Page 23 of Claimed By my Ex’s Uncle

"I bet you’re pleased with yourself," I hiss.

"I told you there was no point," he replies calmly. "Back to your room—now. I have things I need to take care of."

I stand my ground. The least I can do is not make this easy for him, as much as he apparently wants to make me suffer for having dared stand against him.

"I’m not going anywhere."

He turns his gaze to me slowly, looking me up and down. "I thought you would have learned your lesson by now, Rose."

His voice is cool, collected, but there is an edge to it that I know is meant to be a warning. Well, he might think he can intimidate me, but I’m not that easily convinced. I have already called the cops, shown myself capable of taking a stand against him. Does he think it ends here?

"No,” I grit out. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me when I can leave."

"I already did," he growls, taking a step towards me and sliding his hand to my arm. His grip is not firm, but insistent, like he’s intent on getting his point across. "We can discuss the possibility of you leaving when the baby is born. For now, you live under my roof. You play by my rules. Got it?"

I don’t move a muscle. "I’m not playing by anyone’s rules," I snap. "You’re going to let me out of here, or I’m going to⁠—”

"Going to what?" he asks hotly, shifting closer, so close now that I can feel the warmth of his breath on my skin.

Instantly, I’m thrown back to the way he touched me in his office. My heart flips, but I stand my ground, reminding myself of what I’m up against here.

"I’m going to find some other way to get out of here. And this time, I won’t tell you about it first."

The corner of his mouth tugs up into a smile, my attempts at intimidation falling on deaf ears. "I’ve been threatened by far more dangerous people than you, Rose," he reminds me. "Now. Your room. Like I told you."

This time, he takes it upon himself to steer me, guiding me away from the door and back down the corridor that has served as the entryway to my luxurious cell since the moment I got here. A creeping dread snakes up the back of my neck as I wonder just what kind of trouble I might have brought on myself, threatening him like that. Would he hold it against me, make me pay for it somewhere down the line? Hard to believe that he would just let it go after everything that had happened. But then, Ilya is constantly surprising me, and maybe there’s more mercy there than I gave him credit for.

I hardly have time to linger on that thought before we arrive back at my room. He unlocks the door and guides me inside. The walls feel smaller than they did the last time I set foot in here, as though the place has narrowed since I left this morning.

"You’re just going to leave me locked up here?" I demand as he moves to the door again. I know it’s crazy, but I don’t want to be alone right now, not abandoned with my thoughts. I’ll have no choice but to contend with the failure my plan turned out to be.

He pauses in the doorway before he looks back over at me, his eyes dark. "I’m going to do whatever I have to do to keep you and that baby safe."

"You’re not keeping me safe, you’re keeping me imprisoned," I shoot back. "I only came here because I thought this would last for a few days at most, and it’s been weeks with no sign that you’re going to let up."

"You keep looking for those signs," he replies. "You’re never going to find them. I’m just doing what I need to do. And you can play at calling the cops and making a scene, but I have everyone in this city where I want them."

His gaze sweeps up and down me.

"Including you."

I stand there in my bedroom, not taking my eyes off him, not granting him a moment of reprieve. If he wants to talk to me like this, if he wants to control me like this, then he’ll have to deal with me pushing back against his rules.

"You don't get to make that kind of call," I say.

"I already have."

He turns to move towards the door, and suddenly, I loathe the thought of being alone right now. I know that it doesn't matter, that it won't change things whether he goes back to his office or not, but I don't care. I need him here, need someone here, to salve that feeling of aching loneliness that has rushed through me since the very first moment I was dumped here.

"You—you're just going to leave?"

He pauses in the doorway, not looking back at me. For a moment, I’m afraid that I’ve gone too far, and I press my lips together, half-wishing I could take it back. But then, slowly, he shifts, turning to face me.

"Why?" he replies, voice steady. "You think I should stay?"

"I think—I don't—I mean, the least you can do is keep me company while I'm here, isn't it?" I demand, trying to make my voice sound neutral, though I am sure it reads as anything but.

He smirks slightly, eyebrow cocking. "Keep you company, huh?" he remarks. "I thought you hated me. Thought you saw me as your captor."