Page 27 of Lily

She swallowed. “That was my first kiss. Thank you for making it special.”

Shocked, he inhaled a bit too sharply. Seriously? How was that possible? Besides the fact that she’d just spent eight months in God-only-knew-what situations, had she never had a boyfriend in high school or afterward?

His ego grew huge. He might not be her first for many things, but that kiss had been special, and he was honored. He would never forget. “My lips are at your service anytime you need them,” he teased.

Rising, he took her hand. “We really need to go.”

She nodded and followed him. When she reached for the straps of her bags, he shook his head. “Let me carry everything. Let’s get you in the car.”

“I’m not helpless, Marco.”

He winked at her. “Stefano.”

“Right. I forgot. That’s going to take me a minute to get used to.”

“It’s okay. And I never for a moment thought you were helpless, but you’re injured, and I hate to see you hurting. It makes my chest tight. So let me carry everything this time, okay?”

She nodded.

He took half the luggage and tossed it into the back of the SUV before opening the passenger door for her. She was shivering, and her shirt was going to cause him to drive off the road.

“Let me grab you a sweatshirt.”

She climbed into the SUV while he jogged back to the house. He hated fucking leaving her alone even for a second again. It made him so nervous. He ran into the bedroom, grabbed a few more sweatshirts in case she needed them, picked up the rest of their belongings at the front door, locked the townhouse, and was back at the car in thirty seconds.

After tossing her one of the softest sweatshirts, he watched as she put it on, and then he shut her door.

It was cold out this early in the morning. There would likely be snow in the mountains when they got away from the city. Luckily, he’d packed both of their winter coats.

Stefano kept his eyes on every mirror as he drove out of the neighborhood. With any luck, none of his neighbors would have seen him arrive or leave with a woman. They’d only been there a few hours, and those had been hours during which most people slept.

Like earlier, as soon as he got on the highway, he breathed easier.

Chapter Eleven

Roselia relaxed into the seat a bit more when she noticed Stefano’s shoulders lowering. She kept her hands clasped between her thighs, rubbing them together. “What do you think will happen when Leo finds me missing?” This was her primary concern.

“It’s hard to say. He’ll be furious.”

She chuckled sardonically. “The man gets furious when his eggs are too runny. The next day, he gets furious when they aren’t runny enough. After he has his tantrum, I mean,” Roselia continued, staring at Stefano’s profile.

“I can’t imagine he’ll call the police. He can’t exactly report a missing slave.”

She slowly nodded. “True.” She hesitated and then asked, “Do you think there’s like a return policy in his contract or some sort of guarantee?”

“His contract with whom?” Stefano asked, glancing at her.

“With Master J, the man who trained me and sold me.” She needed to tell him what had happened to her, but it was so raw and painful right now.

Stefano gripped the steering wheel tighter. “When was this?”

“About four months ago.”

He reached over and set his hand on her thigh, not commenting. Maybe he didn’t want to pressure her, or maybe he didn’t want to hear what had happened.

After several minutes, he said, “I’m sorry. I’m sure I’m not giving you what you need right now. I want to hold you, but I also want to get us the fuck out of Denver. When we get to safety, I’m going to hold you for ten solid days, and you can tell me everything you want.”

“I don’t have to if you’d rather not hear it,” she murmured.

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