Page 12 of Captive Desire

My poor heart flutters and I realize all too late how gone I am for this man. That sort of jealousy should not feel like a compliment.

“Okay,” I agree with a small nod. “Deal.”

Romeo

Over the next few days, I try my damned hardest to make this woman fall more and more in love with me. In truth, I think I’m succeeding.

The first night we shared my bed, I expected her to slip out and make a run for it. She’d given me her back, trying to put distance between us. However, when the time came to wake up, we were so tangled within each other that it wasn’t funny.

The only laughable part of that morning was her trying not to notice my body’s response to having her so close. Her blush and curious gaze, now that was worth chuckling at.

After that first night, she’s had no issue curling up at my side. No point in putting up a fight when she knows she’s going to lose.

All this time, she didn’t put up any sort of fight on leaving. After this long, she’s even convinced me that she’s happy to be at my side. She’s accepting of the situation.

In the middle of our lunch, she breaks her streak of silence.

“If I’m really going to have to quit, then I want to tell my boss to her face. After everything she’s done for me, I owe her that much.” She leans toward me, purposely pressing against my side while giving me a big doe-eyed stare. “Will you let me?”

Now everything makes plenty more sense.

“On such short notice, I can’t make a promise,” I murmur as I drift my hand beneath the table. Like her, I have no problem using her weakness against her. Tucking my fingers between her thighs, I squeeze her leg. “Seattle is-”

“You guys are going to the city.” My brother, Vivo, takes the best opportunity to make an appearance. He’s got a plate of nachos. “Dante just got home last night. I’m sure he won’t have any issue blowing off some steam.”

Seattle is a long trip. Both of my brothers give me throbbing headaches when they come and go.

“We’re not going out to have fun,” I warn him. They’re the ones who like to go to clubs and fool around.

They’re the ones who dragged me down to Seattle in the first place.

“We’re going to visit a bakery,” Charity aids in hopes it’ll help get her out of this house.

He pauses. “Must be some pretty good sweets if you want to drive down there.” He takes in my frown with a smile. “Yeah, I’ll go with you guys if you need the company. I’ll hunt down Dante.”

The way a grin immediately forms on her lips, I accept that we’ll be heading to Seattle after we’re done with our lunch.

“I haven’t met your brothers,” she murmurs at my side when Vivo takes the hint to eat his nachos elsewhere. “He seems pretty nice.”

“Don’t let that smile fool you. They’re the ones who have to get their hands dirty. While I’m the face of this family, they’re the ones who keep things operational.” I give her thigh one more squeeze. “I promise you, I’m the nice one.”

With a grimace on her face, she decides she should hurry and finish her meal so we can get the show on the road. From her eagerness, there’s no doubting how important this is to her.

I won’t stand in her way. If this is something she needs to do, then I want to fully support her.

Getting my two brothers together after making preparations, we set off for Seattle. Thankfully, those two set out with their own vehicle. With Seth in the driver seat, Charity and I crowd together in the back of my vehicle.

With a long drive ahead of us, I figure I might as well find out a little bit more about this woman to help pass the time. While I might know everything about her after we met, there’s still so much to learn about her past.

She’s got no issues asking me questions about mine. I’m sure we both have plenty of stories to tell.

Arriving at StartBit Tech, Vivo and Dante take their sweet time looking over the menu, hopping in line before we can even signal down the woman we’ve come to talk to. While they have a craving for something sweet, we wait for the owner to come out and talk to us.

“Her name is Eloise and she’s really sweet. She’s also super protective of me.” Charity looks past the counter and into the bakery. “She’s got enough employees to run this place without me.”

It sounds to me like she’s trying to convince herself not to want to come back.

“If you want to continue to bake, I have more than enough men who will devour whatever you put in front of them.” Shoving my hands in my pockets, I shrug. “Even if it’s not good for me, I’d do the very same.”

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