kill me to hurt him? What if…
“You are safe, Butterfly. You are and will always be safe with me. These men are here to protect my property and my assets. I keep a rather large jewelry vault here on the premises.”
“I swear, sometimes it feels like you can read my mind.”
The three men chuckle.
“Sir, the time,” the man on the left says, looking pointedly at his watch.
Weird. What is that about? Maybe there are security rounds they do at a certain time, or international clients who have night calls.
“Yes. I am growing quite tired. I do like to stick to my routine.” Does he have a bedtime? I giggle at the thought. He gave me the bedtime, not the other way around.
“No, I don’t have a bedtime. I have a routine.” He stresses the last word and frowns at me, I giggle in reply.
Wait.
What?
How did he? The uncanny way he knew what I was thinking before we left for the trip was funny, now… now it seems to be happening more and more. What the hell is going on?
“Let’s get inside and get settled.” He puts an arm around my waist and leads me inside.
The inside of the mansion is just as awe-inspiring as the outside. “I had it custom built,” Bentley explains. “I wanted it to mimic the natural beauty of the surrounding areas.”
“It is…” I can’t find the words as I stand in the dramatic great room. The twenty-five-foot ceiling, grand fireplace, and wall of windows overlooking the valley on one side and mountain ranges on the other, take my breath away. Every detail has been planned out: the mesquite floors, natural stone, and marble showcase how precise details and meticulous craftsmanship were carefully executed.
“Home,” Bentley finishes my sentence. “It is home.”
“A rather large home,” I declare.
“Nine thousand square feet, and forty-nine acres. I bought the property between the two canyons. The seasonal springs and natural pools make for a beautiful backdrop.”
“Nine thousand?” I sputter. “Nine thousand square feet?”
“I might have gotten a little carried away.” He smiles charmingly at me.
“That is a lot of cleaning.”
“I suppose so.” He shrugs. “I didn’t think about the cleaning.”
“I bet the view of the sunrise over here,” I turn to where the sky has started to lighten, just slightly, “and the sunset over the mountains right there, are just beautiful.” Literally as the words came out of my mouth, the windows start to darken. What in the world?
“I like privacy.”
“You can’t get much more private than a long winding road to your house, a huge gate, and armed guards…”
“I’m growing tired, Keri. It has been a long drive. I need to rest. I will have Robbie take you to your room. I want you to try and sleep. All of our activities will be at night this week, we will sleep during the day.”
He sounds exhausted, almost weak. I turn to look at him. He is fading before my eyes. Of course. He has worked all night, and then travelled across thousands of miles. He has to be tired. Did he say my own room? I won’t be sleeping with him? When will we take that next step, sleeping an entire night together? There is always some sort of excuse. Mostly, it is his weird late-night work schedules.
“I won’t be sleeping with you?” There is a little girl pout in my voice.
“Yes, we will. Tonight, love. We will talk and I will show you my room, give you a tour of my home. Right now, I need to sleep.” He nods to the armed man who has followed us into the house—that must be Robbie—dismissing me.
Robbie takes my arm. “Come with me.”
I turn to say goodnight to Bentley but he is already gone. It is as if he simply disappeared into thin air. What the actual fuck is going on?
“Is there anything I can get for you? I’ve left several bottles of water in a chiller bucket on the table next to your bed. Your bags have already been brought up, but Bentley has seen to all your comforts. Please make use of anything in the room and accompanying bathroom suite.” Robbie holds the door to the bedroom open.
“Thank you.”
“One more thing. There is a call button on the wall. If you need anything, anything at all, use that button. Please do not wander around the house or the grounds alone. There are certain areas that are off limits due to the nature of his business dealings. One of us will