Chapter 24
Claire
“Ryder, be reasonable.”
He shakes his head. “Baby, no.” He’s making me a cup of coffee exactly how I like it.
I’m leaning against the counter, arms crossed, arguing. I’ll never win an argument with this infuriating man I’m going to marry tomorrow, but I intend to win this one.
He smiles as he hands me my coffee. “Bear claw to go with it?”
I want to ignore the coffee, but it smells so good, and I badly need my caffeine fix. By this hour of the morning, I’ve usually consumed two cups. I didn’t work today, though. My parents insisted I take today off. The wedding is tomorrow. I’m also taking next week off.
I pick up the cup, take a few fortifying sips, and set it back on the counter. I’m glad Gretchen isn’t here yet, and Tiago hasn’t come downstairs. No one needs to listen to me arguing with my fiancé. Mostly because they usually laugh. Apparently, everyone finds us comical.
“Ryder…”
He lifts my chin with one finger, kisses me, and says, “No.”
“We have a lot to get done today. I have to pick up my dress. That might take a while if it needs alterations. Willow is going to make any changes while I wait. You aren’t supposed to see the dress.”
“Then I’ll drive you there and wait outside.” He turns, heading for the table with his coffee in one hand and a cherry Danish in the other. He sits in the same spot where he sat our first morning together—nine days ago.
I follow him and sit in the chair I sat in that first morning, but my gaze is on his fingers, the ones I sucked that day. I’m supposed to be arguing. Instead, I’m mesmerized by the idea of sucking my fiancé’s fingers.
Ryder sets the Danish on a napkin and leans toward me, his usual smirk in place. He holds his pointer out toward my lips. When he strokes them with the sticky cherry jelly, I open for him and suck. I’m a sucker for this man.
When he removes his finger, I shake myself out of my lusty stupor and narrow my gaze at him. “You have to go pick up your tux. I have to check on the flowers. You have to meet with Thomas about the ceremony. I have to meet with the photographer. We need to divide and conquer today.”
“Have you thought about music?” he asks as if I haven’t been speaking.
“Ryder, you can’t follow me everywhere I go for the rest of my life. It’s not reasonable. We haven’t seen Smith a single time since he waited for me outside that night. It’s been over a week. That’s a good thing. Maybe he’s given up. I think we should move on.”
Ryder swallows another bite and sips his coffee. “Claire, he assaulted you. We don’t know what the hell he’s planning. Do you have any idea how fucking nervous I would be letting you run around town doing all those errands by yourself? If something happened to you, I would never forgive myself.”
I rub my temples, trying to come up with a plan that he might agree to. An idea comes to mind. “How about if Tiago comes with me? That way, we can get everything done and meet back here.”
He inhales slowly, thinking. Finally, he nods. “I’ll agree to that.”
Footsteps entering the kitchen make me turn around to see Tiago joining us. “Agree to what?” he asks.
I push my chair out, slightly giddy from winning my first spar with Ryder. I follow Tiago toward the coffee pot. “Ryder thinks I can’t go anywhere without a bodyguard.”
Tiago grunts as he pours his coffee. “I have to agree with Ryder on this one, honey. You’re not going to get me to go against him. If you were my girl, I wouldn’t let you leave this estate without me.”
I blow out an exasperated breath. “Fine. Will you go with me? We have a lot to do today. Ryder and I need to divide it up. If you go with me, he and I can split the list and knock it all out.”
Tiago leans against the counter, blowing on his coffee. “Sure.”
If he weren’t holding a steaming cup, I would throw myself at him and hug him tightly. Instead, I beam. “Thank you. When can you be ready? I’ll go brush my teeth.”
Tiago chuckles. “Give me five to finish my coffee.”
Ryder reaches out and snags me on my way by. He scoots his chair back and pulls me between his legs before cupping my face and bringing my mouth down to his. He kisses me.
When I try to pull away to head upstairs, he grabs my hips and holds me steady. “I want your phone in your pocket at all times, understood?”
I roll my eyes.
He lifts his brows. When his mouth opens, I slam my hand over it. I know exactly what he’s going to say, and I don’t want him to talk about spanking me in front of his brother. “Ryder,” I whisper harshly.
He chuckles as he grabs my wrist and lowers my hand. “No exceptions. Don’t take it out and set it down. I put a locator on it. I’m going to check often to reassure myself you’re in one of the places you just rattled off.”
“Okay. Okay.”
“You will follow Tiago’s instructions at all times.”
“Ryder, I’m not a child,” I groan. Unfortunately, I also squeeze my legs together. Doubly unfortunate is the fact that Ryder looks down at my thighs because he knows this.
It’s mindboggling how his bossy side makes me horny. I’ve never considered myself to be a pushover. I’m fierce and independent. And then Ryder comes along, and I become submissive and meek. Okay, not meek. I’m still fierce, but damn, I like it when he’s bossy.
When it comes to my safety, I love it. I wouldn’t be as amenable if he interfered with my job or tried to tell me some crazy shit like women belong in the kitchen. I’d stomp my foot on top of his hard enough to break a bone, but he seems to get high on being bossy about safety issues.
We can’t live like this forever, though. Eventually, I’ll need to go places without him. We’re in a honeymoon stage, so neither of us has accomplished much since we met. He works a little. I work a little. Mostly, we’ve spent our time together, either exploring more of this odd mansion or making out.
We can’t sustain this existence. The town is counting on Ryder to make huge changes. I know he’s working on plans and has met with Thomas a few times while I was at the bakery, but he hasn’t had enough time to devote to those plans.
His voice drops when he speaks again. “If Tiago tells you to do something, you do it. Don’t question him,” he repeats.
“Okay,” I murmur.
He pulls me down for another kiss. It’s a wonder I can even think most of the time. This man can scramble my brain any time of the day or night with his kisses.
When he releases me, I scurry toward the stairs, hoping to escape before he can think of some other reason why we can’t be separated today. The truth is I have an ulterior motive. I want to pick up something for Ryder. He has piles of gifts for me in the closet. I want to have something to give to him. I’ve already ordered it. I just need to pick it up. Hopefully, Tiago will take me and keep my secrets.
“Oh, and Claire…?”
I turn around. I was so close to escaping.
Ryder is looking at me over his shoulder. “If I finish before you, I’ll go pack some more things from your parents’ apartment to bring over here.”
I draw in a deep breath. Do I want to argue with him over this, too? No. I don’t want to waste more time. “Fine.” It’s not like I have secrets hidden in my bedroom. So what if he sees my clothes or my keepsakes. After work for the last few days, I’ve packed most of my things. There are boxes stacked up against the wall. We’ve brought a few of them back here every night.
By early afternoon, I feel pretty smug. I’ve accomplished everything on my list. I even managed to pick up a gift for Ryder that I feel pretty good about. Tiago helped me.
I also texted Ryder ten times throughout the morning so he wouldn’t worry. Now, he’s still meeting with Thomas, so Tiago and I head over to my apartment to get some more packing done.
As soon as we step inside, my parents gush over Tiago. They’ve met him a few times, but they consider him a member of the family by association. They set him up in the kitchen with a sandwich and coffee before leaving to pick up Dad’s suit from the dry cleaner and run several other errands of their own.
I rush for the stairs. “I’ll try to be quick,” I tell Tiago.
As I take the stairs two at a time, I feel lighter and happier than I’ve felt in my life. I’m getting married tomorrow to the most amazing man I’ve ever met. He adores me, dotes on me, and worships me. It was fast. Maybe we’re both crazy, but I don’t think so. It feels right. I want to be his.
I’m giddy as I dash into my room. I’m halfway to the closet when I stop dead in my tracks as the door snicks shut behind me. One second later, a set of strong arms wraps around me, and a huge hand covers my mouth as I’m lifted off the floor.
Panic sets in. I can smell him. I know it’s Smith. His hand is gross against my mouth, and his breath reeks of alcohol. I’ve never seen him drunk before, but he is today. Or maybe it’s left over from yesterday.
I fight, swinging my elbows back to try and hit him in the gut, but I’m not strong enough or big enough. I can’t connect with any part of him. My legs are dangling, and I can’t even manage to kick him.
He sets his mouth on my ear. “We need to have a little chat, Claire.” His voice is menacing. I’ve never heard this tone from him before. It’s not the same as last week when he assaulted me. I still have the fading bruises. If he adds to them today, so I look like I was in a fight at my own wedding, I might be inclined to kill him.
My struggling is in vain. He holds me in the air, not moving. “I’m going to lower my hand. If you scream, I will backhand you so hard you lose some teeth. Do I make myself clear?” he growls.
I nod. I’ll do anything to get him to put me down and back away from me. Is there any way I can get Tiago’s attention? If Ryder were here, he would have come upstairs with me. I’m sure Tiago felt weird about coming into my childhood bedroom.
Smith slowly lowers me to my feet and eases his hand away from my mouth. He still has an arm around my torso, gripping me painfully tight, trapping my arms at my sides. “I mean it, Claire. Not a peep out of you, or you’ll be sorry.”
“Okay,” I mutter. For a second, I wonder how he got into my room, but then I realize it would have been easy. I’m sure the door to the stairwell didn’t fully engage at some point this morning. “What do you want?”
He lets out a low, sardonic laugh. “I’m here to collect what’s mine.”
I shudder. “What do I have that belongs to you?”
He grips me harder. “You, Claire. You’re mine. You were always mine. I’m not pleased with the way you’ve been running around town with that fucking rich cocksucker. I assume you’re attracted to his money, but money isn’t everything, Claire. You and I have history. We’ve known each other for most of our lives. I was patient with you for years. I waited for you to see that you belong to me. Now, I’m going to have to force you to see reason.”
I can’t breathe. Force me? How?
“You’re going to pack a few things, and then you and I are going to leave town together. We’ll go away for a while until you come around. Since you’re so determined to get married, you can marry me. I’m certain I’m a better lay than that rich guy. My cock is probably bigger, too. I’ll show you. You’ll see. We were always meant to be together, Claire.”
I can’t believe the insanity coming out of Smith’s mouth. Until last week, I’d never seen him act so strangely. Today, he’s worse. It’s like he’s possessed. I don’t even know him. I wonder if his father is aware of how off his rocker he is.
Smith’s mother passed several years ago. It’s just him and his dad now. They run the automotive shop together. If he acts this crazy around his father, the man has to know.
I need to stall him and keep him from acting rashly. Think. Think, think, think . Maybe I can get away with playing along with his plan long enough that Tiago comes up to check on me.
I nod and blow out a dramatic, relieved breath. “I’d love it if you’d take me away from here. I don’t know what I was thinking, agreeing to marry that man. It’s all happened too fast. It’s not what I want. Do you think you could help me get away?”
Smith hesitates before speaking into my ear again. He loosens his grip some. “Are you fucking with me, Claire?”
I shake my head. “No. I mean it. I’ve been trying to come up with a plan, but my car isn’t reliable enough to leave town. If you’d take me…”
He growls. “I’m taking you, Claire, because you’re mine.”
“Maybe you’re right, Smith. Maybe I’m a fool. I should’ve paid more attention to you. I didn’t realize you were so into me. I see how much you care about me. Let’s do this.”
“If you’re fucking with me, Claire, you’ll regret it.”
“I’m not. I’m serious. I need help. I can’t go through with this wedding.”
He snickers. “You wanna be my runaway bride, little Claire?”
“Yes. God, yes.”
He releases me. “Pack some things. Do it quick.”
“We have plenty of time. I’m supposed to meet him back at the mansion in two hours,” I tell him. I hope to God he won’t wait that long to come find me. Or Tiago. He will surely come check on me.
I don’t look at Smith as I rush over to the closet and pull it open. The only things left inside are frivolous boxes of childhood artwork and ribbons I won for spelling bees and math contests. There’s nothing in here to wear. Nor is there even a backpack. Everything like that is packed in the boxes against the wall.
Maybe I could open them and make a show of going through things, looking for what I might need to run away with Smith.
I need to do something to stall him. I have no idea how he thinks he’s going to get me out of the house past Tiago. I’m not sure if he even knows Tiago is downstairs. How long has Smith been up here waiting? How did he know I would be here?
I can do this. I can take my time. There’s no way Smith is going to manage to take me out of town.