Broken by His Hand - Piper Stone Page 0,76
to say. “Whatever you’d like to do.” I’d insisted that he take me home and instead of asking me if I’d been serious, he assumed. The asshole just assumed. The dichotomy of my feelings was off the chain, unchartered territory for me. I adored him, could easily fall in love with him, but I also hated that way he ignored my feelings. Jesus.
He seemed to sense my discord, finally shifting in my direction and closing the distance. As he pressed his fingers against the side of my face, a part of me wanted to slap his hand away. The other wanted nothing more than to nuzzle against it, recouping the beautiful hours we’d shared. Instead, I stood in the same place, glaring him in the eyes.
As he rubbed his thumb back and forth aimlessly, I struggled to maintain my resolve.
“I want you happy, Sophia. I long to share the best this city has to offer. Whatever you want to do, we will. I’ll only be an hour.”
“I have no idea what I’d like to do.”
“Well,” he said, grinning, “you will have time to find out. Or I can call the concierge to provide a few ideas.” Leaning over, he kissed me on the forehead before pulling away.
A chaste kiss.
“You don’t get it, do you?” I threw out as he turned away. “Yes, I moved to DC in order to accept a position, but I barely know the city and I can’t stand the traffic and the hordes of people. I shop at one grocery store because I know it. I figured out the easiest way to get to a few stores if I need anything and occasionally, I go out with a friend of mine, but little else. I’m not a big city girl.”
He turned his head and I was unable to read his expression. “Then you need to tell me what you enjoy doing. As I said, I want to make you happy.”
There was no arguing with him. Maybe I was just distraught, taking everything the wrong way. I nodded, more out of acquiescence than anything.
“Let’s enjoy breakfast. We’ll figure it out. I promise,” he continued.
I waited for a few seconds before trailing after him, watching as he stood over the steaming food, fiddling with silverware as well as the vase with the single rose. The sight of the damn flower dragged me back to the roses that had been delivered. Whoever the asshole was, he had a sick sense of humor.
“I wasn’t certain what you liked, so I ordered one of almost everything,” he said before sitting down, an embarrassed smile curling across his lips.
My legs felt like they were filled with lead, but I managed to sit down, my stomach churning. “That’s the problem. We don’t know that much about each other.”
“We will have time. I want to know everything about you.”
“Will we, Michael? Will we have time, or will you be consumed with the need for retaliation?”
Instead of his normal anger, he nodded several times. “Fair enough question. What I want and what I need to do are different, at least for right now. I can’t allow the threats to continue. I won’t have your life interrupted.”
“It already is.”
He held out his hand, beckoning to come to him. While I wanted to hesitate, I didn’t. His heartfelt emotions from the night before continued to nag at all the doubts. As he pulled me into his lap, he cradled me in his arms, remaining quiet for a full minute.
“I believe I know who is responsible for the shootings, as well as sending you the roses. What I don’t know is why or if your involvement was by coincidence or by design. That’s why I’m forced to remain cautious. I will protect you at all costs. No one will be able to hurt you. That much I can promise, but only if you do what I say.”
“I’m not worried about protection, Michael.”
“And I don’t want you to. However, precautions will need to be taken. That’s an unfortunate compromise.”
A compromise. That meant obeying him.
“I meant what I said about showing you the city, no matter what that entails. We will have a couple more days to get to know each other. If by then you no longer want to see me, then I’ll abide by your wishes, but only after I resolve the situation. That’s as fair as I can be. Can you understand that?”
I thought about his offer, although I knew he would demand keeping me locked away.