Page 47 of Tower

“Just a few. When she was young, like two or three maybe.” Azalea hadn’t pressed too hard for details about her older sister. Her mother had become so distraught and paranoid at any reminder of the loss of her daughter, she would force Azalea to remain her room for days at a time. Not chancing someone being able to kidnap her as well, she insisted. Azalea learned not to bring it up if she didn’t want the door of her suite locked.

“Any brothers?” he asked.

What was he fishing for?

“No. Why are you asking me all this?” Azalea slid off the bed. “Did something happen? Have you found Santos?”

Peter laughed. “No. Nothing like that.” He went to his closet and shrugged out of his jacket, hung it up, and unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt.

“Do you hate the website?” she asked, glancing back at it.

“No. I love it, actually. You did an amazing job. In fact, I think I’ll put you in charge of all the advertising and website design.”

“I don’t know very much about advertising,” she admitted.

“Well, then maybe we should sign you up for some classes at the college.” A lock of hair fell in front of his forehead, giving him a soft, wistful look.

“But I’m only going to be here another week or two,” she said softly.

“We don’t know that.”

“You promised,” she reminded with force.

“I promised when your mother came, we’d discuss it. You may not want to leave when the time comes. Have you thought of that?” He finished rolling his left sleeve up to his elbow and made his way to her. With each predatory step he took, she backpedaled, until her legs were pressed against the bed.

“You’re not mad about the website, are you?” she asked softly, feeling his body even though he hadn’t actually touched her yet.

“No. I mean—you really shouldn’t be snooping in my computer, and even if it’s easy to hack an account, you shouldn’t. But since I benefited, I’ll leave it be.” Using both hands, he pushed her hair behind her.

“What are you doing, then?” she asked, daring to look up at him.

“Making sure you won’t want to leave when the time comes.” He brought his mouth down on hers, unyielding while he framed her face. She lost herself easily in the kiss. He nibbled her lower lip, and she arched into him, wanting more. More sweetness of his caressing tongue, more pain from the sharpness of his teeth. She wanted both, and she needed them more.

When he ended the kiss, she looked at him through a haze of arousal and need. When had this man become less of an asshole and more of something she craved?

“You think a little kiss will do that?” she teased but didn’t lift her gaze to his. Eye-to-eye contact would make her lose her nerve, and she’d spent too much time calculating this to begin with.

“Hmm, is my girl getting greedy already?” He pulled at the T-shirt she wore. “Take this damn thing off. I thought I had Daniel bring you some real clothes.”

“He did, but I wanted something comfortable, not all those dresses.”

Peter paused in his tugging of her shirt over her head. “So, where’d you get this, then?” he asked, yanking it off her and shaking it at her.

“It’s Aubree’s. She gave me a few things,” Azalea said.

His jaw ticked. “You spoke with Aubree?”

“You didn’t say I couldn’t talk with people. In fact, you said I could go anywhere on the estate. I haven’t tried to run away, and I didn’t even go in your precious Annex.”

“I didn’t say you did anything wrong. I’m just surprised.”

“What? That I know how to be sociable?” He must have thought her mother kept her under lock and key. Which, of course, she had, but Azalea had learned at a decent age how to get out from under that suffocating thumb of her mother’s and have some friendly encounters.

“I didn’t say that.”

She tried to push away from him, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her right back in place.

“Then stop looking so pissed,” she demanded, grabbing the shirt from him and covering her naked bosom with it.

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