Page 62 of King of Temptation

And it was. Reaching for the door, he opened it to find his grinning cousins on the porch. “Lochlan. Tiernan. Thanks for coming.”

Juggling a giant box each, they stepped inside. “No problem,” Tiernan said. “Where do you want us to set her up?”

“The den. I cleared off the desk this morning.”

“Got it,” they echoed together, and he had to suppress a shiver. Even after forty years, it was still fucking creepy how in sync they were.

The twins strode past him, heading toward the back of the house, leaving him alone with his frowning babygirl.

“What’s going on?”

“I had the twins go pack up your computer and grab anything that looked important.”

Goldie froze in place, her expression going blank as she stared at him. “You sent people to my home? When I wasn’t there?”

“Yes. I figured you’d need your computer. And some clothes.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, O’Rourke? Is this some weird mafia mating ritual?”

He couldn’t help but grin at that. “Considering Killian also kidnapped Aria for her own safety before they were married… yeah, I suppose it is.”

She blinked, then blinked again. “Kidnapped?”

“Yeah. Didn’t she tell you?”

“No! That’s not—Oh my god!” Shoving her hands in her hair, she began pacing the entryway, her movements frantic, jerky. “You can’t just kidnap people, Brody. That’s not how the world works.”

“It’s how my world works.”

Dropping her hands, she turned to glare at him. “No.”

“No?”

“No, as in, no, I will not let you just keep me prisoner here. I’m going home.”

He inhaled deeply through his nose, reaching for the patience she was sorely testing. “For the foreseeable future, this is your home.”

Eyes narrowing, she stepped into his space, crowding him, drilling a finger into his chest. “I. Am. Not. Your. Prisoner.”

“No, menace. You’re just mine. And I protect what’s mine.”

It was probably manipulative of him, but he couldn't find it in him to feel guilty about it, not when he got the pleasure of watching her pupils darken and her mouth tremble ever so slightly before she firmed her jaw. “You don’t play fair.”

“I know.”

Sighing, she stepped back, raking a hand through her hair, further mussing the playful pixie cut in a way that made him want to curl his fingers in the soft locks. “So, what? I just live here now? Am I allowed to leave?”

“For the time being, yes you live here.” As far as he was concerned, the ‘time being’ had no end date, but he didn’t want to scare her off. “And no, you’re not allowed to leave. At least not without me. You step so much as a foot outside this house without my permission and I will punish you. Harshly.”

Her breath hitched. “You know, you told me my books were bullshit and yet, here you are. Acting exactly like one of the overbearing mafia guys I write about.”

“Necessary evils,” he said with a shrug.

“You realize my father is going to lose his fucking mind when he finds out you’re keeping me hostage here.”

“I’ll handle your father.”

“No, you won’t.” Head falling back, she closed her eyes on a sigh. “I’ll just tell him I’ve decided to stay here until things calm down a bit. He’ll be pissed, but not nearly as pissed as he would be if he found out you were keeping me hostage.”