Steppingonto the grass, she sank her feet into the earth. It wasn’t wet. There was enough sunshine to make it feel so amazing underfoot. She breathed out a sigh. The sunshine felt good on her body.
Raising her arms, she soaked up every single drop of it, baskingin the warmth. The heat. All of it. She didn’t want it to stop. Time seemed to stand still.
She’d never been the kind of person to stay locked in a house for a long period of time. As a kid,being able to run from her home was what helped her to stay sane. When her parents had their fucked-up parties, she never stuck around.
In her childhood world, she had two homes, three if she counted her grandma’s. Only, her grandma had passed away when she was ten years old, so she found an old dumping lot that she made into her home.
“What the living fuck?”
Noelle opened her eyes and smiled. She turned to see Evil coming toward her.
He’d already taken off his jacket, and she didn’t put up any fight as he threw it over her, covering up her nakedness.
Her ass was still in view, but he didn’t cover that up.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m not the kind of girl to be forced to stay indoors, Evil. You can’t keep me locked up in your castle.”
“It’s not a freaking castle. It’s a home.”
“Where I come from, it’s a mansion or a castle. I came from nothing, Evil. Don’t force me to do something I don’t want to do. I’m not fragile. I haven’t been broken.” She put her hand on his cheek. “I’ve learned how to fight for myself.”
“I’m taking care of you,” he said.
Noelle was aware of his attraction to her. She’d seen his arousal many, many times, but he never acted on it. She had no idea how to act on it. The guys she’d dated, they made the first move.
Evil was her boss. He called the shots, and a part of her didn’t know if shewas exactly right or just hoping to see something that might not even be there.
Chapter Three
Arnold and the three other men guarding his home were the best men Evil had. They had grown up on the streets together. Their loyalty was to each other, but they had seen Noelle naked.
He wasn’tgoing to kill them, but he had taken Noelle away from his country home, and now they were in his penthouse apartment. No one was going to see her naked.
Arnold had been waiting for him outside. He’d even offered him the gun to shoot him, but Evil wouldn’t do it.
Noelle would be pissed at him if he killed men for the mere response of seeing her naked. Thiswas on him.
After his dreams and being close to her, tormenting himself daily, he’d kept her hidden away while hedealt with the blowback from killing the two men who had tried to kill her.
For the past week, the streets had run red with the blood of his enemies. Even the mafia had tried to take a slice, but now, everything was once again under control.
He’d sent back the severed head of a capo with a warning. As for the small group of thugs hoping to deal drugs, all of them were dead.
Now, he could focus on Noelle. Noelle, who sat opposite him, glaring.
They were in his penthouse suite, but he’d also kind of … chained her to a chair. He might have also given her a sedative for the transport.
“This isn’t funny, Evil,” she said.
“I’m not laughing.”
“Let me go.”
“Not happening.”
“I am going to kick your ass.”