Page 50 of Bound

Bayne’s voice comes through the screen. “She is not wrong.”

I forgot he was even here.

Lucian looks murderous. I touch his arm. “Lucian.”

“No.”

“We need to force him to play his last move.”

His eyes close for one second. When they open, they are clear. “Controlled arrival team,” he says. “Visible but contained. Erin appears only when and where I say.”

“No,” I say.

His eyes snap to mine.

I lift my chin. “Where Rafe says. Based on the plan. Not based on your panic.”

A muscle jumps in his cheek.

Rafe suddenly becomes extremely interested in his tablet, like he’s hiding a laugh he knows will get him killed.

Lucian steps close enough that I feel the heat of him. His mouth is by my ear. “You are pushing very hard for a woman I am considering locking in a vault.”

“And you are threatening imprisonment for a man trying to prove he trusts me,” I hiss between my clenched teeth.

He moves away with a furious exhale. “Fine.”

“Fine?” I repeat.

His gaze returns to mine.

Dark. Possessive. Furious.

Terrified.

“Yes, Erin. Fine.”

Blaze whistles under his breath. “Write it down, Oxford. We’re making history today.”

Lucian ignores him. “You appear as part of the controlled arrival team,” he says. “You do not improvise.”

I open my mouth to deny I’ve ever put myself in danger by creating terrible plans that I then followed.

His eyes narrow. “Do not make me regret this in the first thirty seconds.”

“No improvising. Got it.” I close my mouth.

Bayne laughs from the screen. “God, I hope I make it back for the wedding.”

“There is no wedding,” I say. “Because there hasn’t been a proposal.”

Lucian’s eyes remain on mine. His expression changes. His thumb brushes the bare skin at my wrist.

Once.

A lovely little promise.

Butterflies take flight in my stomach. Here we are plotting a man’s death, and I’m imagining wedding dresses. Silly girl.