Page 14 of Connor's Claim

“Too late,” I taunted and dropped down the other side until I was dangling from the bottom of the rails, getting as low as I could.

“Who the fuck are you?” he groused.

A hefty boot crushed my fingers, but his aim was off, and I let go and fell, landing like a cat, though the holdall nearly broke my neck as it swung. Without looking back, I sprinted away. Down the garden, under the oak, and out along the neighbours’ path.

The sky was brightening at the edges, dawn fast approaching. I had another objective in the city—to find Riordan fucking Jones, but daylight wasn’t my friend. I also had a more urgent need to get back to Everly, just to check on her again.

People had come for her. The dickhead who’d stomped on my fingers had been carrying what looked like thin plastic strips. Zip ties, I was certain. They would have taken her, and I’d never…

See her again? What the fuck did it matter to me?

And yet it did. Throwing myself into my car, I got the hell out of there and didn’t let my thoughts go any further down that dark hole.

Chapter 6

Everly

Someone was watching me. I jerked up in the bed, disorientated by the unfamiliar surroundings. My brain caught up. Connor’s apartment.Right.After he’d left, I’d taken the paperback from the top of his book stack back to his bed and started reading. I’d only meant to pass the time, but it was still the middle of the night, and I wasn’t used to staying up all that late.

The thriller lay discarded on the sheet where it had fallen from my grasp. Beyond it, reclined in a chair, and with one ankle propped up on the other knee, Connor waited.

I blinked at him, my alarm settling into something else. “You used to do that often. Watch over me.”

“I used to do a lot of things.”

Desire curled in my belly. Connor’s gaze dropped to my chest, his hoodie removed before I slept. If he used to love my body, he’d been obsessed with my boobs. They were big, so much they stretched out most clothes I wore, including thesilk camisole he’d kidnapped me in. Under his gaze, my nipples pebbled, and I resisted the urge to roll my shoulders. Present myself better for him.

It was strange how easy this was. Being around him all but naked. I never let any man see me so undressed.

His nostrils flared, and with what looked like effort, he centred his focus on my face. “I brought your things. Your father left an answerphone message while I was there. He’ll be away until Tuesday.”

Summoning my father was a bucket of water to my libido. “Have you spoken to him since you left us?”

“Not directly, no.”

Indirectly, then. What did that mean? By one of his staff?

Connor shifted his position, both feet now on the floor and his forearms on his knees. “Ye should know that two men were prowling the house when I was leaving. They came to your bedroom. One almost caught me.”

“God. Are you okay?”

He inclined his head. “I said almost.”

“The threat was real, then.” I wrapped my arms around myself, thankful for being here and not there. Waking to strangers in the house again would’ve been terrifying. “I need to call the security team. If those men hung around, they can scare them off, and they’ll also coordinate with the housekeeper to get the door fixed. My father will need a report. I’ll tell him I went to stay with a friend.”

Connor extended his arm to lift a holdall he must’ve taken from my wardrobe. He tossed it to the foot of the bed. “Your phone’s in there, knock yourself out.”

I unzipped it to find my phone right on top, then dialled the number for the security team. Quickly, I related what had happened then hung up without letting them ask any questions. Then I texted my father, though I almost certainly wouldn’t geta reply unless the happenings angered him. There was a missed call on my screen, and a message saying it was Genevieve. She’d sent her number as promised.

I hid my smile and set the phone down. Connor was still watching me.

“Check I brought everything ye wanted.”

“I’m sure you did.”

There was a challenge in his eyes. “Go through it all anyway.”

I extracted my lilac-coloured dress then another, an older one I hadn’t asked for but wasn’t sorry to see. “You rolled them to stop them creasing. Thank you. Is there somewhere I can hang them up? Or are you moving me to another room?”