With quick hands, I splashed cold water on my face and shook my hair out. I could get through this day. I’d been through worse.
My mother’s bruised and battered face came to mind, and I winced. I couldn’t go there either. I stared at myself in the mirror for a second as water dripped down my jawline. My eyes looked tired and hollow, which matched exactly how I was feeling ninety percent of the time.
I pressed my palms flat on the counter and bowed my head. “Get it together. It’s just a woman.”
A woman you can’t stop thinking about. A woman who is promised to another. A woman who could be yours.
But none of that mattered because my personal feelings needed to take a backseat. I had a job to do. I was bringing Poppy straight to the wolves, and I needed to be in the zone. I couldn’t look like a lovesick puppy. I couldn’t appear like I was off my game.
By the time I stepped out into the living room, sunlight was cutting through the windows in bright streaks of gold. Jane’s light and easy laughter drifted down the hall and loosened something inside of my chest. It made me feel as if I could conquer everything.
She peeked her head out of her bedroom door and grinned at me. “Good morning, Ivan! Don texted me and let me know he would be here in five minutes. No need to wait for him.”
I didn’t like leaving her alone, but I knew that Don wasprobably closer than five minutes if he was telling me to head out already.
Poppy sat at the island with her hair still damp from her shower. It made my throat close up. All I wanted to do was wrap my fingers in it. She wore a light blue sweater with dark wash jeans and simple shoes. She never looked so beautiful, especially with the sunlight shining down on her, making her hair appear almost gleaming. She looked up from her phone, and her eyes softened. My chest tightened at the sight. My fingers itched to touch her, my lips craved her skin, and my body… It was once again on fire. I took a deep breath through my nose and cracked my neck.
I could do this.
“Are you ready to go?” She asked as she pushed away from the counter and stood up.
“About as ready as I’ll ever be,” I mumbled. I had a gun holstered at my side and several knives strategically placed all over my body to ensure I would be ready to protect Poppy. I would probably be ready for anything. At least that was what I hoped.
The drive through the city was a blur. Traffic was already building, and the morning light bounced off every mirrored surface like it was trying to blind me. Poppy sat beside me in silence, hands folded neatly in her lap, eyes fixed out the window.
I’d expected Donovan to send a driver. Iwas a slightly confused on why I was asked to bring her but I also wasn’t mad about it either. I didn’t know if I felt completely comfortable having Benson hack Donovan’s security system just yet, so that meant I couldn’t be an eye in the sky.
As much as I hated having to watch everything firsthand, it made me more comfortable to know that I would still be protecting her instead of the fake security Donovan hired.
Every few seconds, Poppy would check her reflection and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Nervous?” I asked.
She turned her head toward me and blinked. “Should I be?”
“No, you look beautiful, as always. Probably more so this morning than ever before.” The words slipped out easily because they were true. I loved to see her natural beauty. Her lips parted, but she didn’t say anything because we were pulling up to Donovan’s building.
It was a glass fortress that screamed money and power. Not old money like what I was used to growing up, but money all the same. It seemed sterile and cold. Not a place I would ever want to live. Poppy’s shoulders drooped, and I wondered if she felt the same.
Donovan’s men were already stationed out front—suits too clean and shoulders too square. Hired muscle pretending they knew what they were doing. None of them looked at me directly, but I could feel the hostility rolling off them in waves, especially as a few of them narrowed their eyes at me. Whatever, let them think whatever they wantedto. I wasn’t here for them. I was here to make sure Poppy was safe because they certainly couldn’t.
I stepped out first, circling the car and opening her door before any of them could move. I stood off to the side as she stepped out and plastered a smile on her face. She just adjusted her purse and followed me toward the entrance.
The doorman greeted her like she was royalty with a deep bow and a bright smile. I wondered just how well Donovan treated these people.
Inside, everything gleamed—white marble floors, gold accents, glass chandeliers. A shrine to excess. It didn’t smell like home, or warmth, or anything human.
I hated it already, and I hoped Poppy did too. I hoped it was enough for her to call all of this off.
The elevator ride up was silent again, but this time it felt heavier. I could see her reflection in the mirrored walls. A crease formed between her brows as she twisted the strap of her purse between her fingers.
The doors dinged open, and Poppy barely made it through them without falling on her ass; that was when I noticed she was trembling slightly. What would have her acting such a way? Why was she so nervous?
We stepped out into a grand foyer that was at least three stories high with black, shining floors and a grand staircase to our right. Ahead was a sterile kitchen and dining room, and to the right of that was a massive living room without a TV, of course.
The rich couldn’t indulge in peasant behavior.
Poppy cleared her throat. “Donovan?”
