Page 15 of The Bourbon Bride

“I’m just trying to make sense of things and see it from their perspective,” she snaps. “They have to have their reasons, and I want to be objective about it.”

“There’s nothing to be objective about with their nasty little plan. They want you to marry a guy who was willing to rape you. What do you think your relationship will be like? Separate bedrooms and lives? No. He’ll take full advantage of the situation and your parents will want grandkids, so guess what, you’ll be getting raped whenever he wants to have you and it’ll be under the guise of your marital duties so you’ll have to take it.”

Crass and cruel, but it’s the truth. Boys who think it’s okay to get girls drunk in order to coerce sex from them turn into men who are sick and twisted. I would bet my Maybach the fucker has tried what he did to Paige on others, and I want to hunt him down and trap him like the rat he is.

“I bet he was thrilled about his part of the bargain.”

She looks up at me, her big eyes brimming with tears again. “He was.”

The crack in her voice nearly brings me to my knees. I don’t want this for her, and she shouldn’t be forced into anything remotely this shitty.

“You can’t marry him.” It seems like the most obvious statement I can make, but it needs to be said.

“I never said I would.”

“You’re still trying to see things from your parent’s perspective, so that tells me you’re at least considering the pros and cons of going through with it. What happened to that line you can’t cross?”

“I was just blindsided, okay? I never imagined they would even suggest something like this, let alone have them spring it on me at Sunday dinner when everyone but me was in on it.”

“They’re something else.” I shake my head, feeling the righteous anger quelling as the need to comfort and protect her wells up. I need to help her through this in whatever way she’ll let me. I take a deep, steadying breath to push the anger out of my tone. “What do you want to do now?”

“Run away,” she says wistfully.

I straighten up. This I can work with. I have the means to send her anywhere she could possibly want to go. Paris, Bali, Australia. If she names a town I’ve heard of, I’ll send the jet there in a heartbeat. “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?” I will make it happen with the snap of my fingers, but I don’t offer that information.

Her cheeks turn pink, and her mouth closes tight. She shakes her head, refusing to answer. What kind of answer would have her reacting like that? I’m more curious than ever about the inner workings of her incredibly sexy mind.

“Tell me, honey. What was the first thing that just popped into your head?”

“Somewhere with you.” Her whisper is so faint I have to play it over in my head to realize what she said.

“You can go anywhere in the world and you want to be with me?” I ask softly. I’m floored by the possibility that she feels even a hint of the attraction I do, that she could want me, despite our decade-plus age gap and our obvious differences.

“It’s stupid, I know, but you made me answer with what first came to my mind and for some reason, I decided to be honest. I take it back. I want to go to Turks and Caicos.”

I grin. “No takebacks. If you want to be with me, you’re getting what you want. You want to run away? Good. You’re coming with me to Atlanta.” I press a kiss to her forehead and saunter across the flat to the bathroom, leaving her stunned on the island.

“Where are you going?” she calls after a few seconds.

“I need a shower. Unless you want to join me, I suggest you get comfortable for the ten minutes it’s going to take me.”

Her gasp of shock is gorgeous, and I laugh as I close the bathroom door. She’sreallyinnocent. It’s hard to imagine that someone as stunning as she is would balk at being invited to shower with a man. Granted, we only met twenty-four hours ago, and she’s just agreed to run away with me, but I had assumed she would be a little more experienced, or at least a little more confident with men. I’m starting to think she’s untouched, and that spikes the possessive feelings in me to new levels. If I were an animal, I’d pee a circle around her and fight off any males who dared come close. It also makes me feel like a lecherous bastard. I am way too old for her, and she’s far too innocent for me.

I do the next best thing to marking my territory. I pull out my phone and send a message to my assistant. I need more information about this Garrison kid and want to know about the Fairchilds’ interesting marriage clause in their inheritance practices. I leave strict instructions to be discreet but thorough, then step into the shower.

seven

Hayes

“Whatisthat?”Paigeasks when I hit the key fob to unlock my car in the garage.

I was a little disappointed she didn’t join me in the shower, though I hadn’t expected her to. It’s these warring feelings and expectations that are going to get me into trouble with her. Being honorable when I’m used to being deplorable is like mixing oil and water. Doesn’t stick for long.

“Maybach Exelero.”

I love this fucking car. I noticed it in the Jay-Z “Lost One” music video and knew I had to have it. It cost me a fortune, in fact, it was several million more than most people hope to make in their entire lives, but it suits me better than any other vehicle I’ve driven. There was only one made. The exclusivity made it more tantalizing than anything else available. Except maybe the woman who slides into the black and red interior of the sleek black car. She could be hands down the most enthralling person I’ve ever met and she’s barely an adult. I don’t know if it’s the innocence she exudes, that she’s the key to her daddy’s kingdom, or the feeling she stirs in me to care about someone other than myself, but it’s intriguing.

“Never heard of it. Guess it’s pretty cool, though,” she says, taking the seat belt I hand her before I close the door.

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