Page 16 of Sweet Possession
Sighing, I scrubbed a hand down my face.“I don’t want you to look atit that I bought you, Cora. You’re a person. You can’t be owned.”
Well, she could. She would bemine,but she’d have her freedom. Herhappiness. She would be mine, but I’d be hers.
She sank her teeth into her bottom lip before swallowing.“Please, Fox. I want to know.”
“A million,”I replied, refusing to go back on my vow of being nothingbut honest.
Her jaw dropped open as a gasp left her, and her knees began tobuckle. I grabbed her before she could crumble to the floor, lifting her off the ground and carrying her to the stools on the other side of the island. She was practically weightless in my arms, but she didn’t resist, shock taking hold of her.
Her reaction was understandable. It was a lot of money, more thanwhat Freddy owed, and I had a feeling deep in my gut that Cora’s low self-esteemwas telling her that no one in their right mind would pay that sum for her. That she wasn’t worth it.
Her self-esteem could fuck right off.
She was worth every cent.
And more.
“I can’t repay you that kind of money,”Cora said, her featurestwisting in despair.
“Baby girl, listen to me,”I replied, settling her onto a stool and takingthe one next to her.“I don’t want you to pay me back, that was never my intention. It’s not about the money anyway. Hell, I would have paid double if it meant getting you out of there, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping you safe from the evils of this world.”
Her eyes flashed to mine, widening in horror as panic began to clutchher in its vices.“My dad…what if finds me? He’ll get into more debt and try to sell me again. I have to get out of Vegas. Or what if those men want me back? I can’t go back there, Fox, I don’t think I can survive a second time,”she said, her voice breaking as her breath came in short gasps.
I took her hands in mine, hoping I wasn’t pushing her boundaries withhow much I was touching her, but I couldn’t seem to keep my hands to myself.“Take a deep breath for me, Cora,”I said, doing my best to calm her.“Those men will never come near you. I promise you, Cora, no one will ever hurt you again. I won’t let them.”
I didn’t tell her that Nash and I had plans to deal with the Dukes latertonight. Yes, I promised to always be honest with her, but technically she hadn’t asked what was going to happen to them, so I wasn’t lying to her.
She held my gaze as she sucked in deep breaths, her small handstrembling in mine. Helplessness seeped into my bones. If there was a way Icould’ve waved a magic wand to take away all her fears, I would have done it in a heartbeat.
“What about my dad? What if he finds me?”she said whenshe’d calmed herself.
“That depends on what you want to do about him. Tell me you wanthim out of the city, I’ll make sure he never sets foot in Vegas again. Tell me you want him removed from the face of this planet, and it’ll happen. Whatever you want, Cora.”
Her eyes widened, but not in fear.“You…you would do that?”
“I know it’ll take time for you to trust me, Cora, but I hope oneday, you’ll believe me when I tell you that I will doanythingto keep you safe.”
To my surprise, her whole body relaxed as she slumped in her stool.“Thank you,”she whispered, relief and gratitude shining in her eyes.
Silence descended between us. I made no effort to move my handsfromhers, but she made no effort either.
“What happens now?”Cora asked tentatively.
“That’s up to you. You’re not my prisoner. I’d love for you to stay herewith me-”
“I…I can’t stay here,”she interrupted, making my heart plummet.“I’mnot your responsibility, and I have no money to give you for rent.”
I gave her a small smile and a gentle squeeze of her hand.“Cora, the minute you got into my car, you became my responsibility, and I know it may be an alien concept to you, but Iwantyou to be my responsibility. I want you to stay here. But I also understand if you want to get as far from Vegas as possible, and if that’s what you choose, I’ll help you start a new life somewhere else. It’s your choice.”
She was thoughtful for a minute, the cogs whirling in her head beforeshe returned my smile.“I don’t think I’ve ever had a choice before.”
“That’s something I plan on changing, baby girl. With me, you’llalways have a choice. But you don’t need to make a decision right now, take all the time in the world,”I replied, hoping she’d realize it was an easy decision to make.
To stay with me.
“Actually, there is one decision you do need to make now,”I said witha hint of humor in my voice, hoping to lighten the somber mood that had filled the air.“What are you going to have on your pancakes, chocolate or syrup?”
Her face broke into a beautiful and genuine smile, the tensiondisappearing from her body.Christ, she was stunning when she smiled, and I vowed right then to make sure she smiled like that every day she chose to stay with me.
