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"No kidding.” She had experienced the scary side of his life already. She saw him kill a man—it didn’t get scarier than that.

"But—” Lily said because she could tell that there was a but coming. She folded her hands in her lap but didn’t answer. Lily frowned. "Has he ever frightened you?"

“No,” Maria said. “Never. Has he ever hurt you?”

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"I mean..." Maria met her eyes. "Has he threatened you?"

"No,” Lily breathed.

"Has he raised his voice or cornered you?” Maria asked.

Lily shook her head. "No."

"Has he called you names or touched you without permission?"

"No," Lily breathed.

Maria smiled gently. "He frightens people because of what he's capable of." She reached over and squeezed Lily's hand. "Not because of how he treats them." Lily hadn't thought about it that way. She'd simply lumped Soren into the same category as every other powerful man she'd known. And maybe that wasn't entirely fair.

“Do you mind if I try to take a nap before dinner?” Lily asked. Maria had given her a lot to think about, and she needed to do that in her room—alone.

“Of course, dear,” Maria said. “I’ll wake you later.”

“Thank you,” Lily said. She stood and hurried into the house. As soon as she got to her room, she locked the door and sank onto the bed. Maria was right—Soren had never done anything to make her afraid of him. She was afraid of what she had seen him do, but he’d never done anything to hurt her in any way. Maybe she needed to give him a chance. He was, after all, protecting her, and for that alone, she needed to cut him a break.

Later that afternoon, Lily wandered into the estate's library. It was enormous, with its floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that lined every wall. The soft leather chairs that sat next to the fireplace made her want to curl up with a good book. The scent of old books wrapped around her like a warm blanket.

"This might be my favorite room,” she whispered to herself.

"This is my favorite room too." She jumped and looked over to find Soren standing in the doorway, one shoulder resting casually against the frame.

"I didn't hear you,” she said.

"I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said. Soren crossed the room with quiet confidence, and she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him.

"What are you reading?" he asked.

She held up the novel she'd found. "I haven't started it yet."

His gaze drifted over the shelves. "You read fiction."

"I like escaping to someplace else,” she admitted. Her life was always so complicated and messy; books were her way to escape her daily life.

His eyes settled back on hers. “I get that,” he said.

Silence settled comfortably between them. "So—” she said, glancing toward him. "Is there anything you don't own?"

"A sailboat,” he said immediately.

She laughed. "I'm serious."

"So am I,” he insisted. “I’ve always wanted a sailboat, but could never justify buying one since I’d never have the time to go out on it.”

“I guess that taking off work isn’t easy for a man like you,” she said.

“I’m not sure if I should be offended or flattered,” he drawled. “I’m going to go with flattered, though.” He bobbed his eyebrows at her, making her laugh.