Page 19 of Bound in Matrimony (Belonging to Him Trilogy #3)

Chapter Nineteen

Knox

I sign the final transfer documents with one hand, the other cradling Claire against my chest as she sleeps.

Three hundred million dollars for a private island in the Caribbean—an amount that would have seemed astronomical to the hungry kid I once was but registers as a reasonable investment to the man I've become.

The man with everything to protect. Through the open door of my home office, I can see Seraphina curled on the living room sofa with a book, her honey-blonde hair caught in the late afternoon sunlight.

My wife. My daughter. My entire world contained in this penthouse, vulnerable to threats I can't always control.

But that's about to change. No more paparazzi stalking Seraphina when she takes Claire for walks.

No more security concerns in a city that, despite my extensive precautions, contains too many variables.

My family will have a sanctuary. A perfect, private world that belongs only to us.

Claire shifts against me, her tiny fist flexing open before curling closed again.

Three months old, and she already has me wrapped around those miniature fingers.

I adjust my hold, making sure her head is properly supported, and close my laptop.

The details will be handled by my team—the construction of our residence, the installation of state-of-the-art security systems, the creation of amenities that will make the island entirely self-sufficient.

My only requirement was absolute privacy and complete security.

The unease that's been growing in me since Claire's birth—since I held her in my arms and understood with crystal clarity what I stood to lose—eases slightly with the knowledge that soon I'll have a place where I can completely control their safety.

Manhattan is too exposed, despite the security measures I've implemented.

Too many people, too many unknowns, too many potential threats to the only two people who matter.

I rise carefully, moving with the measured caution I've developed since becoming Claire's primary carrier. Amazing how quickly protective instincts override decades of decisive movement. Now every step is calculated to maintain her comfort and security.

"Is she still asleep?" Seraphina asks as I join her in the living room, her voice hushed.

"Out completely." I settle beside her, shifting Claire to rest in the crook of my arm. "She gets that from you—the ability to sleep through anything."

Seraphina smiles, closing her book and leaning against my shoulder to gaze down at our daughter. "You look good with her."

"She makes me look good." I press a kiss to Claire's dark hair, so like my own. "Everything makes more sense when I'm holding her."

It's true in ways I'm still discovering.

The relentless drive that built my empire, the obsessive attention to detail that others find exhausting, the need to control every variable—all of it has found its perfect application in fatherhood.

In creating a world where my daughter and wife are safe, protected, secured against any possible threat.

"You've been busy today," Seraphina observes, her artist's eye missing nothing. "More acquisitions?"

"Just one." I meet her gaze, considering how to present this particular purchase. Seraphina has adapted to my possessive nature, even embraced it, but a private island might test the limits of her acceptance. "A significant one."

Her eyebrows rise slightly. "The tech company in Seattle? I thought that deal wasn't closing until next quarter."

"Not a business acquisition." I shift Claire slightly, buying myself time to find the right words. "A personal one."

Interest sharpens her expression. Seraphina knows my patterns well enough to recognize when something unusual is happening. "Should I be concerned or intrigued?"

"Hopefully intrigued." I reach for my phone, pulling up the satellite images I've been studying for weeks. "I bought an island."

She blinks, processing my words with admirable composure. "An…island. As in, surrounded by water, appears on maps, that kind of island?"

"Yes." I hand her the phone, watching her expression as she scrolls through the images. "Six hundred acres in the Caribbean. Completely private, accessible only by boat or helicopter. Natural freshwater springs, perfect climate year-round, deep water harbor on the leeward side."

Her eyes widen as she takes in the pristine beaches, the lush interior, the perfect natural cove that will house our dock. "Knox, this is…extraordinary."

"It's for us," I explain, feeling an unfamiliar need to justify my decision. "For you and Claire. A sanctuary where we can be completely private, completely secure."

She studies my face with that perceptive gaze that has always seen too much. "This isn't just a vacation home, is it?"

"No." I don't insult her intelligence by pretending this is a typical luxury purchase. "It's a refuge. A place where I can control every aspect of your safety and Claire's. Where we can live without constantly scanning for threats or worrying about exposure."

Instead of the resistance I half-expected, understanding softens her features. "You've been worried."

It's not a question, but I answer anyway.

"Since the day she was born. Since before that, but more acutely now.

" My arms tighten slightly around Claire's sleeping form.

"The world is full of threats I can't eliminate.

People who would target you or her to get to me.

Environmental hazards. Security breaches. "

"So you bought us an island." There's no judgment in her voice, only a gentle understanding that loosens something tight in my chest.

"I bought us safety." I meet her eyes directly. "I know it seems extreme?—"

"It seems like you," she interrupts, her hand coming to rest on my arm. "Completely, authentically you. Protecting what you love the only way you know how—thoroughly, absolutely, with no half measures."

The acceptance in her voice—the complete lack of surprise or criticism—reinforces what I already knew: Seraphina understands me in ways no one else ever has.

"There's more," I tell her, encouraged by her reaction.

"The main residence is being constructed now.

Everything you could want—a studio with perfect natural light for your painting, a library, spaces for Claire to grow and explore safely.

But there's also a complete security system, medical facilities staffed year-round, sustainable power and water supplies, agricultural areas to grow our own food. "

Her eyes widen slightly. "You're not just thinking of vacations, are you?"

I hesitate, then decide on complete honesty. "I want it to be our primary home. Not immediately—I understand your career, your connections here. But eventually. A place where Claire can grow up free from the constraints and dangers of the city."

Seraphina is quiet for a long moment, absorbing the full implications of what I'm proposing. Not just a luxury retreat, but a complete life change. A withdrawal from the world into our own private domain.

"What about your company?" she finally asks. "Vance Industries is here in Manhattan. Your entire empire."

"My empire exists to serve one purpose now—securing the future for you and Claire. I can run most operations remotely. For the rest, I'll commute when necessary."

She shakes her head, not in refusal but in wonder. "You'd do that? Restructure your entire business model? For us?"

"For you. For her. For the family we're building." I shift Claire to my shoulder as she begins to stir, patting her back in the rhythm I've discovered soothes her instantly. "There's nothing I wouldn't change, nothing I wouldn't sacrifice, to keep you both safe and happy."

Seraphina moves closer, her head resting against my free shoulder, her hand coming up to cover mine on Claire's back. The three of us connected, a perfect circuit.

"When can we see it?" she asks, surprising me.

"You want to?"

She lifts her head to meet my eyes. "Of course I want to see our island. Though I'm going to need some time to get used to saying that sentence."

Relief washes through me, followed by a surge of something warmer.

Not just acceptance, but enthusiasm. "As soon as you feel ready to travel with Claire.

The temporary structures are already in place.

The permanent residence won't be complete for another six months, but we can stay comfortably while we're there. "

"And it's completely private? No chance of photographers or intrusions?"

"None." The word comes out harder than I intended, revealing the depth of my concern about privacy since Claire's birth.

The paparazzi's interest in Seraphina increased tenfold once she became my wife, and Claire's arrival sparked a feeding frenzy that tested the limits of my legal team's abilities.

"The entire island is invisible to surveillance.

The security perimeter extends five miles into the surrounding waters.

No one approaches without our explicit permission. "

Instead of finding this extreme, Seraphina nods. "Good. Claire deserves to grow up without cameras in her face."

Her easy acceptance of what many would consider paranoid security measures confirms yet again why she's perfect for me. She understands the threats without needing to experience them firsthand.

Claire begins to fuss in earnest, her tiny face scrunching with the precursors to a full cry. Seraphina reaches for her, our daughter transferring seamlessly from my arms to hers.

"An island," she murmurs, more to herself than to me, as she begins to rock Claire gently. "Our own private world."

"Too much?" I ask, still uncertain despite her positive reaction.

She looks up at me, her green eyes clear and direct. "For anyone else, maybe. For Knox Vance? It's exactly what I'd expect." Her free hand finds mine, squeezing gently. "Most women get flowers or jewelry. I get an island. It's perfectly, wonderfully you."

The last of my tension dissolves. She understands. Of course she does. This brilliant, perceptive woman who accepted my obsessive nature long ago, who recognizes that my need to protect and possess comes from a place of absolute devotion.

"There's one more thing," I tell her, reaching for my phone again. "The island needs a name for the official registry. I thought..." I hesitate, suddenly uncertain. "I thought we might call it Claire Island."

Seraphina's eyes shine with unexpected tears. "You're naming it after our daughter?"

"It exists because of her. Because of you. Because of what you've both given me." I find myself struggling to articulate emotions I'm still learning to express. "A purpose beyond ambition. A reason beyond success."

She leans forward, pressing her lips to mine in a kiss that says more than words could. When she pulls back, there's a certainty in her eyes that matches my own.

"Claire Island," she agrees. "Our sanctuary."

As I watch her with our daughter, I feel the familiar fierce protectiveness that has driven me since the day I met her, intensified a thousandfold since Claire's birth.

The island is just the beginning. I'll reshape the world if necessary, rebuild my empire from the ground up, change every aspect of my life to ensure they remain safe and happy.

Because nothing—not power, not wealth, not success—means anything without them.