Page 42 of Power and Possession

I rubbed my jaw, feeling the slight scruff that was appearing. “I don’t want to give her back.”

Cooper’s eyes widened, but he quickly hid his surprise by taking another sip of his beer. “You sleeping with her?”

I wanted to lie, but I was done lying. I couldn’t anymore. At least Cooper would understand some of my feelings towards her if he knew we’d been physical together. “Yeah.”

This time he grinned playfully. “That good, huh? No wonder Harrington wanted her.”

I didn’t bother to correct him. It didn’t really matter who wanted her or who had her before.

She was mine now.

“It’s complicated between us.”

“No shit. You kidnapped her and want to kill her father. Not exactly a fairytale. But who cares? If you want to keep her, just do it. No one is stopping you. It doesn’t sound like Phillips gives a fuck what you’re doing with her. Just enjoy her until you’re finished and then move on. Hell, keep her as long as you want. Then you can give her to me.”

I grabbed my bottle of beer and threw it against the wall. The entire bar fell into silence for a few seconds before nervous chatter started back up again. The manager took one look at me, and then went to clean it up.

The look on Cooper’s face told me that there was no more bullshitting here.

“Steele…you can’t possibly—”

I placed my forehead in my hands, rubbing at my hairline. “I think I do.”

I dragged my head up, trying to gauge Cooper’s reaction. He looked as if he’d seen a ghost. He didn’t say anything, but took another long swig of his beer, and then motioned for the bartender to bring me another one.

“Does she—”

“I don’t know. I think sometimes she might. She’s had ample opportunities to run away. Even opportunities to kill me.”

“Not killing someone doesn’t equal love, Steele.” Cooper looked at me intensely. “Are you sure it’s just not lust? She’s hot, I’ll give her that. And if she’s good in bed, that might explain—”

“No. It’s not just that. I find myself—wanting her to be happy. I want to please her. I want to share things with her, things that I shouldn’t.”

“You absolutely cannot tell her anything about the business, Steele. If you did, we’d have to kill her.”

The bartender placed another beer in front of me, and I drank deep. The anger from before was still just under the surface of my skin, and I knew that I needed to control it. Cooper didn’t know the extent of my feelings when he talked about me passing her along. The thought made me sick to my stomach. I never wanted anyone else to look at her again. I wanted tosmuggle her away, keep her locked in a vault. I wanted to—I wanted to treat her like all of those amazing pieces of art that passed through my hands every day. Only this time, there was absolutely nothing that would make me give her up.

“No one touches Ashlynn. No one. And if you don’t keep your mouth shut about her, you’ll be out of a job.”

“Steele, think about what you’re doing. You’re risking it all on the off chance that this girl might like you. I can guarantee she doesn’t love you.”

His remark stung. My feelings about Ashlynn were already confusing me, but the realization that this could be completely one-sided wasn’t something I needed reminding of.

I peeled the label off my beer, needing to do something with my hands. A group of university students were laughing and joking in the corner. I looked at them, envious of their carefree attitude and their whole life ahead of them. I’d been robbed of my youth. Any joyful moments I might have had were taken away from me. I’d only known pain, hunger, and the harsh realities of life. I wondered what my life would have been like if my father would have married my mother and forced his family to accept her. Would I be working some boring nine to five job as an investment banker? Would I be married, with a family?

There was no use speculating. This was my life.

Cooper tried to breach the uncomfortable silence. “What are you going to do?”

“I have no fucking idea.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Ashlynn

I refused Quincy when he brought up dinner. Not only did it not look appealing, but I also didn’t have an appetite. I knew Quincy wasn’t my biggest fan, but it seemed as though he went to great lengths to make the food look as unappealing as possible. There was some kind of pudding, an odd type of bread with dates in it that was as hard as a rock, and a nearly rotten banana. I knew that Glinda hadn’t overseen this meal. I left it outside of my door, hoping he’d take the hint.

I showered and changed into my pajamas. Looking around the room, I wondered if I should pack some things so I would be ready when my father came to retrieve me. I had just grabbed my photo album when there was a knock at the door.

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