Page 9 of We're Not Strangers Anymore

She walks out, leaving me to explore the beautiful rows of brand new books. To make it even better, the books were separated by genre rather than alphabetically. I could literally live in this room. Even the bookshelves are gorgeous. They’re carved oak that still hold an earthy, forest-like scent. As much as I hate to admit it, I feel a sense of excitement. I could be struggling to pay my bills right now and working my ass off to make ends meet but instead I’m being given a new life. Deirdra’s kindness is a comfort to the uncomfortable situation too. The only thing I can’t shake is the fact that I’m forced to live with a man. My whole existence since I left my father has been making sure I never have to depend on anyone, and now I don’t even have a choice.

“I see you’ve found your favorite room.” I hear a familiar deep voice call out behind me.

“It’s beautiful.” I admit as I scan my eyes across the bookshelves.

“It’s all yours.” He says, stepping closer.

“Actually it’s not. It’s inyourhouse.” I clip. I don’t want to come off too excited about the library, otherwise he’ll see it as compliance.

“You signed a prenuptial agreement, Rowan.”

I scoff. “Right, so now when you decide to let me leave I can’t even take anything. Good job protecting yourself.”

He lets out a dry laugh. “You do know prenups aren’t just for the person with money? The agreement states thatifwe ever get a divorce, you take everything you’ve acquired during the marriage and I have to provide you with money to buy a house and pay you a hundred thousand for every year you didn’t have an income while being married. Does that sound like I’ve only protected myself?”

I don’t really know what to say. “Why did you do that?”

He sighs and takes another step toward me. “So that I could earn just a little bit of your trust. So that you know I’m not doing this solely out of selfishness.”

“So then why are you doing this?” I snap, facing him.

He closes the space between us, pressing my back to one of the bookshelves and I feel heat pooling between my legs. Ireallywish my body didn’t respond like this to his touch. “I already told you. Now, you need to get used to being here.”

I glare up at him, refusing to let him intimidate me. “I willneverget used to you. Understand that,fuckwad.”

His hand comes up, brushing a strand of hair from my face. The touch is gentle but his eyes are hardened, sending a shiver down my spine. “Foul language for such a pretty mouth, Rowan. Don’t let it get you in trouble.”

I try to push his chest but he grabs my wrists, pinning them above my head with one hand. “Let me go!” I hiss.

“Not until you listen,” he says, his face just inches from mine. “You think you can fight this, you can’t. You’re my property, Rowan. The sooner you understand, the better.”

My heart pounds in my chest, fear and anger mixing a volatile cocktail. “I hate you,” I whisper, the words filled with venom.

A dark smile curves his lips. “Hate me all you want. It won’t change anything.”

His free hand trails down my arm, sending a jolt of unwanted electricity through me. “Your resistance, your short temper– it’s a turn on. But it will be your undoing if you don’t learn to control it.”

He releases me suddenly, and I stumble forward, catching myself on the bookshelf. He steps back, giving me space, but the darkness in his eyes doesn’t lessen.

“You will learn to like it here,” he says firmly. “And you will follow my rules. Because if you don’t, things can get much worse.”

He turns and leaves the room, the door clicking shut behind him. I sink to the floor, my heart still racing. The reality of the situation comes crashing down on me once again. This is my life now and Grayson’s right– there’s no fighting it.

Grayson

Rowan may be questioning everything right now but I’ll make her fall in line. She’ll understand this is for her own good. Maybe not why it is, just that it is. She’s a perfect example of the lengths I’m willing to go to protect what belongs to me. While she views me as her captor, she has no idea that her fate would be much worse had I not taken her.

I enter the computer lab in the basement to pick up some files. “What do you have for me?” I ask my tech guy, Austin.

“Well, word about your marriage is out and they’re not happy about it.”

I nod. “I figured they wouldn’t be. Any immediate threat?”

“Not yet, but a couple of his guys will be scoping out the place tonight to get intel. Probably trying to confirm that Rowan is here. I suggest taking her somewhere tonight, that way they won’t have anything on you.”

Looks like Rowan and I are staying at my penthouse tonight. Maybe they’ll think she’s still in Detroit. At least it complicated things for them, that’s exactly what I wanted– to throw them off. My hope is that this can all blow over but considering the amount of money that’s at stake for them, I doubt it will be that easy. Either way, I plan to get rid of them. Their type of business isn’t welcome in my city.

“Save the camera footage of the outside for me tonight. I’ll take a look at it this week to see what his team consists of.” I say to him.

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