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She wasn’t mine.
I had to keep telling myself that until I believed it.
CHAPTER 9
Riley
When his lips had brushed against my forehead, it had taken everything in me to still pretend like I was sleeping. His touch was so tender, and I wanted to melt into him and feel his strong arms around me, his warm breath on my skin, and his body pressing against mine.
I wanted all of that and more.
It wasn’t until the door shut behind him that I dared to open my eyes.
Had he really carried me to bed?
I stared up at the ceiling, trying to figure out my next move. With the softness of the warm blankets enveloping me, I reached up and brushed my fingertips against the place his lips had kissed.
After all of his hard-handedness, I hadn’t expected such tenderness from a man like him.
I couldn’t understand why he cared for me. What was his motive? Did he want something from me? Was I just some sort of sick fantasy of his or was this something more than that?
I didn’t know.
What I did know was that I didn’t trust easily, and it would take far more than a kiss to the forehead to make me completely comfortable around him.
He had said I was his responsibility, but why? What did that even mean? Did he feel like he owed me something?
I didn’t want to be a charity case.
I didn’t want to be a burden.
I rolled over onto my side, my hand resting against the pillow cupped underneath my head, and tried to quiet my mind, but nothing seemed to work.
I rolled over again, frustration building inside me. Why did he have to complicate things? Why did he have to care? No one had ever dictated my life before, and I certainly didn’t want it to start now.
The thought of being someone’s responsibility, their burden to manage, gnawed at me for what felt like hours.
I tossed the blankets aside in irritation, the cool air of the room brushing against my skin, doing little to soothe my frustration.
I was used to making my own decisions, used to relying on no one but myself. The sudden shift—to being under Maxim’s protective watch, to living within the confines of his decisions and his massive house—felt like a cage, albeit a gilded one.
The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. My life had never been easy, but it had always been mine to control. Now it felt like I was losing the very essence of who I was in the shadow of Maxim’s towering presence, and I couldn’t allow that.
Unable to lie still any longer, I threw off the rest of the covers and sat up, my breath coming in short, sharp bursts.
It was time I took back some power, time I reminded both Maxim and myself that I wasn’t just a passive player in this twisted game.
I would show Maxim that he wasn’t the one in charge.
That he wasn’t the boss of me.
I marched to the door, ready to demand answers, ready to reclaim some semblance of control over my own life. My hand grasped the cold doorknob, twisting it hard. It didn’t budge. I twisted harder, disbelief coursing through me—it was locked.
From the outside.
The fucking bastard had locked me in.
I rattled the knob, my frustration boiling over into anger.
