Page 229 of By His Rule

“What do you need?” Kian asks once we’re standing in the middle of the colossal space he calls a living room.

I look around. Everything is white, black, and chrome. There’s barely any color. It doesn’t look like a home. It looks…fake.

“Shower? Nap? Movie?” he prompts.

I look down at myself. I’m still wearing the dress I put on for our morning meetings.

“I— I want to change and?—”

He takes my hand and begins leading me through the apartment until we emerge into his bedroom.

His bed is massive, and my eyes lock on it for a little too long.

“You want to curl up in the middle of it?” he asks.

I shake my head, although I think I might be lying.

Pulling that soft-looking comforter over my head and shutting the world out seems like a really good option right now.

“Wait there,” he says before disappearing through a door to my right.

He rummages around and returns a few seconds later with a pile of clothes in his hand.

“They’ll be too big, but it’s all I can offer right now.”

I look down as he throws a pair of man’s sweats and a hoodie onto the end of the bed and my eyes sting with tears.

“Thank you,” I whisper brokenly.

“Do you need help or…”

“I’ll be fine,” I say. It’s true, I will be okay alone. It’s not what I want, but it’s what I need. “I’ll come back out in a bit,” I mutter before shrugging my jacket off and turning my back on him.

“Would you like a drink?”

“Yes, please. Whatever you’re having,” I add before he has a chance to ask.

He hesitates behind me for a few seconds, but he eventually convinces himself to leave, and the second the door closes, I deflate.

54

KIAN

“What’s wrong?” Tate asks the second she answers the phone.

“Why does something have to be wrong?” I ask, even though she’s right.

“You never call me unless it’s an emergency.”

“Right,” I mutter as I walk through the kitchen and reach for a bottle of scotch. “Lorelei’s apartment was broken into while we were away.”

“What?” she screeches down the line.

“It’s fine. I’ve brought her home with me. Thomas is securing the apartment and sorting everything out.”

“Who would?—”

“You don’t have any suspicions?” I interrupt.

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