I don’t cry on the way back to Easton’s mansion. When I called to beg for his help, I thought I would, but I guess I’ve already settled on the idea I’m going back to the one place I tried to escape from. It’s as if the universe is telling me it wants me to be there … with him. Easton Van Buren … my husband.
My eyes instinctively draw up to meet his eternal gaze. Those eyes that can set my soul on fire with a mere blink. How does he do that time and time again? How does he defrost my heart and make me so complacent in my own captivity?
I don’t understand. Not when I’ve been living with such a sweet man for so long and still didn’t feel anything remotely the same for him even though he was perfect in every way. Too perfect, maybe. And Easton is anything but that, which is why I find it so hard to understand why my heart can’t stop beating out of my chest whenever I look at him.
It’s as if my brain hasn’t yet gotten the cue that I’m back in his clutches while my body is ready to go. And that is one confusing clusterfuck of feelings.
“That was a heartfelt goodbye you gave there,” Easton mutters while driving.
I look out the window at all the shops and homes and wonder if I’ll ever see the outside world again now that I’m going back.
“I needed it to last,” I say. “I probably won’t ever see them again.”
There’s a moment of silence. “Who says you won’t?”
I turn my head and glare at him, blinking a couple of times. Did he just say that? “What do you mean?”
He sucks in a breath. “I can arrange for you to see them more often.” He briefly glances at me. “If it makes you happy.”
A smile forms on my lips, and I fight back the tears. “I’d love that.”
He nods, and the smile that follows is the first semblance of humanity I’ve seen in him in ages. The last time was when he donated all those toys to those kids. Maybe there is more to him than meets the eye.
“You will keep your promise, right?” I ask.
“Are you afraid I’ll suddenly go back on it?” he retorts while keeping his eyes on the road.
I glance at him. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “This time is different.”
Why does it feel like he’s a completely different person from who I remember him to be? Did our time apart change him that much? Or did I just never see the real man he could be underneath the beast?
“I won’t punish him … if you come home with me without a fight,” Easton adds.
Goose bumps scatter on my skin. I should’ve known there’d be a threat sooner or later. I jumped to conclusions too soon, thinking he’d finally be a better man. That he’d finally be that boy I remembered from my father’s wedding when we were young … but that boy is probably dead by now. Easton buried him a long time ago.
“You mean, if you can do anything you want to me,” I say, turning my head so I no longer have to look at him.
He leans sideways, and whispers, “You ran away from home.”
“I ran away from you,” I snap back, looking straight at him. “From your fearmongering and dictatorship.”
“Did you just compare me to a—”
“Yes, I did,” I say, folding my arms. “You chased me away.”
His nostrils flare, and his lips part, twitching as he gnaws his teeth, but then he retracts his fangs and sits up straight. “If you feel that way, I will accept that.” He turns toward the road again so he can see what he’s doing before we drive off the road and into a wall.
I frown and lean back into the seat. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “Did you just say you’ll accept my feelings?”
He sighs. “I’m not going to repeat myself, Charlotte.”
Well, I’ll be damned. I look out the window and smile to myself. Maybe he has changed after all.
“What did you do to the notebook?” Easton asks.
I glare his way before responding. “I threw it away.”
I don’t look at him directly, but I still catch his reaction from the corner of my eyes. And oh boy … was it worthwhile.
Easton suddenly shifts the topic. “That man … did he touch you in any way?”
“Deion?” I mutter, and a blush appears on my cheeks at the thought. “No. He’d never.”
Easton grabs my chin and makes me look at him. “Tell me the truth, Charlotte.”
“I am. We haven’t done anything,” I say.
“But you lived with him in his house for quite some time, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but he’s a dad,” I say, making a face. “Why would we …?”
“Because he’s a man,” Easton explains. “And men do these things.”
I jerk away from his grasp. “Deion’s different.”
“You think he is, but he’s not. And the mere fact he took you in …” Easton balls his hands into a fist, and I can’t help but notice how scrunched up his face looks.
Is he … jealous?
“Oh my God,” I say, laughing a little.
“What?” Easton says, taking his eyes off the road shortly.
I rub my lips with my fingers to hide my laughter. “Nothing.”
“Don’t do that,” he says.
I raise a brow. “Do what?”
“If you’re going to act like a brat all the way home, I’m going to have to remind you of the rules … and that involves your ass turning bright red on my lap.” The groan that follows makes my pussy clench.
Fuck. I forgot how seductive he can get when he’s pissed off at me and just how much my body responds to it. It’s only gotten worse since I last saw him.
“You’re mine, Charlotte. Don’t ever forget that. You gave your life to me.”
“You took my life,” I correct.
“I didn’t kill you,” he says.
I look straight into his eyes. “Locking me up is the same thing.”
He blows out a breath through his nose. “I never wanted to lock you up, but if I didn’t, you would’ve escaped.”
“And I did escape,” I retort. “So what was the point?”
He takes another big breath and turns his head away, nostrils flaring. He knows damn well I’m right, but he won’t admit it. You can chain me up and keep me trapped, but it won’t ever stop me from trying to escape.
Suddenly, he stops the car in the middle of the road and presses a button. The doors unlock. “Get out then.”
My eyes widen. “What?”
“You heard me. Get out.”
“But—”
“You wanted out, right? Then go.”
I frown, flabbergasted by his proposal. Is he for real? Or is this all a joke?
“Leave,” he growls.
I grab the handle and open the door and put one foot outside onto the pavement. But my body refuses to get up from the seat. No matter how much I push myself to go while I can, to leave this man behind and never look back … I can’t.
My body won’t let me even though my brain tells me to walk. Freedom is within my grasp. He’s handing it to me on a golden platter. I should take this opportunity before he changes his mind.
But then why won’t my legs move?
I shudder as I suck in a breath and stay put, wind brushing past my leg.
This man took everything from me.
But this same man saved Ashanti from my father’s minions too. He brought her back unharmed and let both of them be as he promised. No monster would do that.
I close my eyes and let out a sigh.
“You can choose to leave … or you can give in to what your heart desires,” Easton suddenly says.
I swallow away the lump in my throat as though I’m trying to keep my heart down.
“Why?”
“Because I’m not just a bad guy, Charlotte,” he replies. “I care about you. And I’m sorry your father got in the way and ruined everything.”
“My father? This isn’t about him,” I reply with one foot still out the door.
“Yes, it is. He’s been driving a wedge between us since day one,” he says. “Even now, when I was trying to find you, he went behind my back and kidnapped that little girl.”
So it wasn’t Easton’s idea, after all? Wow. My father went to great lengths to get to me.
“He took her so he could get to me,” I mumble, staying put.
“If you hadn’t called me, I’m sure he’d have killed her,” he says.
I shake my head. “He wouldn’t. He’s not that vicious.”
“He is when his life is at stake,” Easton replies, glaring at me. “You know your father only cares about himself and his business.”
I lick my lips. “He wouldn’t hurt an innocent girl.”
“When I found her, she was surrounded by gun-wielding men who looked as though they’d done it before. You think he didn’t know who he was hiring? Wrong. He was counting on you to be obstinate, and he was planning to kill her as an example. I just know it.”
My heart beats in my clamped down throat, and it’s suddenly hard to breathe.
“He would’ve used her father to get you to come out of hiding and surrender,” Easton adds.
I try my best to keep the tears at bay, but I can’t stop seeing Ashanti in front of me … covered in bullet wounds with blood seeping out.
“No …”
“No,” Easton repeats. “I wouldn’t let that fucking happen. No one hurts goddamn kids under my watch,” he growls, taking his hands off the wheel to ball them into fists. “If he’d fucking told me his plan beforehand, I would’ve stopped him then and there.”
I bite my lip and look at him. “You’d do that even if it meant not finding me?”
“I’m not as evil as you think I am, Charlotte,” he growls. “I know what’s right and wrong.”
I look away and take a deep breath because it’s a lot to take in right now. Ashanti could’ve almost died if I hadn’t called Easton. He saved her. And not just to take me back, but I guess that was a nice bonus for him.
Maybe he isn’t as bad as I thought.
And for some reason, somehow, this simple thought is enough to make me pull my leg back in and close the door.
His eyes gleam with victory. “Now, let’s go home.”
