He was here to take care of a problem. One yet unaddressed. ‘Did you not think it would be useful to tell anyone you’d recently acquired a stalker?’ The snarl in his voice he deemed appropriate. Necessary even. Just having to speak that infuriating and disturbing sentence riled him anew. But the gravity of the situation couldn’t be underestimated. He’d done that once and lost a best friend, a vital ally and changed the trajectory of his life.
‘Anyone? Or you specifically?’ she taunted.
‘You do not want to test me right now.’
No. He didn’t feel an ounce of pity when she paled. When her fingers twisted faster in her lap as he approached the apartment building he’d personally vetted for security before installing her at the very top. Ostensibly away from the kind of attention she’d attracted and blithely ignored.
He was waiting when she finally faced him. ‘How did you even find out about that?’
He arched a brow, the simmer rising to a boil.
She stared him down, misplaced fury making her bold. And reckless. ‘And that’s what it takes for you to jump on your royal jet to see your unwanted burden?’
‘I didn’t use my royal jet. I came by military jet to get me here faster,’ he corrected crisply, then took satisfaction in her widening eyes and sharp intake of breath. ‘And you’re not deflecting this. Answer me, Lotte.’
Did he imagine her shiver at his use of her name?Dios, was he hallucinating this whole inconvenient but dire situation? That explanation—an eagerly welcome one—would fit why he was noticing far too many aspects of his ward. Like how the streetlight intensified the glow of her skin. The elegant sweep of her neck. How well her hips fit into the bucket of his passenger seat.
He swung into a parking spot too fast, upsetting her balance. The side of her breast and hip imprinted on his arm before she righted herself. And that bizarre sensation from three years ago returned, making his fingers curl tighter around the wheel.
‘Every social media personality with more than a handful of followers attracts trolls these days. It’s not a big—’
Launching himself out of the car silenced her. Valenti utilised the time it took to round the hood to drag control back into his being.
To remind himself that feelings and emotion and pleas and considerations didn’t matter.Couldn’t matter.
He’d sworn an oath to a dying friend, an exceptional woman who’d given much more than he’d been able to give back. He would keep his oath come hell or high water.
He yanked her door open. ‘Out.’
‘Valenti—’
‘We will discuss this properly indoors, and I would seriously suggest you come up with a better explanation for the oversight thanit happens to everyone so it’s no big deal.’
The moment she stepped out, lips pursed in displeasure, he wrapped his hand around her arm again. Not because he feared she would flee. Even his headstrong ward wasn’t that foolhardy.
No, it went deeper than that, he knew. And as disturbing as it was to admit, keeping his hand on her, reassuring himself that she was safe and breathing next to him, seemed paramount to quell his agitation.
She kept her silence until they were in the lift. Then her blue eyes narrowed. ‘You didn’t answer me. How do you know?’
He slanted a look dry enough to burn tinder. ‘Is that a serious question?’
‘Doesn’t the wordprivacymean anything to you?’
‘Does it to you? You share yourself with millions. I take an interest in whoever seems out of place. And when it comes toyour safety, I won’t compromise or apologise,’ he returned with zero remorse.
Her mouth dropped open. ‘You know I can have you arrested for that, don’t you?’
‘You’d be wasting your time. And mine. Or have you forgotten what we are to each other?’
Something flickered in her eyes, followed by a wave of pink in her cheeks before she turned her head sharply, directing her focus to the front doors of the lift. But while he couldn’t immediately decipher that expression, that whisper returned, a little more persistent. A little more abhorrent. Because it was unthinkable. In this lifetime or the next.
Because he would be heaping dishonour on top of a multitude of failures and sins.
The doors opened to the trio of staff who covered Lotte’s penthouse apartment.
Leif, the butler Valenti had hand-selected five years ago for his past military expertise, bowed when he saw him, followed swiftly by Ada, the housekeeper, and the young maid. ‘Your Highness, I’m so sorry, we weren’t aware you were coming. We would’ve been better prepared.’
Valenti caught Lotte’s pursed lips before she walked past him into the living room.
