Page 30 of Desperate Vows

I jerked my head to the doorway and smiled. “Thank you.” I returned my focus to Lucas. “How long have I been here?”

“A while. I need to leave and take care of a few things, but I didn’t want you to wake up alone in a strange place.” He stood, pulling me with him. “Let me give you a tour.”

I patted myself down. “My robe.”

“Thea packed you one.” His tone was somber.

“Oh,” I said as I processed that perhaps my robe had blood on it, and he didn’t want me waking up to that.

Lucas tangled his fingers in mine, and I followed him out of the room. “This is your home. You’re free to go wherever you want and use whatever you want.”

He led me down the hall. “That’s the guest bathroom, and across from it is the second guest bedroom.” We walked a few feet, and I felt like I’d entered an inner sanctum, like Batman was showing me his bat cave. A large bank of windows lined the west wall, and dark curtains ran from ceiling to floor. The walls were a darker gray. A massive king-size bed was the centerpiece, and the bedding was a soft gray-blue. We took a left, and I was standing in my dream bathroom.

To the side, as I walked in, there was a bench. A thoughtful touch. I could picture taking my shoes off or simply taking a second before I showered. There was a ginormous tub in the middle of the room, and it was located within the shower area that was walled off with glass. I’d seen these types of shower-bath combos and loved them. Two doors were framing the shower, and he untangled his hand and waved me ahead of him.

I stepped inside the most incredible wraparound closet I’d ever seen. His clothing was hung by color—which I found interesting. And he called me organized?

We continued making our way through it, and there was an entire empty section. “A closet so big you don’t have enough clothes to fill it?”

“I have plenty of clothes. I’ve made room for yours.”

I looked at him. Room for mine? In his closet? Did that mean he wanted me to stay in his room… in his bed?

Like he’d read my mind, a smile played on his lips. “You don’t have to sleep in my bed to keep your clothes in my closet.”

He kept this up, and he wouldn't be able to keep me out of it. “I love it. I feel like I designed it myself,” I said as we exited the other door.

We left the bathroom, walked out of the master, and back down the hall that opened into a large living room. To the left was a gourmet kitchen. He did own a restaurant, so that wasn’t all that surprising.

“If you get hungry, help yourself to whatever I have.” He stepped closer. “Okay, that’s the tour. I need to leave for a while, but I won’t be gone long.”

I chewed my lip as I realized I’d be in his condo alone. “Okay.”

“You’re safe, Claire. I’ve got someone outside who won’t let anyone harm you.”

Did he think that was my issue? I didn’t want him to leave. I wanted to snuggle into his chest with his arms around me and fall asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.

I was mental. Completely off my rocker. Two days ago, I could have pushed him off a cliff, and today, I wanted to smother him in kisses. I was losing it. He wanted my trust fund…

Only when my eyes connected with his, my heart rejected that entire notion.

Lucas walked to the door and paused. “I’ll see you later.”

Before I could stop myself, I ran to him and threw my arms around his chest. “Please come back to me. Please be safe.”

His hands came to rest on either side of my head and tilted it up, and his eyes were so stormy. "I will," he said. Then he bent down and pressed his lips to mine. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”

There was a moment of hesitation, and he was out the door.

I hated that he was gone, and I hated that I felt that way. This agreement was only supposed to last three weeks, and my feelings for him were messing up my plan to leave Chicago for good.

Chapter Twelve

LUCAS

I rolled up my sleeves as I walked into the warehouse. Dimitris was in mid-swing when he saw me.

“Has he talked yet?” I asked, my eyes raking over the guy sitting in the chair. I’d never seen him around before. In my world, that didn’t mean much. Turnover could be a real issue.

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