Page 64 of Red Captive

The bastard is smiling. He’s just too damned good-looking to smile like that. I hate him smiling.

“You’re looking at me like you want to kill me. Should I go back to calling you Miss Harris?”

“Yes, I think that would be for the best.” I love that he calls me Jen now. But perhaps I love it a little too much. “Don’t you?” I quickly add, feeling guilty. I don’t want to hurt his feelings, but I have to stay on the right path.

He doesn’t say anything, and when I look at him, the smile is gone. He doesn’t look happy, but I don’t care. I can’t afford to care. I have to mate with someone and save my family, or I have to escape this island. It’s one or the other. Steel doesn’t factor at all. He can’t.

“No problem, Miss Harris,” he says as we leave the palace. As usual, the convoy is waiting for us.

He helps me into the SUV and then takes up the seat next to me. We drive in silence, which is perfect. I keep my gaze trained out the window. I’m sure he is searching for the mystery woman he doesn’t want to tell me about…which is good. No chitchats. No anything.

I’m a little nervous. My hands are clasped tightly in my lap. I force myself to relax. I breathe in and out a few times, hoping that the knot in my stomach eases.

We arrive at a large Georgian-styled country house. It isn’t as big or as glamorous as the others I’ve seen but it’s still impressive.

It is situated in a lush green setting, surrounded by tall trees. There is a neat lawn that rolls down to a lake. The house itself is three stories high, with white columns at the entrance and a wide porch that wraps around the sides. The windows are large. It looks light and airy.

The gravel crunches as I step out of the vehicle.

Steel offers me a hand, but I give a shake of my head. “I’ll manage.” The less touching, the better. I give him a small smile, but he doesn’t reciprocate.

Damn, but this is weird.

How do you forget? It doesn’t matter because I have to.

Wehave to. Then he looks at me; we make eye contact for a few seconds and his eyes seem to darken. His jaw tightens for a moment.

Just as I thought, there is no forgetting. We have to move on.

My mom and Caleb need me. They need me. The general sent proof that he had paid the money into my mother’s account. Ten thousand won’t last all that long. The sooner I am married, the better.

With that in mind, I walk to the house and up the stairs.

Keep an open mind.

Keep an open mind.

I keep saying it over and over on repeat. Whoever I am about to meet with might be nice. He might be just what I need.

Using a large brass knocker, I tap on the door two or three times.

Or he might be just like the duke. But it doesn’t matter because Steel will be there. He will keep me safe. I feel instantly better. Then I smile because chances are good that he will be just like the count, nice but boring and maybe a little conceited.

I knock again.

Maybe we got our days wrong. Maybe we got the address wrong. Crap!

I’m just turning to ask Steel when the door opens.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m Logan.” He has a broad smile, which is trained on me. Just like most shifters, he’s attractive. He looks fairly young, too. A similar age to Steel.

I’m instantly on my guard. The last time a handsome shifter was nice, he tried to pressure me into having sex with him. It might have turned really ugly if Steel hadn’t intervened.

“Please come in.”

“Thank you.” I go inside, and Steel follows right behind me.

“Hi, welcome, you must be Steel.” He actually acknowledges him, which I like.

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