Page 22 of The Billionaire’s Contract Bride

“No,” he said quietly. “It makes them vulnerable.”

“To whom?”

His gray eyes met hers, dark and serious. “To everyone.”

Aria looked back out at the empty streets. “You speak as though danger is waiting around every corner.”

“It usually is.”

“For you, maybe.”

“After tomorrow,” Damien said, “there will be no distinction between danger meant for me and danger meant for you.”

The sedan turned down a private driveway beneath a soaring tower of dark glass and steel. Two armed guards stepped into the light before the car had even stopped. One scanned the street while the other opened Damien’s door.

Aria looked up through the sunroof. The building seemed to stretch endlessly into the night sky.

“You live here?”

“I own it.”

Of course he does.

Inside, the lobby was all veined black marble, brass trim, and oppressive silence. There was no front desk, no bank of public elevators, no neighbors coming home late. Only a secure guard station and a private elevator waiting with open doors.

Damien pressed his palm against a black glass panel inside the elevator.

“Voice authorization required,” a smooth synthesized voice requested.

“Damien Blackthorne. Penthouse.”

The doors slid shut, and the elevator began its silent climb.

Aria looked around. There were no floor buttons, no visible emergency panel, no way to select a destination.

“How do I use this elevator?” she asked.

“Your security access will be configured tomorrow.”

“Before or after I sign away another piece of my freedom?”

“You’ve already signed.”

“I signed a marriage contract. I didn’t sign permission to be imprisoned in your building.”

Damien stepped toward the scanner panel. “System: add user Aria Vale. Temporary guest authorization: Penthouse and Main Lobby.”

The panel illuminated softly. “Voice sample required,” the automated system requested.

Damien looked at her.

Aria folded her arms over her chest. “Please release me from Damien Blackthorne’s luxury prison.”

The scanner pulsed a bright blue. “Voice sample accepted.”

Lucien cleared his throat into his fist. Damien offered no reaction.

“You may now travel between the penthouse and the lobby without me,” Damien noted smoothly.