Her own grief rolling over her, she dropped the last bite of sushi onto the plate as her emotions overcame her. She was done attempting to coax even a crumb of humanity from Valenti Domene. She was done trying to elicit some of the cordialityshe’d believed they’d shared when she was younger and a little perplexed but grateful for her new guardian, who also happened to be a real-life prince. When he would spend an hour or two doing something as simple as sharing space with her as she read in the library. Or letting her win at chess even though she knew he held near grandmaster status. He obviously didn’t see her in any way but as an irritating inconvenience. Her jaw gritted as she forced down a glass of mineral water.
If he wanted to treat her like a client, then she would treat him like a glorified bodyguard. And at last when all this was over, she would break ties with him once and for all.
Feeling better after her meal and even a little grateful for knowing the penthouse’s layout, she headed for the guest room. The last thing she wanted to do was to run into him.
Shutting the door behind her, she undressed and stepped into the shower. The water was heavenly, and she scrubbed herself from head to toe before shrugging into the fluffy robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door. Tying the belt, she grimaced when she realised that Valenti hadn’t returned her phone. For half a second, she contemplated going to his study to demand it back.
But she suspected the outcome of that conversation, and she wasn’t in the mood for it. But then neither was she going to cower away like an unwanted guest.
He may have taken her phone, but she had another way to circumvent that and achieve the necessary task she performed every night before bed.
Leaving the room, she tried to curb her itching need when she passed his study door. This desire to persistently engage with him was something she needed to get over quickly. Setting her lips, she entered the living room and picked up the remote.
A few clicks of the button and she’d accessed the internet and called up the page she was looking for. Relief pulsed throughher when she saw the blank message box. Assured that nothing untoward had happened since the last check-in, she accessed five more, all with the same result. She would need to do another check-in in a day or two, but for now she could rest easy. She was about to click out of it when her senses leapt to life.
‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
She spun around, the remote dropping from tingling fingers. He’d shed his jacket at some point and his sleeves were rolled up, exposing brawny hair-dusted forearms. Against the pristine white shirt, his warm olive complexion made her mouth dry, then flood with a sensation she refused to accept was hunger.
She aimed her gaze over his left shoulder, not giving him the opportunity to see any unwanted emotion in her eyes.
‘What does it look like? And before you jump down my throat, I was using an alias. I have several online personas.’
He muttered a curse under his breath, the brackets around his mouth tightening again, drawing unwilling attention to his strong throat and corded neck as he rounded the large sofa, pulling his phone out of his pocket. ‘You will list every single one of them for me. Right now,’ he breathed.
‘Valenti, I don’t—’
‘I don’t know how else to get through to you that this is not a joke.’ He thrust the phone at her. ‘Right now, Lotte.’
She snatched it out of his hand but didn’t move to do as instructed. ‘I will on one condition.’ His lips parted. Knowing he was about to issue another directive, she rushed in, ‘Promise me you won’t delete them.’
His brows clenched. ‘And why should I make such a promise?’
She swallowed hard, the temptation to tell him eating away at her, but she suppressed it. He didn’t care about anything she did. Never had. To him she was an unwanted burden he couldn’t wait to be rid of.
This part of her life was far too precious, far too private to be exposed to Valenti Domene’s ridicule or indifference.
‘Because they’re harmless. And this can be as simple as me asking you not to do a thing and you deciding not to be a bastard about it.’
His eyes blazed silver fire at her, searing deep, attempting to see to the very heart of her. She held his stare, her heart slamming hard in her throat.
‘You should know better than to think I would accommodate frivolous demands.’
She refused to let him land another sucker punch. She lifted her chin, resisting the urge to fold her arms defensively as she had before.Thenhe’d looked at her with something far too close to pity. Over her dead body would she let that happen again. ‘I don’t care what you think. This is whatIwant. Give me your word and I’ll give you the names.’
Silence throbbed between them as his eyes drilled deeper. She wasn’t afraid of what he would find within the little pockets of identity she’d created online. She’d gone to great lengths to ensure the messages would be indecipherable to anyone but her and their recipients. If she kept the true nature of those messages to herself, Valenti would not be any wiser.
‘You have my word that as long as nothing poses a danger to you, they will be left alone.’
Relief unknotted her belly. She had to be satisfied with that.
Fingers flying, she typed out the aliases then handed back his phone.
Valenti eyed his screen, as if he could decipher the truth by just looking at the names. Then his eyes lifted to her, the frown still wedged between his dark brows. ‘What the hell are you doing, Lotte?’ he bit out.
She forced a shrug. ‘Nothing you need to concern yourself about.’
His lips parted, but the knock on the door stopped whatever he’d been about to say. ‘We’ll pick this up later. Ada has brought your things.’
