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“I got you something to eat.” Placing his hand on my back, he nudges me toward the table.
As I sit down, I notice bags and ask, “What else did you get?”
“Clothes that will help us blend in and supplies for the border run.”
I open the paper bag, which smells so good my stomach rumbles, and seeing breakfast burritos, I pick one up and pull the wrapping back before biting into it.
Rowan does the same and goes to sit on the edge of the bed. While he eats, he stares at me.
“I’m okay,” I say to set him at ease. “Just a mini breakdown.”
He nods and swallows the bite he just took. “You’re actually handling all of this a lot better than I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“That I’d have to tie you up.” He clears his throat. “That you’d scream and fight me every step of the way.”
“Am I pathetic for not doing that?”
“Not at all.” The corner of Rowan’s mouth lifts into a hot smirk. “Stupid people fight the inevitable. You know it would make things a lot harder for both of us.”
I finish my late breakfast, then look at him again. “Would you really have tied me up?”
Without missing a beat, Rowan nods. He gets up off the bed and comes closer. As he pulls clothes out of the bags, he says, “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you by my side.”
When I stare at him, he crouches beside my chair, and reaching up, he brushes the tip of his finger down the bridge of my nose.
“I’ve never had anything to love, so I will do everything in my power to protect it. I refuse to lose you.”
He sounds dangerously obsessive, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.
Between studying for the better part of my life and finding protection within the walls of Miles’ bar, I don’t have much experience with men. Especially ones like Rowan.
Where my heart swoons because the stupid organ thinks it’s romantic, a red flag goes up in my mind.
His eyes narrow on me while he tilts his head in a predatory way. “What’s the cautious look for?”
Unable to lie, I ask, “What happens the day I try to walk away from you?” When his lips part, I quickly continue, “Let’s say we live in Peru and ten years down the line, things don’t work out between us. Will you let me go or force me to stay with you?”
Rowan cups my cheek with his palm. “I really think that’s a worry for ten years down the line. We have a lot of ground to cover until then.”
“Just humor me.” I give him a pleading look. “What will you do?”
“If the impossible happens and we can’t make it work, we’ll separate like a normal couple, Annie. I’m not going to kill you the second things get hard.”
His reply sets me at ease, and it makes me realize I trust Rowan.
“Feel better?” he asks as he rises to his full height.
“Yeah.”
I watch as he grabs a pair of black boxers, and when he heads to the bathroom, he says, “Come, Annie.”
“Why?” My head swivels in his direction. “I already proved to you I won’t run away.”
“I want you in the bathroom where I can see you. It makes me feel calmer.” He disappears inside. “And your reactions are funny and cute, which is something I could really do with after the gas station, serious conversations, and long road.”
I’m not going to lie. I love how open he’s becoming with me. When we first met, it frustrated me to no end that he was so closed off.
