Page 17 of Risky Behavior: Submitting to the Ruthless Guard
“May I introduce my fiancée, Talia Crawford?”
“Fiancée? Well, Miles, you never fail to amaze me.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”
“You as well. Although I am surprised. It was just a week ago I heard that your future husband was seen with not one but two women downtown on the same night.”
Miles laughed and pulled me closer to him as I made eye contact with Leo, pleading for him to pull out his gun and shoot the bastard between his eyes. “Rumors do paint me in quite an interesting light, don’t they? Come on, Talia, I have a few other people I’d like you to meet.”
His hand tightened at my side, which I had learned was my warning to move when he did. I spent the remainder of the night being paraded around like I was some sort of prized possession, but the look in his eye told me I was nothing of the sort. He was tolerating me being around him, and I didn’t even care. I hoped he was as miserable over his decision to bring me into his life as I was being there. I stayed quiet on the ride home while he sat on the phone bitching to anyone who would listen about the people at the event. Apparently Miles thought he was better than everyone who he came in contact with, which wasn’t a surprise.
“I’ll take Talia to get her things for the night and then I will bring her to you.”
Leo’s voice as he followed us into the house was an awful reminder of what the rest of my night would consist of. Tonight would be the first night that he would leave me alone with Miles. My hands shook at my side as I walked into my room and Leo closed the door behind me. I closed my eyes and fought off the urge to lose it. That’s when I felt him.
Leo’s arms wrapped around me, and I could feel his breath on my neck. “I wanted to cut his hands off every time he touched you.”
I leaned back and let Leo’s strength flow into me. His warm body at my back calmed my racing thoughts. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“You can. You are one of the strongest people I know. I won’t leave you alone. I’ll stay outside the room with his other guards.”
“I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“I won’t.”
Leo turned me in his arms, and I reached around him, placing my head on his chest.
“You need to remember that you have a choice about what happens tonight. He can make you sleep next to him, but he doesn’t get to touch you unless you want him to.”
“I would never want that. He disgusts me.”
“He won’t take no as a simple answer. Be insistent and if you need me, call for me. I’ll be there.”
I nodded my head and stepped out of his arms. The longer I delayed the inevitable, the worse it would be when I got there. Leo stood by the door as I changed my clothes and got ready for bed. I opted for a sweatsuit that I only wore when we went out running. Under it I had on leggings, a t-shirt and a tank top. The layers helped me feel as if I had on some sort of armor. I walked out of the bathroom and Leo held the door open. As we walked through the house, the feeling of doom multiplied. It was as if I were a criminal on death row walking to my demise. The house was quiet and other than the guards that normally stood at the doors, there was no one to be seen. The silence was unsettling. Any time I was allowed out of my room, I could hear the laughter of the women Miles kept, or staff bustling around, and now there was nothing. When we got to the long hallway that led to Miles’s room, I took one last look at Leo and gave him a small nod.
There were two men standing on either side of the white double doors. As I approached, one lifted his hand and knocked on the door behind him with his gaze still focused solely on me.
“Send her in.”
The man opened the door, and I walked in. Knowing that Leo would still be outside gave me a bit more confidence than I had before, but the sight of Miles Carter standing in the middle of the same room he had assaulted me in only weeks early made my body shake.
“There she is, my beautiful little devil,” Miles snickered, “I have to say, you did better than I thought you would tonight. Now let’s see if you can continue following directions even without your lapdog in the room.”
I watched as he pulled the covers down on the side of the bed. “Where are your things?”
“In my room.”
“I thought I was clear that you would stay in here from now on.”
“I’ll get everything in the morning. I was just tired, so I changed and came right up.”
“I see you changed. That’s not what you will be wearing. Go into the closet and change into something more appropriate for your future husband to see you in.”
“I’m comfortable in what I’m wearing.”
“Go change, Talia, and don’t talk back to me.”
I felt the pain of his slap before I processed what he had done. He was moving closer to me as he spoke, but the sting of his palm across my face wasn’t something I was expecting. The worst part of it all was, I didn’t think I was the one who brought the violence out of him. I was certain that was just who he was. I lifted my hand to my face and ran my fingers over the burning skin before turning toward a door I had assumed led to his bathroom and hopefully the closet. Once inside, I found a black silk nightgown that seemed to cover more than anything else he had hanging there. None of it was new or specifically for me. Sizes, colors and textures varied from item to item, and all of it was designed to cover the bare minimum. I took off the layers of clothes I had armed myself with and slid the gown over my head.