Page 5 of Pet

William

The poor girl looked so out of place in my penthouse apartment, with her tear-stained face and trashy clothes. I felt so sorry for her—and for myself for being in this mess.

But as long as she was going to be staying here, I wanted her to feel at ease. Well, at least as much as possible, considering the circumstances.

I decided to treat her as I would any guest.

“Are you hungry? I can order whatever you want to eat. What do you like, Chinese? Mexican? Italian?” I said quickly, pulling out my phone to order delivery.

“No, thanks,” Cara said softly, flinching as I drew nearer. I stopped in my tracks. “I… I’m not really hungry.”

I realized she probably hadn’t eaten for several hours but was sick with nerves. “Well, I’m hungry, so I’ll go ahead and order in a few things and if you’re hungry later you can help yourself. How does that sound?”

She nodded half-heartedly, gazing past me out the window.

I tapped at my phone and ordered a ton of food from different places. She had to eat, and the least I could do was get her something she liked, even if she wouldn’t tell me what that was. And besides, it’s not like I couldn’t afford it.

James would definitely be getting the bill for this, I thought darkly.

With the food ordered and on its way, I was unsure what to do next.

“Do you… want to watch TV? Take a nap? Can I get you anything?” I asked anxiously, determined to calm her down and make her realize I wouldn’t hurt her.

“I think I’d like to take a shower,” she said quietly, still staring out the window.

“Great!” I said a little too loudly, making her flinch again. I led her to a guest room with a king-sized bed covered in downy white bedding. I hadn’t had much use for the room until now. I had two younger brothers, but they both think I’m a mobster and want nothing to do with me. Which is really saying a lot, since Stephen, my youngest brother, is in a motorcycle gang. But Jake, my other brother, is a cop. So yeah, it makes sense he would want to keep his distance from me.

And my job doesn’t exactly make it easy for me to have a relationship. I work long hours at the office, and I knew whoever I dated would be at risk because of my mob connections. Better for me to stick to the occasional fling than try to form a real connection with anybody.

I showed Cara the bathroom connected to the guest room and handed her a stack of towels from the linen closet.

Before she turned to the bathroom, she hesitated. “Are you… are you leaving?” she asked meekly.

I couldn’t tell if she wanted to be alone or felt safer with me there, so I said, “I’ll work from home today, and I’ll be in my office if you need anything. Feel free to take anything you need, hang out in the living room, whatever. The food should be here soon, and I’ll put it in the fridge for you in case you’re hungry later.”

“Thanks,” she said quietly, then went into the bathroom and closed the door. I heard the lock click.

I went into my home office and sat down in the large leather chair at my desk, completely drained. Unbidden, an image of Cara’s naked body in the shower popped into my mind. I tried to brush it away, but I couldn’t help it.

Moments later, there was a knock on my office door. I opened it to find Cara, wrapped in a towel, biting her lip nervously.

She was truly stunning. With all that makeup washed off, I could really see her face. She had nice, even features, and startlingly green eyes. I stood, stunned, in the doorway, taking in the vision of her in a towel.

“Um, I don’t have anything to wear, and I don’t want to put those clothes back on,” she whispered.

I snapped to my senses. “Of course! Sorry I didn’t think of that before,” I apologized. I ran to my bedroom and grabbed socks, sweatpants, a T-shirt, and a robe. “Will this work for now?”

She just nodded and accepted the pile of clothes. Then I had an idea.

“Listen, I know you can’t leave, but maybe I could go get some of your things? So you can have your own clothes here? Would that make you more comfortable?”

“Yes,” she agreed quickly. “My stuff is in my dorm. Can you go to the University?”

I realized with a start that she must be a college student, and even younger than I’d thought.

“Sure,” I said. “Make a list of what you want and I’ll get it.”

“How long will I be here?” she asked.

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