but he wasn’t looking at her.
He was quiet for a moment, then said, “The way Langston and Sylvia and even you talk about these arranged marriages, I can tell that even if falling in love isn’t necessarily an expectation, it’s a hope most members seem to have.”
“I suppose it is.”
“And now that I’ve been shanghaied into this cult, I have to hope,” he stressed the word, “that whoever is placed in an arranged marriage with me doesn’t expect me to fall in love with them.” He straightened, still not looking at her. “Because I had the love of my life, and losing her hurt too fucking much.”
Chapter Three
“Sir, ma’am, we need you to move to a more secure room.”
Oscar sat bolt upright, jerked from sleep by the calm but brisk tone of the guard. He glanced over at Selene, who was rolling over, her hair a mess around her face. Oscar yanked the sheet up to make sure she stayed covered.
The two of them had ventured to the larger of the two bedrooms after their conversation in the kitchen, moving their luggage into the master bedroom by tacit agreement. He’d left home just over a week ago, expecting to spend a few nights in Boston bailing Langston’s ass out of trouble. He’d stayed afterward to spend time with Selene, and when it had been just them in the hotel, the fact that he hadn’t packed much hadn’t mattered.
Then the camera had turned on. And his and Selene’s vague comments about both needing to get home were forgotten.
Their current situation meant more time in each other’s company, and Oscar wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. His attraction to the beautiful physicist continued to grow the more he got to know her. What had started out as merely sexual chemistry was quickly turning into something akin to friends…with benefits.
“I need you up,” said the guard, who he could now see was Wayne. “Right now.”
“We need clothes.” Selene was propped up on an elbow, holding the sheet over her chest with the other hand.
“No, ma’am. You need to move to a more secure room.”
Oscar swung his legs off the bed, not giving a fuck about his own nudity. His shirt and boxers were on the floor, and he grabbed them, though he didn’t have time to pull them on. Selene rolled across the bed to get out on his side, reaching for her glasses on the nightstand. She tried to bring the sheet with her, but when it wouldn’t come untucked, she dropped it. Modesty was far less important than safety.
Both naked, they followed the guard through the dark house. As they tiptoed down the stairs, Oscar caught sight of the second guard, Bill, standing beside a window in the front room, carefully positioned in shadow. Outside, the sky was a deep gray; it had to be close to dawn, but there was a blanket of heavy-looking clouds that meant it was still fairly dark.
A laptop was open on the floor near Bill’s feet, the screen tilted so that he could see it.
“What’s going on?” Oscar whispered.
Wayne didn’t reply right away, instead leading them down the hallway. He opened the basement door, the well-oiled hinges silent.
“There’s a vehicle with a lone occupant on approach. It passed by several times before finally turning onto the driveway.”
“Who is it?” Selene asked. “Can you see?”
“Not yet.” Wayne nudged Oscar down the steps into the basement. When Wayne reached for Selene, Oscar grabbed her, pulling her in with him before the other man could touch her.
“When the vehicle is in range of the main camera net, we may be able to. The distance cameras are infrared, so all we know is it’s a single occupant.”
“What are you going to do?” Oscar demanded.
“Our job…protect you.” Wayne closed the basement door.
With the door closed, the basement was pitch black.
“Fuck,” Oscar snarled as he started feeling around on the walls for a light switch. When he hit it, the cavernous room was lit by a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling of the space below where they stood, at the top of the stairs.
“Do you think it’s safe to have a light on?” Selene asked. Her lovely body was haloed by the dim glow.
Oscar passed her his shirt. “It’s an interior, underground room. Also, if he didn’t want the light on, he should have given us a fucking flashlight.”
Selene slipped on the shirt, then started down the stairs. The basement was unfinished, more cellar than useable