John has been a nice guy from day one. I don’t know how he could be bad for me. All I know is that I want to know what that means. Being in his arms made me feel safe and the way my body felt… still feels.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” he says as we stop in front of my room.
“Will you tell me what you meant?” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
He searches my face before replying. Reaching up, he brushes his thumb across my lips. I’m surprised by the whimper that tries to leave them.
“Go to bed.”
I frown. “What if I don’t want to?”
He crowds my space until my back hits the door. Leaning down, he stops when we are nose to nose. His cologne surrounds me, causing me to close my eyes to take him in.
“Never pour gasoline on a fire you’re trying to squelch. We’re going to let this go for a number of reasons. Goodnight, Roni.”
“Because you think those savages ran through me?” I say bitterly, opening my eyes.
His eyes soften. He cups my face and for a moment I think he’s going to kiss me. I hold my breath, but the kiss doesn’t come.
“If I could kill them all, I would. The thought of anyone touching you against your will… anyone touching you period makes me see red, but I would never blame or shame you for something out of your control,” he says.
“They never touched me. I was one of the virgins. They weren’t allowed to touch us, not like that,” I say before I can trap the words inside.
He narrows his eyes for the briefest second before pushing off the door behind me and stepping back. I feel his loss in my belly as if someone stole from my womb. I want to reach out and pull him back to me.
“You just proved me right. I’m not for you, baby. Not at all,” he says, kissing my forehead and turning to walk down the hall.
I stand staring after him, fighting back the urge to release angry tears. The sting of rejection brings me back to reality. I don’t need John in my bed. I need to focus on learning how to find Natasha.
Don’t ever forget that again.
I turn and head into my room. Flipping on the light, I find Torque sitting on my bed. He has a laptop in his lap as he looks at me with his big pretty eyes.
“What are you doing in here?”
“I wanted to show you what I learned today. I think I found a way to start searching for Natasha,” he replies.
I sigh. Exactly, this is what I should be focused on. Unfastening and kicking my shoes off, I stroll to the bed and sit beside him.
Maybe this is what I need tonight. A distraction from that sexy ass dance and the man that accompanied it. I take a pause.
The man that was able to read my thoughts as if he’s known me for years. Now that I think about it, I know this is for the best. I can’t afford to get attached to anyone here and a man that can read me like a book is way more than an attachment.
Chapter 18
Call
John
“John, I understand that you want to help her acclimate, but the money… we don’t know anything about her. Handing her money and credit cards is a risk to everyone,” Nate says as he sits behind his desk in his office. “She’s already undermining my staff.”
“I’ll talk to her about that. I think she’s been rebellious based on the circumstances she’s come out of. Come on, Nate. She’s still a human. I only wanted to make sure she felt that way. I made sure she returned the cards.”
“By giving her almost a hundred grand in finances. I never would have approved that. That’s not what we agreed to. I can’t believe Paige didn’t come to me first,” he grumbles.
“I went to her husband. I told Bobby how much I wanted her to have. He approved it,” I reply.
“Yeah, I’ll be having a talk with him,” he mutters. “Do you understand the kinds of things we’ve been teaching her? She could track you right to your front door once you leave here.”
I shrug. “If she needs to, so be it.”
He narrows his eyes at me. I lift my hand up when he goes to retort. I already have a feeling I know what he’s going to say.