A Kingpin Love Affair: The Complete series(9)

“With that said, we need to lay down some ground rules. No leaving the house without me or without my permission. You’re to stay indoors unless told otherwise. My house is your house. Use what you’d like, watch what you want, and eat whatever is here. But you’re not allowed to make phone calls, and you’re not allowed to ask questions. I make the rules. I don’t want this to be a prison to you, but you’re here to be protected until further notice,” I said sternly, unblinking to the look in her eyes.

Her lips stayed slack, her hands fisted in her lap. Her hair was styled around her face with light curling at the bottom. I wondered if it was nearly as soft to the touch as it looked.

“Hmm, while this place will be just like home then.” There was a hint of anger in her words, but I dismissed it. I had no time to listen to her melodramatic attitude. She wasn’t worth the time or energy. My job was to protect her, and I would try with all my might to keep it just at that.

Protection. Keep telling yourself that.

A bubble of laughter formed in my throat.

Funny how my subconscious was a bigger * than I was.

“It will be better than where you came from, I can tell you that much. Stay out of my way and all will be good.” Making myself move, I headed for my bedroom needing air away from her. I had never expected someone so dark, compelling, and tempting. I knew it would be a woman, but I didn’t know she would be attractive or nearly as alluring as she was.

I walked into my room and straight out onto the patio, slamming the glass door with so much force, I worried it might break. The air seemed to be the only thing that could calm me down. I strained to get more oxygen in, forcing myself to take in a couple of deep breaths of fresh air.

Space and time—that’s all I needed. I could do this. It would just take some time. I could push her away if she thought even for a second she could weasel her way inside of me. I would build the walls up around me as high as I possibly could.

That’s all I needed. Space would save us both. It didn’t help that every time I muttered her name, I would be reminded of the woman I lost. I would have to get over it. I had made it this far without her memory. I wouldn’t allow it to haunt me now.

That woman in the other room had no clue the kind of chaos she was causing inside of me and she never would because I was locked up tighter than Fort Knox.

No one could penetrate my walls.





Chapter Five


Isabella

Rules.

They weigh the heaviest on me. They are what keeps me trapped here. Never being allowed to go anywhere alone or to make any phone calls. Not that I would even want to do that. It’s just knowing that if I wanted to, I could freely. The mere thought of being able to do so is nice.

The freedom of it all. Yet, I can’t.

This place should be my sanctuary, a place where I feel safe, and in a way, it is. I don’t think Jared would try to hurt me. I don’t think he would ever lay a hand on a woman. I can tell in the way he carries himself. But the fact that these walls around me feel like a prison, as if I traded one cell for another makes me feel like I’m suffocating and there seems to be no chance at surfacing.

“I’m making dinner.” Jared’s deep voice wraps around my thoughts, pulling me from my mind. I lift my eyes to meet his face but am greeted with air. He had already walked away before our eyes even had the chance to connect. A deeper coldness seems to shadow me as I start to feel more alone now than ever.

Today marked the third day of silence from him. He only talks when he has to, and even when he does, his sentences are short and straight to the point. It’s obvious he doesn’t want me here, nor does he want to be my guard.

My safe haven.

“Great,” I mumble under my breath to myself. Insanity was on the verge of taking over. At least, when I was being kept as a hostage, I had something to feel. Fear. Here I feel nothing but silence. He’s heavily guarded all the time in every way. Not giving me one chance at knowing who he is. He gives me no option, no chance of escaping the memories that cross my mind each day.

I can hear him in the kitchen, pots and pans being thrown around hastily. As he curses under his breath, it causes a spark of energy to form inside of me. Without hesitation, I cross the living room floor and come to a stop at the threshold of the kitchen as my eyes wander up and down his body.

I love the way his muscles move as he walks around with his back to me, his hand gripping the pan he just grabbed from the stove. I should be scared of men–of him, cowering somewhere in a corner in fear. I suppose in some ways I am scared, but something about Jared makes me feel free. Safe even. There is a compelling nature to him that causes me to be drawn in, like a magnet to their polar opposite.

I shake my head and try to remove myself from my inner thoughts. He hates me. I could see it in his eyes and feel it in his words. My time in the trade showed me things like this, not only that, but it showed me things I never would have wanted to see in my life. It exploited me to very real pains, fears and hate that I never would’ve experienced had I continued to live a normal life.

“Why are you staring at me?” His voice was gruff, reminding me that I was in fact ogling him. Not just that, but I had been caught doing so. I casted my eyes to the ground and swallowed down the words I desperately wanted to say. When it came to my own emotions, talking did me no good. I needed to work through them on my own. However, it would’ve been easier to speak my mind openly if there was someone that wanted to hear what I had to say.