Page 4 of Midnight Rose

Her breathing picks up, but she doesn't say a word and looks like a deer caught in the headlights. I don't want her to be scared, and I'm the last person in the world she has to be frightened of. I live to protect her and wouldn't hurt a hair on her body unless it was done for her pleasure, that is.

Fuck. I need to stop thinking about pleasuring her, or the tent in my pants alone will scare her off before I have a chance to speak. Her scent fills the car, and my body seems to take on a mind of its own. It knows she is ours, and she's close enough to touch.

Then, unable to help myself, I lean toward her and run my hand over her long red hair. When we first met, it’s what drew me to her. I'd never seen anyone with red hair like hers. It's still long and the same color, but today, she has it straight and pinned back from her eyes.

Her beautiful green eyes are still locked on me, and her full lips are just slightly parted, but she has yet to speak. I know she is waiting for me to say something, to indicate if I'm a threat or someone on her side.

I smirk and say the one thing I have been waiting to say all these years.

"Miss me, Rapunzel?"

Chapter 5

Ruby

Only one person calls me Rapunzel.

Orlando.

Yet this man across from me looks nothing like the boy I remember. This man has the same dark hair and the same steel-gray eyes. He even says Rapunzel the same way, but that's where the similarities end.

The man in front of me has more muscles, long sexy hair, and a beard I want to run my fingers through. He also looks damn good in the suit he's wearing.There has always been something sexy about a hot man in a suit.

Even before comprehending it was Orlando, I was turned on by this man sitting across from me. My body seemed to remember him even when the rest of me didn't.

"Orlando?" I ask, still not sure I believe this is him sitting in front of me.

His eyes flash with heat as he offers me a brief smile, and I instantly know this is my Orlando.This is my best friend and the guy I had planned my whole life with. The man I thought I'd travel the world with and the one who would help me get away from my family.

That's what we'd dream of in the garden laying on a blanket, watching the clouds go by on those summer days before jumping in the pool. We'd make bucket lists and plan these extravagant trips that we both knew would never happen.

I sag in relief, no matter his reason for grabbing me. Even if nothing makes sense right now, I know I'm safe. His smile is gone and replaced by a stone-cold expression.

"What’s wrong?" he asks.

I look around, registering the fancy suit, expensive car, and even the watch on his arm is more expensive than a Rolex.Who is this man now?

"What is all this?" I ask without really thinking.

"Time for that later. Now talk," he says, sounding annoyed.

I study him for a moment. He radiates power, and like my dad, he seems to be used to people doing as he says when he says.How disappointed he will be when he realizes I won't fall in line like everyone else around him.

I think I'd have fun disobeying him, but I don't think now is the time to do it.

He raises an eyebrow at me, almost in warning, before I sigh and tell him everything I remember from the moment I walked into my dorm until he grabbed me.

He is angrily tapping on his phone, not saying a word, but the more I tell him, the madder he seems to get. When I finally finish the story, he still says nothing.While I expect yelling or for him to hop on the phone with my dad, he makes no sound.

Needing to break the silence, see how mad he is, and know what the plans are, I ask."Where are we going?"

"Home," he replies.

One word and cold panic grip me again.My heart races, fear grips at my heart, and I start shaking in fear of being thrown back into that tower.

"No!" I cry out, and his eyes snap to mine, and I start begging.Something I was taught never to do as a Russo.

"Don't take me back to my father. Please, I can't go back there. He will never let me out again. Please, I can't go back!" I'm yelling and crying, but he smirks and sets his phone down.

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