Page 37 of Borden 3

“I’m tired.”

No.

No, she was not going to end this conversation. Not when she was behaving like this.

That itch spread across his body. He had the most bizarre reaction as he reflected back on that fucking man. The recognition in his gaze. The way he peered at Emma—this…this fucking look Borden couldn’t decipher. It wasn’t lust or want. It was…something else. And it wasn’t friendly. It wasn’t kind.

Yeah, there was nothing kind about the way he looked at Borden’s doll.

Worse than that, though, was Emma’s silence. His alleycat had been so utterly transparent in their relationship. He had dug into her life like a tick, and he had turned over every leaf in his attempt to deconstruct her and understand her.

How did this escape him?

Chapter Fourteen

Emma

Borden didn’t push the matter, but I knew it was a matter of time before he got me alone again. I needed to be composed and sort out my thoughts before he picked at them. If there was one thing Borden was good at it, it was getting me to react with very naked emotions. I was petrified of this fact.

The second we arrived at our disgustingly huge house, I escaped inside. He strode quickly behind me, hot on my heels as I entered the house. Granny was reading on an armchair beside the lit fireplace. She looked up at me with a bright smile—

It immediately fell. “Emma?”

I slapped on a fake smile. “All good, Granny? Did Link give you trouble?”

The front door shut, signalling Borden’s entrance. My body stiffened as I kept my eyes fixed on Granny. Her eyes narrowed as she closed the book and very slowly stood up. “He’s in bed, darling. What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Granny. I’m really tired. Thank you so much for staying—”

“Take the guest bedroom, Darlene,” Borden cut in from behind me. “In case Link gets up, I need you tonight.”

Granny’s brows went up. “Oh?”

“That’s not necessary,” I quickly said, determined not to look at him. “If he gets up, I’ll know about it—”

“Darlene,” Borden’s voice was ice.

She looked over my head, meeting his gaze. There was a quiet moment. Nothing about Borden necessarily frightened her, but they had developed some sort of…I wouldn’t call it a bond, but a truce. Simple looks like the one she was giving him now exchanged information not even I could dissect.

“Alright,” she said slowly. “I was too tired to return to my house, anyway.”

My shoulders dropped. I swallowed down my irritation and quickly made to leave. “Alright then, Granny. Take the bedroom. The spare clothes you wore last time have been washed. Make yourself at home.”

Borden didn’t follow me.

I was very mindful of the fact he lingered with Granny, and I had a feeling he was going to say something about tonight. The thought brought panic to me in such a way, my legs wobbled on the staircase on my way up.

I poked my head in to look at Lincoln. He was fast asleep in his giant bedroom. Even with all the toys and shelves, the room had that vacant feel to it. It drove me crazy that no matter how many times I tried to fill it, it never felt full.

I knew Borden would come following soon, so I hurried to our bedroom and slipped into the master bathroom. If I could disappear into the bathroom, I would be able to formulate the responses to the questions he was going to rapid fire at me—

“Doll.”

I jolted, shocked to find him already in the bedroom. How did he beat me to it? I recovered quickly, my busy hands already grabbing for an earring. I pulled it out, saying, “I’m famished.”

“Famished,” he returned simply, like he was rolling that word around his mouth. “Not a word you often use, alleycat.”

Despite everything, my skin prickled with shivers when he called me that. It never got old. I was always affected by it.

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