Page 56 of Fixation
“Fine.” Her need to collect information on me, her captor, is stronger than her pride.
Smart girl.
Watching her trying to manipulate me gets me off like no other.
It means she’s less scared than she was an hour ago.
She’s getting attached to me. My plan is working.
“Can you at least tell me why me?” Harper asks between bites. Beneath the covers, she tests her restraints, huffing when they won’t give. “What did I ever do to you?”
“The question implies that I intend to hurt you.” My cock jerks when she licks the soup off her lips. My muscles tense, doing the impossible by keeping me where I am. I loathe the distance between us. “I already told you, I’m here to help you.”
I bring the spoon to her mouth again.
“Why me?” Her eyes water. Whether it’s the fever, indignation, or desperation, I can’t tell. “Why”—her voice rises when I say nothing—“me?”
The lastmeis a scream. That lastmedies when I shove of the spoon into her mouth.
“Hate you,” she says around a mouthful of soup.
No part of me hates her at all.
These emotions are fucking exhausting. More exhausting than hours in surgery.
Hiding them is plain torture.
“Okay, Miss Arlington.” The half-empty bowl is placed on top of the cart. “A deal is a deal.”
My hand slides into the pocket of my pants.
“I have a family,” she tries. Harper doesn’t just say that so I’ll feel sorry for her. There’s love there. For them. A profound longing for a life she believes she might never have again. “A friend. A business to run. Someone will notice.”
“They noticed. I, well,youtold them that you were taking a few days off. Emersyn is handling the PR and logistics. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”
“You…Oh my fucking God.” Her nose twitches, reddening, like she’s about to cry. “Please. Someone—you’ll be hurting a lot of people if you kill me.”
My brows pull together as I think about what she said.
She’s basically alone here in the city.
Despite having a close-knit, loving family—a family she clearly loves back—she moved halfway across the country.
That doesn’t sit right with me.
Her connection to them, her dedication to her business, it’s real. Strong. Steady. Still, she left it all behind.
Today isn’t the first time that question has circled my mind. I’ve been tracking her for a while now, trying to figure it out.
Why the sudden move?
Why here, of all places?
She’ll give me my answers. Whether it’s today, tomorrow, or in a week, I’ll have them.
I cock my head to the side, studying her with my hospital tag in my hand. Out of her sight.
This isn’t the time for that.
