CHAPTER SIXTEEN
STELLA
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What I should do is walk out the door. I should pull out of Declan’s strong, safe arms and leave his apartment where there’s no risk of telling him everything.
Of risking his life.
Tomorrow is my last day of freedom. I don’t care about my manuscript or my deadline. I don’t care about my parents who cannot love me if they are doing this. I just want to spend it with Declan and pretend he’s my boyfriend and I’m a normal girl.
One last day of pretending I’m a woman falling in love with an amazing man.
Tonight, Declan has burst that fantasy, and I sort of hate him for it.
You don’t understand.
Yeah, sweetie. I do. This is what I do.
No, this is different. He can’t call his SEAL team buddies and fly in on some helicopter during the wedding and save the girl.
I’m the girl. If I don’t marry Tony, he kills my dad. Nothing can change that. Only me saying I do.
Then walk out that door and tell me you feel nothing for me.
I couldn’t move when he said those words. My heart tightened, and it felt as if I was about to lose the one true thing in my life. I froze as we stared at one another, my heart pounding.
I thought he was going to ask me to leave, and strangely, of all the things happening, I think that would have killed me.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he came to me, wrapped himself around me like a safety blanket.
How can I do this?
How can I marry another man—any man?
Declan is...he is...
I shut my thoughts down, as acknowledging them is too dangerous at this point. I won’t have my own security from Thursday onwards, and I’ll legally be Tony’s wife.
My god.
They will have to sedate me because I swear I’m going to have a panic attack before I step outside my building.
“It’s not the Taliban, Declan. You can’t come in guns blazing and fix this.”
“I’m going to pretend I’m not offended by that.” Declan smirks and pulls his phone out of a pocket, glancing at the screen.
“Why? You were a SEAL.”
“Still am.” He brushes his knuckles over my cheekbone. “Which is why you can trust me to protect you.”
“I’m trying to protect you.” I huff.
“Okay, sunshine.” He scoops me up into his arms, and I grab hold of his solid neck, unsure what is happening. “I’ll do the protecting. You start talking.”
Before I know it, Declan grabs his keys and my small purse that I had at lunch with Charlotte and carries me out into the hallway.
“What are you doing?” I hiss as he pushes the button for the elevator.
“Taking you home.”
“Put me down.”
“Nope.”
“You’re crazy.” I press my face into his chest, trying not to smile. It’s the most inappropriate time in my life to smile, and yet this is what Declan Sloan does to me.
God, I want to spend every waking minute with him for the rest of my life. The way he makes my heart sing...and my body.
What isn’t there to love?
The elevator arrives, and we go down to the lobby and then cross the marble floor to my private elevator.
He never puts me down.
People stare.
“All right, Ms. Voss?” Gary from security asks.
“Yes. All good Gary,” I reply, and he grins back.
“Everything okay there, Captain Sloan?”
“Pretty good.” Declan nods. “Have a good evening.”
Gary chuckles quietly, shakes his head, and then carries on with what he was doing.
So much for security.
I could be in the middle of being abducted. To my own penthouse. Which, I suppose, doesn’t seem plausible. Still.
The doors ping open to my penthouse, and Declan carries me inside.
“You can put me down now.”
He grins, wandering across the floor, then finally drops his eyes to mine. My heart stops. God, he’s beautiful.
“No thanks. I’m happy enough with you in my arms.”
“Same.” I sigh and lean my head against his chest again to enjoy these last moments.
One more day.
Declan carries me up to my bedroom where we’ve previously spent hours having the best sex of my life, and places me on my feet.
The mood shifts immediately when his eyes turn serious.
What is happening?
“Get changed into something comfortable, sweetheart. Josh and Ryder will be here in about five minutes, and we’re going to talk about how to extract you from this situation.”
“Dec, no. You can’t. No.” Panic strikes me, and I grip his arm.
Ignoring my plea, he tugs me into the large walk-in closet and yanks a sweatshirt off a hanger. I don’t even take note of which one, as he tugs it over my head and pulls my arms through.
Like I’m a child.
I’m wearing the dress from lunch with Charlotte. I put it back on after showering earlier.
Control of my life starts fading before my eyes.
Tony demanding I cancel my private security.
Dad making me marry Tony.
Declan dressing me and forcing me to share details that could cost people their lives—Dad’s, mine, Mom's.
I just don’t know.
Maybe even Declan’s.
No!
I start losing it.
“I want this off. Get it off me. Now.” I rip at the dress and pull everything off when he steps back, studying me. “Damn stupid clothing.”
Muttering, I stomp around the closet, find a white sweater and black sweatpants. Then add a pair of white Gucci sneakers.
A buzz lets me know my guests have arrived.
My eyes fly to Declan.
He moves in close. “Trust me?”
I nod, but I’m half-lying.
I trust him to protect me, but without all the information, he can’t. So, I’ll go along with this to keep him happy.
“I’m not going to let you marry that motherfucker. You are scared, and I understand why you won’t share what is going on. That’s okay, I’m still going to help.” His mouth lowers to mine, and I close my eyes as he kisses me like his entire heart is involved.
God.
Have I fallen in love with this man?
Because now I don’t know if I’m just a job or something more.
Everything is a jumbled mess.