Staring into her blue eyes, he couldn’t look away. Didn’t want to look away. Cupping her cheek, he ran his thumb across her bottom lip. She didn’t pull away.
“Noelle, I want to fuck you,” he said.
“I know.”
“Then you need to get up and go back to your room before I do something you’re not going to like.”
She kept her hands on his thighs.
He stared at her and waited. She lifted up, and he watched her as she came in close. He felt her as she put one knee on either side of his legs, straddling him.
“Tell me what you want, Evil.”
He put his hands on her ass and drew her down so that she rode against his cock. “I want you, Noelle.”
“Then have me. You can take me. All you’ve got to do is take and claim. I’m all of yours for the taking. Just have me.”
He ran his hands up her back, and as they pressed their lips together, Evil felt something wet against his thigh, and he suddenly jerked awake. He’d spilled his drink on his thigh.
It had been a dream.
Glancing around the room, there was no sign of Noelle. No lingering scent of her around. He’d fallen asleep, and like so many nights before, his dreams had been filled with Noelle.
His woman.
Running a hand down his face, he got to his feet and checked the chair. There had only been a tiny shot of whiskey left in the glass. It had seeped into his pants, but nowhere else.
He needed to get his shit together. Dreaming of kissing, touching, and being close to fucking his woman was starting to wear thin.
After grabbing the glass, he made his way toward the kitchen, placed it in the sink, then headed up to bed. His bedroom was right next to Noelle’s. He put his hand flat on the door, wanting to go in, but if he did, he wouldn’t be able to curb his need.
His obsession was only getting worse.
****
One week later
Evil refused to leave his country home.
Noelle wasn’t even allowed to go walking in his gardens. It sucked. The bruising had all come out and was now slowly fading. The pain was gone, apart from her split lip, but that was easily dealt with.
What she hated was not being able to do anything. There was no long list of jobs for her. Nothing for her to do but sit and wait. She didn’t like not doing anything. Sitting around with nothing to do sucked.
This was boredom on a whole new level. What made it worse was that Evil didn’t stick around. He had a business to run, multiple businesses, so he was often gone during the day, and then home at night. They shared dinner together.
He left guards around his home. They were the ones who kept her inside. And she was growing tired of being kept under lock and key.
This wasn’t what she signed on for.
She stood at the back French doors. The sun was shining down. It had been raining for days, and now it was sunny. She wanted to feel the sun on her face.
“Arnold, I swear to you, I will start breaking things if you don’t let me out.”
“Take it up with the boss, Noelle. You know I can’t let you out. It’s his orders.”
She stomped her foot. After grabbing her cell phone from her pocket, she dialed his number and stepped away from the door. Arnold locked the door and nodded at her.
She gritted her teeth, and annoyance rushed through her. Evil didn’t answer on the first ring. Normally, she left him to do whatever it was he needed to do, but not today. No, he was done avoiding her for the last time.
Noelle kept on calling. She did this repeatedly for six times, until on the seventh, he finally answered the phone. “What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Seriously? You keep me trapped in your home, and all you’ve got to do is ask what the matter is?” She wanted to slap him, but she wasn’t going to do it.
No, she was going to be good.
“Noelle, I’m taking care of business. If this isn’t important, then we can talk about it later.”
“Oh, you mean during dinner when your phone is constantly going off, and you suddenly have to take every single little phone call?”
“Business is important.”
“So is my sanity.” She stared at Arnold’s back. “I’m going outside, and you know how I’m going to get outside?” she asked, moving her cell phone to the other hand as she started to remove her clothes. “I’m going to strip down and be completely naked. That’s right. Arnold and whatever man you’ve got posted on my door is going to see me naked unless you call and tell them that I’m allowed to go outside and enjoy the sun.” She didn’t wait for him to respond, hanging up the cell phone and stripping off her clothes.
She didn’t wear any underwear either.
Noelle had never done anything like this. This was her first time going naked outside.
Arnold turned around as his cell phone rang, and when he caught sight of her, he immediately closed his eyes and stepped away from the door.
She couldn’t help but laugh and then move away. His cell phone wouldn’t stop ringing.
“I believe that is the boss.”
Noelle had gotten outside, ignoring all the warnings going off inside her head to get back in the house. She kept on moving forward, going toward the lawn that looked so appealing.
Stepping onto 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, basking in 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 she was exactly right or just hoping to see something that might not even be there.
Chapter Three