the room. She ran as fast as she could back to the bedroom and skidded to a halt in front of Lucian’s nightstand. She didn’t think twice about stealing from him. She just yanked the cabinet open and took a stack of money. Didn’t count it. She just took it and ran.
She made it to the foyer, grabbed her handbag that had been sitting on the table since her arrival, and scooped her faux-fur out of the closet someone had put it in that afternoon that seemed light years away.
Minutes later, Yasmeen was sneaking into the back of the delivery truck and tucking herself behind some boxes of lettuce. Her lungs were burning as hot as her eyes as tears tried to form. She blinked repeatedly. After all he’d done to her, he wasn’t worthy of these feelings cutting into her. He wasn’t worthy of the agony filling her that was making her want to howl like an injured animal.
She didn’t want to leave.
She wanted to stay.
She wanted to wait for him.
For as long as it took, she would wait for him.
Forever. She would wait forever.
Because…she did love him.
She was in love with her warden. A sob caught in her throat as she doubled over, holding her chest. He saw her as an object to fuck. To tease. To control. To lead around and call pet. He saw himself above her. He considered himself her owner. He saw her as nothing but a release.
And, her, being the desperate, lonely girl who craved contact and just wanted to be wanted, had fallen irrevocably and utterly in love with every side of him he’d allowed her to see. The powerful billionaire. The unfeeling bastard. The madman. The erotic commander. The gentleman.
The lost boy.
“I love you, Frosty,” she whispered. “I love you. I want you to know that. I see who you are, all that you are, the good and the very, very bad, and I love you anyway.” She slid down the wall and hugged her knees to her chest as the door was pulled down. The sudden darkness was terrifying, and the loud clang of the lock engaging hurt her ears. “I wish I could tell you that even after everything, I love you anyway. But you wouldn’t hear me. And if you did, you’d use it against me.” She dropped her head down to hide. “And I’d find a reason to let you.”
As the truck pulled away from the castle and headed down the mountain, she gave up and finally cried freely. Her cold fingers curled around her collar, and as she clung to what it represented both physically and symbolically, she vowed to do exactly what Lucian had done; put this warped and broken fairy tale out of her mind and get on with her life.
TWENTY-THREE
As the limo came out of the dark lane and circled the drive, something that had been winding tighter and tighter inside Lucian from the moment they’d left New York reached the end of its tether. He couldn’t give it a name; he just knew he needed to take care of it. And he would. With her. Right now. He discarded a few ideas in favor of others. He might need a couple of days to get through everything.
The car had barely come to a complete stop before he was out the door. He didn’t care in the least that he appeared anxious. He was anxious. He needed to feel her. Taste her. Lose himself in her for hours. He wanted her mouth under his, her body wrapped around him. Her scent in his nose. The sound of her voice in his ear. He wanted to listen to her jabber and laugh. Moan. He needed to see her eyes lighten then darken, then smile.
He needed to tell her what he’d done. Who he finally had in his possession.
He needed to apologize for leaving her alone for so long. Pets didn’t appreciate that.
He took the stairs two at a time and entered the castle, not pausing before he was making his way to the second level.
He was breathing heavily and was marble hard by the time he threw open their door.
Her scent saturated the room, but it was empty. He cursed and went into hunting mode, traveling the corridors, sniffing her out, listening for the sound of her voice. The ballroom, theater room, sitting room, and library were all as empty as the bedroom. His heart was now racing, his demons leading him to the