“I want to keep you,” he whispers. “But…I don’t know if I can.”
“Sasha, what do you mean?”
“My life. It’s dark and cruel. You’re bright and loving. To bring you into it would be the worst thing I’ve ever done.”
He is a good man. This just confirms it. Men will lie to get into your pants, but Sasha is telling me the truth—so much so that he has to know it could bring the opposite result. But he doesn’t care. He’s opening up like a safe to which only I know the combination.
“I want to take you swimming with dolphins,” I tell him.
“What?”
“You need to relax,” I tell him. “The king needs to come down from his castle sometimes. I feel like you haven’t been down in a while.”
Sasha’s eyes flash briefly with a danger I would imagine only his enemies have seen. It should terrify me, but it doesn’t. A lurch of excitement rocks me to my core. He’s a lion. A fierce animal—maybe even a monster, but there’s a soft side to him that he’s buried deep within. Maybe he doesn’t even know it’s there, but I do.
“Leaving the castle spells disaster for the kingdom,” he replies. “I could lose it all. And how would I protect you then?”
“Sasha—”
“No.” He shakes his head. He backs away from me, and even that simple motion causes a sinking feeling of loss in my stomach. “No, Ella. We can’t. It’s too dangerous for you. If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”
“What?” I almost raise my voice at him. “After all this? You’re going to just…send me home?”
“I have to. It’s the only way. If I don’t let you go now, I won’t ever be able to.”
Before I can react, Sasha gets out of the car and walks toward the house. Instantly, I’m hot on his heels, my face burning. “That—that’s not fair! You can’t do this!”
“It’s already done,” he growls without turning. This isn’t Sasha; this is the Ice Man talking. His phone is already in his hand as I slide in front of him, my heart pounding through my chest.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I tell him as I grab his hand. “If you want me gone, you’re going to have to drive me home. You can’t have one of your men do it.”
I see the anger flare in his gaze. He isn’t used to being disobeyed. For a brief second, I’m almost afraid, but I know that he would never do anything to me. He wants me safe. That’s what all this is about.
“You have a fire in you, gorgeous,” he finally says. Then he raises a single finger in front of his face. “One hour, and then you’re going home.”
I can’t help feeling like a bride and groom as we step inside his enormous home. It’s palatial, like something out of a movie. He gives me a quick tour of the downstairs—the kitchen, his office, an enormous home theater and a living room with a view that overlooks all of Los Angeles. And he takes his time about it. He also keeps his distance from me.
After twenty minutes, we find ourselves at the bottom of an enormous marble staircase leading to the second floor. Sasha doesn’t move.
“And what’s up there?” I ask.
“Trouble,” he replies.
“Trouble? Scary men?” I suggest. “Or a harem of models who dote on you daily?”
For the first time since we arrived, Sasha levels his eyes at me with full intent. “No. Upstairs is trouble, because upstairs is where the bedroom is, and if I take you to my bedroom, I know I won’t be able to stop myself. I can barely control myself now.”
So don’t! I want to scream at him. It’s growing harder and harder to ignore the buzzing inside me, like white-hot electricity arcing between us. I don’t care about the danger. If it means being with him, I’ll risk it. And he’ll protect me. I know he will.
Sasha opens his eyes to speak when my cell phone blares, echoing through the foyer like a splash of cold water in the face. There’s only one person who would be calling me right now. I check my phone. Yup. Mom.
“I have to take this,” I apologize as I answer. “Yes, Mom?”
Her voice is slurred and slow. I’ve heard it a million times. She’s drunk.
“Honey, I need you to come….come pick me up,” she says slowly. “I’m…not feeling well.”
“You’re drunk,” I reply. I’ve heard this story a thousand times, and every time she says it’s the last. I realized a long time ago that there will never be a last. “And I can’t come get you now. Take an Uber.”