Page 23 of Runaway Bride for the Boss

“This is really nice. Thank you.” She gives me another soft smile and fuck if that doesn’t make my cock even harder.

“What happened earlier?” I ask abruptly, needing to get away from her before I do something I shouldn’t – like kissing her again. But this time, there’s no Noah around to interrupt us as I carry her upstairs to my room, where I’ll toss her on my bed and use my teeth to take off those obscenely tight le—

“What do you mean?” she asks, her eyes darting away from me. I shake my head, trying to remove the image of her sprawled out in my bed.

“In the car when you had a panic attack. I want to know what triggered it,” I elaborate. My fists clench at my sides as I wonder what asshole traumatized her so badly.

She places the mug on the island carefully and raises a hand to push her glasses up her nose. A nervous gesture that is oh so fucking hot. I had no idea she even had poor eyesight. She’s clearly been wearing contacts until now.

“Without my glasses, I can’t see anything. That’s what triggered the panic attack. I’m sorry if I scared you.”

I narrow my eyes on her. Does she really not know what I meant? “There must’ve been an incident in the past that triggers panic attacks when you can’t see. I want to know what it was.” My jaw clenches and I add, “Who it was.”

Her gaze meets mine briefly, and she quickly looks away as she shifts on her feet. “It was a long time ago. You don’t need to know. Can I go now?”

It doesn’t matter? I need to know so I know whose head will roll for scarring her permanently with that trauma. But it doesn’t look like she’s ready to tell me. Later then. Now that I know herfull name, I can get a full report covering her entire life on my desk in the morning. So as far as she can tell, I let it go. But I’ll be damned before I let anyone hold that level of control over her. They’re going to fucking pay.

I round the Island to stand in front of her and she takes a step back. I smirk, remembering the first time I saw her in my house, in this very kitchen. “Why did you switch from wearing contacts to glasses then? It’s clearly a trigger for you to have them off.”

“Because I like them. I bought them for me, not because anyone else thought I should or shouldn’t wear them. I wasn’t expecting you to just pluck them off my face the first chance you got!” Her voice raises as she talks, clearly emotionally charged by the subject.

It perplexes me why she feels the need to justify buying something simply because she wants to. “I told you. I didn’t want to break them.”

“I thought maybe you didn’t like them.” A blush creeps up her face again.

I’m a man of complete control. I pride myself on executing every situation to the highest standard. But she makes those walls that I hold so firm feel like they could crack with her softest touch. I don’t know what I would do if that happens. She’s gutting me with that look in her eyes. As if I could dislike anything that graces her delicate face. “I won’t do it again.”

“Which part?”

“Any of it.”

“Can I go now?” she demands petulantly. “I don’t like being late for work, and I don’t have a phone to text Andrea. She’ll be worried.”

“I’m serious. What happened in the car earlier can’t happen again,” I tell her and she flinches. I take a step forward to touch her, but she stumbles backward, raising her hands up to stop me.

“Fine, whatever. It can’t happen again. You were the one who kissed me. The first time too, it was you. So maybe you need to be saying this to yourself.” She frowns. “Can I go now?”

She’s right, of course. I watch her for several seconds, and she shifts her feet. “George is waiting outside,” I finally say, and she spins around immediately, leaving me alone in the kitchen with a mug still half-filled with hot chocolate. I follow her to the car and pass the mug through the window, which she begrudgingly takes.

“And Autumn, the glasses are perfect,” I add before tapping the roof of the car with my knuckles and George drives off.

It’s not until the car is out of sight that I realize the hold this woman has on me. I don’t drink hot chocolate, yet I made it for her and chased her down to make sure she finished it. Not to mention, she’s barely out the door, and I can’t stop thinking about when I’ll see her again.

I haven’t even fucked her yet and already she has me not knowing up from down. I shove a frustrated hand through my hair as I go back into my house. Autumn Montgomery is a dangerous woman. That doesn’t stop me from shooting Noah a message.

Autumn Montgomery. She went by Wren Montgomery for a while. Find out everything about her and have it on my desk tomorrow.

I hesitate, then send off another message.

And get me the latest iPhone.

If she had a phone, she could have texted Andrea as soon as the rain started. My sister would have been happy to go pick her up. Then she wouldn’t have had to wander alone in the rain andget lost. What would she have done if her glasses slipped off in the rain?

Had a panic attack all alone? Why the fuck do I even care? I hesitate, then send another text.

Send someone to Andrea’s apartment tomorrow. Gauge the damage to her place and estimate how long it will take to replace the roof.

Noah replies with a thumbs up. The sooner Andrea’s place is fixed, the sooner Autumn can get out of my house and hopefully, out of my head. But for whatever innate reason, I like having her under my roof. Looking after her, keeping her safe. It’s in my nature.

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