Page 36 of Cursed Encounter
“I don’t need a bodyguard,” she goes on, and I growl. I don’t trust her, so no way in hell am I letting her out to run around alone. She knows too fucking much. “I have to figure out some things, and I can’t do that with your men breathing down my neck. Do you understand me?”
“I would watch my tone if I were you,” I warn, threat sharp as I stare into her eyes. “Not many talk to me like that and live to see the light of a new day.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” she says boldly. I guess she’s smart enough to realize I can’t kill her without dooming myself. Fuck, she’s got me there. “Fine, don’t trust me, but realize if I tell anyone anything, and I mean anything that I know, it will hurt me too. We can’t figure this out if you’re in jail.”
Well, she has me again.
“Fine,” I grit out through clenched teeth.
Her lips part as if she’s ready for round two of this argument. Realizing that’s not the case, she simply blinks up at me.
“Thank you,” she says after a long moment. She reluctantly steps back, her hand slowly sliding away from my skin. Her throat bobs with a swallow as she nods at me once. Then she turns and walks back out the way she came. “And thank you for all the things today.”
She’s out of sight before I can respond, not that I have the first clue what to say. I don’t want her thanking me. I don’t fucking want her thinking she’s got a special part of me. That she can get away with things other people can’t because she somehow means more to me.
She doesn’t.
I can’t let her mean more.
Torrin is chuckling under his breath. I turn to glower at him. He’s on the couch in the middle of the room, staring at me like this is all a fucking show. His arm is lazily draped along the back.
“Have her for dinner,” he says like we’re in the middle of some casual conversation. “And be nice while you eat.”
I snort and turn to pour another two fingers.
I leave the glass on the polished surface this time, absently spinning it with my finger and thumb.
What the hell just happened?
FOURTEEN
Astra
I’ve beensummonedfor dinner.
I want to throw up in my mouth.
Torrin may have been the one to extend the so-called invite, but this is Donovan’s doing, I know it. The whole calling me down like I’m a thing. An object he owns. It makes my blood boil. It’s the exact same feeling I had every time my father called me for a meal. It’s like I don’t have a say in my life, and I have no choice but to oblige them.
Even as I think this, I’m curious to know more about Donovan Falco. Who am I kidding? I want to knowallthe things about him. I suppose this might be the start of getting closer to him, if there’s even a chance of that happening. If I don’t try, then I’ve already failed.
So, I brush my hair and even put on a little of the new tinted lip gloss I got. I smooth a hand over my new clothes to ensure they aren’t wrinkled and check to make sure I put deodorant on.
I take the stairs one at a time, with no rush in my steps. If I’m going to bend to his will, I’m going to protest in my own way.
I shake my head at the thought because it’s not like he would even know.
Torrin is standing at the bottom of the stairs. All the nerves fly out of my belly as my eyes land on his smirking expression.There’s something about him that sets me at ease. But make no mistake, I know he’s just as deadly as Donovan.
“You look like you’re walking to your execution,” he says, humor dripping from his tone.
“It’s just as stressful,” I toss back with a small laugh.
“I’d like to tell you that really he’s a kitten under that gruff exterior, but—”
“I’m not that gullible,” I cut in with a playful smile.
“Yeah.” He purses his lips for a second. “Well, look at it this way… he can’t kill you.”
