of taking Shaun to this building, but he carried on with his plan. He strode through the shed to one of the back rooms, one that he knew was cleaner and less drafty than the rest.
She clung to him as he attempted to set her down on the wooden pallet against the wall. It made his heart thump the way her fingers grasped hold of his shirt, the way she pressed her face against him, wetting the fabric with her tears. His dick responded automatically, leaping to attention. This was a woman he'd been attracted to from the moment he set eyes on her. He never intended to take advantage of that attraction, but her long elegant fingers scrabbling against his skin and his shirt was doing things to him.
He took hold of her wrists, shackling them with his fingers and pulling her hands away from him. He crouched in front of her, trying to make eye contact. Tears flooded her beautiful golden-brown eyes, making them look bigger, almost luminescent. He transferred both of her wrists to one of his hands and used his thumb to try to wipe the tears from beneath her eyes. They were quickly replaced by more tears.
Finally, when he thought she was calm enough to listen, he dropped her hands and lifted his own.
You will stay here for the night, he signed to her.
She sniffed loudly and turned her head to the side to wipe her nose against the sleeve of her shirt. Her eyes drifted around the room as if only now realizing she was inside a building. Gradually, as her brain caught up with her eyes and she realized where she was, what the room was used for, terror replaced curiosity.
"Please don't leave me here," she begged him, reaching out for him again.
Jozef jerked to his feet and stepped away from her. If those soft hands landed on his skin one more time, he would be putty in her hands. He wouldn't be able to resist the lure of giving her whatever she asked for. Her sweet voice, her goodness, everything about her was the opposite of him. He wanted her so badly he was tempted to take her right there on the wooden pallet.
But that wouldn't be fair to her. That would be a brutal and abrupt introduction to his world, one that she might not be able to forgive. He needed to keep his head, give her time to adjust and teach her how to acclimate to the Koba empire.
He turned and walked away from her, away from her sobs and away from her begging. It was one of the hardest things Jozef had ever done in his life.
Jozef slammed the door shut to her cell and locked it. He made it five steps away from the door, away from the hysteria he could hear rising in her wails. His heart felt crushed beneath her grief. He had driven her to this. A doctor, a professional woman, crumbling in on herself in despair. Jozef almost wished he’d put a bullet in her head when he had the chance, given her the dignified death she deserved, rather than a life she feared and despised.
He couldn't leave her like this, yet she needed to learn a lesson. Unable to walk away from her broken-hearted cries, Jozef retraced his steps back to the prison, leaned against the door and slid to the ground. He would be her guardian for the night. He would be here for her, even if she didn't know it.
He slung his arms over his upraised knees, leaned his head back against the door and listened, his heart crying with her.
Chapter Twenty
It took a long time for Shaun to calm down. She cried for herself, for her mom, for Danilo, her dead colleague. Her sobs gradually become soft hiccups until she was finally able to look around and take stock of her situation.
She was ashamed of herself. Since coming into Jozef’s life she’d done nothing but fall apart. She had gone from a self-possessed, cool, collected surgeon to a woman who couldn't keep her shit together. Shaun was the type of doctor who could stand in an emergency room and calmly direct other medical personnel during a flood of patients. At a glance, she could easily assess injuries and severity, and know which way to send them based on need. She’d conducted surgeries while listening to gunfire outside of a hospital. Nothing had rattled her calm professionalism.
Yet, when it came to