Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Even with the danger level so high, I shouldn’t bunk with Callen. Right? It was a bad idea. Super bad. Despite our best intentions, prolonged proximity could lead us straight into trouble. Every rom-com proved this. Besides, those blips of attraction I’d experienced? They shouldn’t be encouraged. Especially since he might’ve encountered a few blips of his own. The way he’d pressed the pad of his thumb in the center of my bottom lip…And he had admitted to wishing to remain in my presence.
Something akin to warm honey flowed over me. Except…
I won’t sleep with you.
I donna recall asking.
His derision rang loud and clear in my head. Perhaps my safety was truly his only concern. Yes, he’d caressed my lip. Yes, he wanted to be with me and may have seemed moments away from kissing the breath from my lungs before his daughter interrupted us. But that didn’t mean he sought a real marriage with me.
On the other hand, he was trusting me with Mirren. Had his ice-cold hatred for Isobel–me–begun to melt?
We reached the castle far too soon. The number of guards lining the security wall had doubled once again. To Callen, Tavish was a legit threat. But which male was more dangerous to my cause? The one who kept me under constant observation or the one with the proven track record of success?
The vehicle eased to a stop in front of the home. “Gavina, your clothes will be delivered within the hour. Isobel, show our guest to her room, then meet me in ours,” Callen said, opening the door. But he didn’t emerge. He kept his attention on me, his tone polite but firm enough to leave no doubt he’d issued an order. “Say aye,” he commanded at my hesitation.
Just how long was this arrangement supposed to last? Whatever the answer, it was way too long! “Yes to the first, no to the second.” Not until I’d worked out the details in my head. “I’ve got plans, and they can’t be changed without a cancellation fee you can’t afford.” I waved the book I’d snagged from his office. Something he supported since he’d offered no castigation.
Gavina blinked at me with horror, as if I’d made some grave error from which I could never recover. But I wasn’t afraid. Not of Callen, the man who’d ordered me to move into his bedroom.
A low growl rumbled in his chest. “Isobel.”
“Elle,” I corrected, beyond exasperated. “For goodness sake, it isn’t difficult to say.”
“Elle,” he grated. “There’s something else we must discuss.”
Shock surged. He’d actually used my nickname. Of his own free will. His hatred was melting. “Fine. I won’t avoid you for long. Just an hour or two.”
Mirren glanced between us, growing visibly agitated. She felt her doll’s brow and gasped. “Oh, no!” She tugged on a lapel of her father’s jacket. “Bonnie is dyin’, Da! Dyin’!”
“She’s not dyin’, sweetheart. I promise you, she’s not. She’s tired is all. Let’s get her inside and tuck her in for a good, long rest.” As our group exited the vehicle, Callen did his best to console the girl.
“She is dyin’,” Mirren shrieked, refusing to be comforted. “I know it.”
My chest constricted. Seeing a big tough man doing everything in his power to cheer up a fragile little girl wrecked me.
He cast a desperate look at Gavina, and my chest constricted with more force.
“Miss Mirren is tired, too,” the other woman assured him over the girl’s protests. “Like Bonnie, she requires a nap.”
I disagreed. There was more going on here than simple fatigue. Since I was the source of the upset, no doubt, I kept my mouth closed.
Nodding, Callen carried his sobbing daughter and her doll into the foyer. Gavina and I followed him up the stairs. Once our foursome reached the top, Callen branched off, heading in the opposite direction, taking Mirren to the chamber next to his. The second locked room.
I cast a glance over my shoulder, an action as natural as breathing. He cast a glance back at me. Something hot arced between us. Then we turned our respective corners, and I lost sight of him.
Good. That was good. I needed to breathe and to think, and he and his smolder brought nothing but breathlessness and confusion.
“—been here in so long,” Gavina was saying. “So much has changed.”
Had she been talking this entire time? I led her into my bedroom and drew up short. What the—what? The comforter was now pristine white. The clutter I’d caused as I’d ransacked Isobel’s belongings, cleaned. Zero sign of Thora and her feeding station.
A suspicion hit, and my feet walked me to the closet of their own accord. Yep. Exactly as feared. All the sweaters, T-shirts, cardigans, and tennis shoes were gone. Callen had already moved me into his bedroom. He’d probably made a single phone call to do it, turning my life upside down yet again.