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“They do, or they wouldn’t be on my security team,” he grumbles, looking so miserable with stress that I cross the floor to hug him.
“Do youreallythink someone’s gonna take down three trained bodyguards,andyou, just to get their hands on me so they can blackmail you or something?” I ask. “I get you’re high-profile, but this level of anxiety seems a bit much for the situation, babe.”
He gives me a soft look, and I realize it’s the first time I’ve called him by a pet name. I blush, a little embarrassed.
Adam cups my face. “Statistically, no. The risk is minimal. But it’s there, and it’s driving me absolutely insane. I can’t get the thought of someone hurting you because of your association to me out of my head, and I...” He trails off, but the rest of the sentence rings loud and clear in his pained gaze. He’s not used to having someone soft and squishable to protect.
“Loving you is like having my heart suddenly out in the open, unprotected instead of safe behind my ribs,” he murmurs, tormented eyes searching mine for any hint of understanding. “I need to know you’re protected, Eve. Always. Every second of every day.”
“I am,” I point out, the desperation in his voice keeping my annoyance at the newly installed security system and bodyguards outside my door at bay. The poor guy looks like he’s about to have a nervous breakdown.
Adam shakes his head and grips my face a little tighter between his palms. “It’s not enough. I need you to move in with me.”
My eyebrows lift high on my forehead, and I manage to sputter,“What?!”before he interrupts me.
“Just for a little while, until any public interest in you dies down. A couple of weeks… A month, tops. Please, my love. I need to know you’re safe, and my apartment is much more secure than your house. And private.”
The earnest plea in his eyes touches something soft in my chest, and my resistance slowly fades. Moving in together this soon is preposterous, no matter how much he claims we’re mates and fated to be together. But if it’s for a limited time, and it helps him get out of whatever alpha mind-spin he’s currently in, then fine. I can even pretend it’s a nice little romantic vacation. I’m sure his place is swankier than mine anyway.
“Okay. For a couple of weeks,” I say, giving him a reassuring smile.
My alpha’s face lightens into a relieved smile that makes him look years younger. “Thank you, darling. You won’t regret it. I’ll take such good care of you you’ll never want to leave,” he whispers before brushing his lips over mine, quelling the brief flutter of concern his words cause at the pit of my stomach.
* * *
Adam’s "apartment"is a massive penthouse. It takes up the entire top floor of one of the new, luxurious towers downtown, complete with a wraparound balcony.
I gasp in amazement at every turn as he gives me the tour, halfway stunned that something this beautiful even exists in Mattenburg. The place is obviously expensive, with rich wood and stone finishes, but where I’d expected ostentatious displays of wealth everywhere, Adam’s taste is pleasantly pared down.
“What, no helicopter pad?” I tease as he takes me out onto the balcony. The view of the skyline is amazing; I can see all the way across the river from here.
He gives me an indulgent smile. “No. It would ruin the tranquility I go out here for. And besides, where would you garden, if I took up our outdoor space with a big, ugly machine?”
“Ouroutdoor space?” I ask, eyebrows raised. “I’m going home in two weeks—maybe don’t decorate with me in mind.”
Adam's expression remains gently amused. “Sure. But you’ll be coming to visit often after that. And eventually, when we mate, this will be your home as well. Unless you’d rather live somewhere else? Perhaps a nice country estate outside the city? It’d give me a reason to get that helicopter you mentioned.”
I blush at the mention of us mating. “Look, it’swaytoo early to be discussing living arrangements. Let’s just get to know each other, okay?”
He smiles sweetly and gently nudges my chin. “Sure, darling. Whatever you want. Your wish is my command.”
* * *
He lives by those words.
Everything and anything I want, Adam somehow anticipates. Foot rubs, sweet words of affection, indulgent brunches, lunches, and dinners, the occasional walk in the nearby park or trip to museums and the theater, all interspersed with gifts of jewelry, clothes, and books. I have no idea how he guesses exactly what I would love every single time, but I’m too high on the romance of it all to care.
At night, he takes me to his bedroom and overwhelms my senses with pleasure. He doesn’t ask me whether I’m ready for penetration, despite the need burning in his eyes as he makes me climax with his skilled fingers and mouth. Instead, once I’m sated and boneless in the sheets, he finds his own release with my soft thighs pressed around his mammoth cock.
I know what he’s doing. He warned me how he would charm me into falling in love with him, and as much as the sane part of my brain is warning me of his tactics, I can’t deny that it’s working.
It’s not so much the gifts and pampering—though I’m not gonna deny both are very nice perks—as it is his intensity.
I’ve never been the center of anyone’s world before. My parents love me, but they were very much the kind of parents who didn’t believe in overindulging their child with attention. Previous relationships always seemed a balancing act of not showing too much affection, lest the power dynamic got skewed.
Adam has no such reservations. He makes it clear, both in words and actions, that I am his main priority. When we’re together, I feel the warm burn of his attention at all times. When he has to leave me to take care of his business, I receive multiple texts to check in on how my day’s going.
He also fires me.
