in that direction. Their apartment was safe, but his had a lot more weapons and security.
Ellie didn’t talk to him. Her arms were folded and her gaze outside.
Seeing her angry made him smile. He’d never known her little temper to spike so much. Sure, he’d done stuff to piss her off, but seeing this fiery passion within her turned him on.
He wanted her, no doubt about it.
Running fingers through his hair, he thought back to the mansion. When she’d leaned over him, he’d known it was her before he looked at her. The scent and feel of her. There was no doubting his body’s reactions.
She was everything. Now, he had to keep her and find a way for her to stick around in his world.
He didn’t want a complicated life, but it had just gotten a whole lot more so because he wasn’t willing to give this woman up. Not for anyone. Not for his boss.
Antonio was used to getting what he wanted, but he wouldn’t have ever thought of himself as a selfish man. Far from it. In fact, he considered himself a generous person, open and willing.
With Ellie, he was going to be selfish because she belonged to him, and he had no intention of giving her up. She was his.
Chapter Eight
Hatred was such a strong word.
Ellie didn’t believe she could ever hate anyone so much in her life. Glancing at Antonio, she wasn’t even sure herself if she hated him. It was such a powerful emotion, a scary one.
Gritting her teeth, she stared straight ahead, wanting, no, needing, some kind of clarity. She took a deep breath and tried not to think too hard. It was impossible. How could she not think when he had sprung all of these lies on her?
No, he hadn’t done it. Her work and his friend had. Antonio would have continued to lie to her. This life, the one she thought she was building with him, had been based on lies.
He still held her suitcase.
He grabbed her arm the moment the elevator doors opened and went straight down a long corridor. She watched as he slid a key into the lock and used his thumb to access what she assumed was his apartment.
“So is this your secret hideout?” she asked.
He closed the door. She heard a code being pressed inside.
Her case was dropped to the ground. She whirled around to glare at him but he captured her face, pulled her close, and slammed his lips down on hers. She melted against him. The instant heat drew her to him, making it impossible to ignore him.
With her hands folded between them, she wanted to push him away, to make him suffer, but he pressed her up against the wall and had her arms above her head.
“I know you hate me right now, and I get it, I do. I even accept it, but I don’t care. I did what I had to do to make sure you survive.”