Page 25 of Read This Before the Villain falls in Love with You

I stay right beside her. "I run this place."

"Right." She stops dead beneath the branches and turns so fast I nearly bump into her. "Go on, Moretti. Spit it out. You look like you walked down here to pick a fight and forgot what to say."

I should send her inside. I should put three more men on her rotation and go back to the war room where problems have clean edges. Instead I step closer, close enough that she has to tilt her chin up.

I step closer until our shadows blend together on the stone. "You're trouble I didn't ask for."

"Then let me go home," she challenges, though her voice catches for a second. "You know this is crazy. I don't belong here. If you're keeping me locked up, tell me what you actually want."

I watch the pulse jump in her throat. "I want you where I can see you, Blake."

"That sounds fucked-up, even for you," she mutters, her gaze locked on mine.

I lean down until she has to meet my eyes. "I'm just talking to you."

She pushes a flat palm against my chest. "Then tell the truth. You still have my phone. What did you tell my office? Amelia heard them shove me in that car. What did you tell my parents?"

"We sent your assistant an email before she called anyone," I explain quietly. "Used a voice clip to tell her you had an emergency client job in Switzerland. We wired money to your firm. Your parents got flowers and a card saying you'd be busy for a few weeks."

"You hacked my firm and forged messages to my family," she whispers, her eyes flashing with disbelief.

I take another half step forward. "I stopped people from panicking. And you're not getting your phone back because you'd call the cops in five seconds."

"Damn right I would," she snaps back, refusing to step away. "So make up your mind, Moretti. Last night you sat in my room until I stopped shaking, and this morning you stalk me from the roof. What do you want?"

I do not give her an answer. My fingers wrap around the front of her neck, my palm settling flat against her collarbone before she can take another breath. I keep the pressure light enough for air to pass, but firm enough that she cannot turn away. Her chin jerks up, the pulse under my thumb kicking hard and fast against my skin.

My thumb rubs over the racing beat in her neck. "This is me saying you're not going back to London. You aren't just some mistake anymore, Blake. You're staying right here."

Her mouth opens, then closes. For once she doesn't have a ready line. I watch the realization hit her in real time, watch her try to shove it back into the professional box she lives in.

"That's completely stupid," she breathes out, her chest rising fast against mine. "You run a crime family. I'm a mess with a British passport who hates being told what to do. Put me on a flight before I make your life hell."

"Probably," I agree, my gaze dropping to her mouth.

"Don't just agree with me, fight back," she whispers, her jacket brushing my shirt.

"I know the trouble you bring," I murmur, running my thumb over her bottom lip.

She searches my face, her voice dropping soft. "And you still won't call a car."

I do not move an inch. "Not a chance."

She lets out a short, dry laugh. "You're crazy. Completely out of your mind. Listen to yourself. Sorry I kidnapped you, but I like having you in my garden." She leans in instead of backing away, her hand catching my sleeve. "Say what you mean. If you're going to lose your mind, at least speak plain English."

I lean down to her ear. "You want it plain?"

"I do," she whispers, her breath catching against my cheek.

I could still stop this. I don't.

"You're stuck with me now," I say softly, my mouth touching the curve of her ear. "Yell for your lawyers. Call the cops. No one is getting you through that gate. I'd kill anyone who tried."

Nora's free hand comes up and settles against my chest, not pushing, just resting there like she's checking whether I have a heartbeat worth arguing with.

Her fingers twist into my shirt. "You really are insane," she mutters, her voice turning rough. "Completely nuts. And if you think I'm going to fall for this tough-guy act, you picked the wrong girl."

"You're the only one here, Blake," I remind her quietly.