Penmort Castle (Ghosts and Reincarnation #1)(86)

It seemed, to Abby’s terror-clogged mind, this happened in slow motion.

“What the f**k are you doing?” Cash asked, his voice hitting the room like a whiplash, and Abby’s body jerked out of its temporary paralysis.

She walked to the suitcase and threw the clothes in.

“I quit,” she declared, heading back to the dresser. “I don’t know if you owe me or I owe you but whatever it is, we’ll just call it even.”

She was heading back to the suitcase with an armload of underwear when Cash’s fingers curled around her bicep, bringing her to an awkward stop.

Her eyes lifted to his and she demanded, “Cash, let me go.”

He didn’t respond to her demand, instead he asked, “You quit?”

She yanked at her arm but his fingers only grew tighter so she ceased this endeavour.

“Yes, I quit,” she told him.

His fingers squeezed deeper into her arm. “You quit what?”

“I quit being your escort,” she explained, “your pretend girlfriend. This isn’t working for me. Therefore, I quit.”

“My pretend girlfriend?” Cash repeated, eyes narrowed, and Abby was too much in a state to register that the air in the room had grown dangerously thick.

“Yes, your pretend girlfriend. I quit. Now, let me go,” she jerked at her arm but he still didn’t release her.

Their eyes held and she didn’t feel anything. So caught up in her act of self-preservation, the house could crash down on them and she’d rise from the rubble and continue packing.

Suddenly, his hand released her arm.

“All right, Abby,” he said quietly and she immediately walked to the suitcase, threw in her underwear and, seeing it was over-full, she hefted the top over and attempted to zip it closed.

“Would you like to tell me why you quit?” Cash’s voice came to her from behind.

No. No she definitely would not like to tell him that. Hell, she wasn’t even allowing herself to think of that.

“No,” she replied shortly.

“I see,” his voice said and Abby’s desperation increased as the zipper refused to budge against the gap created by her clothes.

Abby’s body was gently moved away as Cash murmured, “Allow me.”

Abby took a step back and watched him bend to her bag. He was still wearing his towel, the muscles in his back worked and she watched them with a detached fascination.

Therefore, at first she missed the fact that he wasn’t going for her zipper. He was picking up her bag. When he had it in his hands, he turned and tossed it to the floor. It landed, went skidding and slammed against the wardrobe, her clothes flying out in different directions.

“Cash!” she shouted but her breath left her in a whoosh as his arm hooked around her mid-section and she found herself on her back on the bed, Cash coming down at her side then rolling over the top of her.

She blinked rapidly several times and when he came into focus, he noticed and started speaking immediately.

And he used a voice she’d never heard before. It was somewhat like the hard voice he’d used when he first told her he took care of what was his. But now it held an edge of unbendable steel that sent her spiralling into a terror that made her recent demented panic seem like an insignificant tizzy.

“All right, darling,” he declared, “I’ll tell you how this is going to go.”

Abby went solid as she stared into his eyes, which were hard and glittering and very, very scary.

He continued. “I’m pleased you don’t want to be my pretend girlfriend, considering you haven’t been that since you begged me to f**k you the first time. I’ll not be paying you the next instalment on Friday as agreed, nor will I be paying the remainder you’re due at the end of our arrangement. Instead, I’ll be setting up a monthly allowance to be transferred into a joint account which you can draw on and not have to worry about taxes.”

At his words and their undeniable meaning, Abby’s breath caught halfway up her throat and lodged there.

Painfully.

Cash carried on. “If it isn’t enough, you’ll come to me and we’ll discuss it. You won’t get overdrawn and you won’t get into financial trouble.”

Something painful shot through her belly at what this statement revealed he knew but he kept right on talking.

“I’ll fix up your house so it’s safe and habitable. Then we’ll rent it, the payments will go into your current account, which you won’t touch. Ever.”

“Cash,” Abby forced out on a whisper.

He ignored her. “You’ll move in with me, properly, after my aunt and uncle’s party. If you want to work, you’ll work, but I’d rather you not as I travel often and I’d prefer you were with me. This will be your choice. Any salary you bring in also goes into your current account and you won’t touch that either.”

“Stop talking,” Abby begged.

Cash didn’t listen. “You’ll stay with me for as long as what we have remains good. When it doesn’t work for one or the other of us, we’ll move on. I’ll supplement whatever you’ve accrued so that you can live safe and comfortably no matter what might befall you until the day you f**king die.”

Abby was back to not being able to breathe.

“Is that understood?” Cash asked.