Page 25 of Savage Prince
Magnolia’s warning is having the opposite effect.
No part of me wants to flee. Instead, with every step I take toward this man—a dangerous man—my senses are heightened and my heart pounds.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but the edge of danger beckons me. Probably like a moth to a flame where I’ll end up burned, but maybe that’s what my life is missing.Excitement. Risk.Because I haven’t been living. I’ve been existing.
Add on to that, there’s a false sense of security that also stems from her warning. If I keep it within these walls, I can flirt with danger but not get hurt.
I’m not dumb enough to take big chances with my safety, but the thought of pushing the boundaries I’ve set for myself andlivingdumps a shot of adrenaline into my blood. After months of sleepwalking, I finally feel awake and alive.
As my escort brings me closer to where I assume my stranger is waiting, the memories of the last time I was here unfold in my mind and my blood heats.
By the time we stop in front of a door on the third level of the club, I’ve decided that Magnolia’s warning isn’t going to change a damn thing for me tonight. I want what this man can give me. I’ll take it and walk away, no regrets.
“Enjoy, madam,” my escort says before he leaves.
Enjoy? I’ll do more than that. I’ll revel.
With a secret smile on my face, I reach for the knob and turn it. The scent of old paper washes over me as I take in walls of books inside.A library?
Once again, there is only one lamp emitting a pool of light, this time over a pair of large leather chairs—both empty. But I know better than to assume I’m alone this time.
“Where are you?”
“I wondered if you’d come.” His voice arises out of the shadows like it lives there. Belongs there. Like he belongs there.
Maybe I can too ... for now.
I spin toward his voice, power filling me. “You doubted me?”
“I assumed you’d doubt yourself. Glad to see I was wrong. Drop your purse and turn around.”
As soon as he delivers the order, the warnings and the worries fade away.I need this.
Because in this room, I don’t have to be me, the responsible and respectable Temperance Ransom. I don’t have to fret over doing the wrong thing or messing up. I’m not in charge here, and it’s a heady feeling.
Especially becauseheis calling the shots.
I lower my purse to the floor and give him my back.
“Good girl.” The approval in his voice washes over me. “Now, sit. Right chair.”
I step around the chair and lower myself into it, my fingers gripping the cushioned arms.
The large black rectangle directly in front of me brightens like a television screen coming to life, but instead, it’s a window into another room.
Another voyeur’s paradise. My excitement rises until I realize what room I’m looking at.
It’sthe office we were in before.
“Oh my God. People watched us?” My voice rises an octave as my heart rate skyrockets. I whip my head to the side, but I can’t see him beyond the wide back of the chair I’m seated in.
“Would you have liked that?”
“I didn’t have on a mask.” My mind races, attempting to remember the layout of the room and where the window I’m viewing through could have been. “They would’ve seen—”
“Everything,” he finishes for me, his voice coming closer. “But I don’t like an audience. Not my style.”
A relieved breath escapes my lips as I sink into the plush chair, my heart no longer feeling like it’s going to explode.
