Series: Willow Winters
Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50025 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50025 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Our glasses clink and the lights dim further.
“We’re needed up front,” a man in a gray suit with a silver striped tie says over Kelly’s shoulder. Kelly finishes her sip, and quickly introduces him to us before running off with him.
I vaguely recognize his name from some event a while back and I’m fairly sure the two of them had a fling back then. It’s practically ancient history, though, since it was before Kelly got married.
“Good luck tonight,” Trish says.
“You got this,” I add and off Kelly goes, hand in hand, dressed to the nines with a French designer and the spotlights shifting to be on them.
Applause fills the room and I join in looking to my right and then my left, waiting for Zander to emerge.
“Do you want to take our seats?” Trish questions, already tugging on my arm.
“I want to wait here I think,” I reply and again I look over my shoulder for Z. “He said he’d be right back.”
“He might be a little bit,” Trish comments and I stare back at her with my blood running cold.
“What do you mean by that?” My voice is deathly low as the designer takes the floor, announcing the new line and partnership with Kelly.
Trish searches my face seemingly confused before asking, “Did neither of them tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
She only gets a few hushed comments out before Zander is back at my side. Shivers climb up the back of my neck as I stand there, absorbing it all as quickly as possible so as not to show that I now know what he wanted kept from me. There’s a pounding in my chest as he kisses my cheek like nothing’s wrong and asks the two of us, “Could I walk you to your seats, ladies?”
A moment passes before a smile graces my lips and I let him take my hand.
All the while, turmoil and fear rage inside.
Still, it’s: Lights. Camera. Action.
ZANDER
With adrenaline pounding through my veins, the last thing I want to do is leave Ella, even for a minute. I loosen the tie at my throat and make sure my presence won’t be missed.
There’s a round of applause as Kelly passes the microphone back to the MC and the lights dim even lower so the spotlight is only on the runway. Ella’s hand hasn’t left mine since we sat down. We’re strategically placed in a private corner. It’s easy to come and go.
Kamden thought of everything.
As I prepare to leave, Ella squeezes my hand and her dark eyes peer up at me.
I don’t want to walk away from her side. Unfortunately, it’s necessary. This is part of the job. And it’s my responsibility, as Ella’s Dom and the man she loves, to ensure her safety. There’s a flicker in my chest as she stares at me, as if she knows I’m leaving again.
I’m the man who loves her. Anything less than what I’m going to do tonight wouldn’t live up to our relationship.
I lean closer to her, breathing her in before telling her, “You stay with Trish.” I keep my voice low so that only she can hear, but I make sure she knows it’s a command. “You’ll stay right here, or accompany her if she needs. You will not drink alcohol, and you’re going to keep your phone on.”
My pulse hammers as I prepare to leave her. She will be fine and I won’t be gone long.
A moment passes of silence as she stares back at me and then swallows, looking down before looking back at me. “You’ll be fine, my jailbird. You’ll be perfect even,” I tell her, reassuring her and kissing her temple. “I’ll only be gone for a moment and I’ll be back before the show is over.”
Ella looks deeply into my eyes. I can tell she’s responding to my tone. Her face flushes, and a hint of worry comes to her expression, but she gives in, trusting me as she should.
“Yes, sir,” she finally says. She leans in and kisses me. Her lips brush against mine and I almost find myself lost in the moment.
This is the start of our forever and I’m going to destroy everything and anything that stands in the way of that. With one last squeeze of her hand, I leave her and give Trish a nod. As I pass through the back, Silas is there, hands clasped in front of him. He nods my way and I return it as we share a glance.
She is safe, I remind myself and quicken my pace.
As I make my way through the event space, I keep in mind that whatever happens tonight has to be done quietly. We cannot afford for the police to get involved. If they are, any chance of a judgment in her favor regarding her conservatorship is fucked.