Page 2

TWO

Eagle

It takes a long time before I can unglue myself from the wall because I don’t trust my knees. Or any part of my body, for that matter. All my joints feel disconnected.

Pressing my fingers to my lips, I realize I’m trembling too. Kane Mathews is…

A force of nature.

“Girl,” I chastise myself, “he can’t really be into you.”

But a thrill races through me. He gave me his number. And trusted me with his truck key.

Now I sound like a teenager. But God, Kane represents everything I crave. A protector. A man who walks to his own drum. The air around him crackles with confidence. Not the kind that comes from his bank account.

Everything my father and the people in his lane aren’t.

Voices—obnoxious and loud—carry to me from the east end of the mansion. Some of my father’s associates, lurking. Hanging out in his billiards room. Probably talking about women and the way they only see them as arm candy, something to be paraded around, not really loved.

Ick. A shudder hits me. They’re gross.

The way they watch me makes my skin crawl. As if I could be one of those women. I want to live. Not wait on some man to?—

With a sigh, I push off the wall and head in the opposite direction. Not being allowed to go to class today means I’ll have to stay upstairs, or risk running into trouble.

“Eagle!”

My skin shrinks, dread pooling in my mouth until I have to swallow. Pasting a disinterested look on my face, I turn to find Charles Bonnet walking toward me, smoothing his tie down. “I didn’t expect you to be home today, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart. Hearing it come from Charles’s cracked lips sounds like nails against a chalkboard. But when Kane called me that, a hungry chasm opened up in my tummy.

“My father wouldn’t let me go to class.”

“Really?” His eyes do something weird, bouncing between my lips and my breasts, before he grins. “Finally figured it out, didn’t he?”

I know better than to ask, but I can’t stop myself. “What?”

“That your looks are the only thing you’ll ever need.”

Both of my hands curl into fists next to my thighs. “I’m glad you believe that, Charles, but I have plans.”

“That involve my bed?”

I gasp, my heart cartwheeling in alarm. “No!”

His hand goes to the wall above my shoulder. “I like you, Eagle. I could show you the world. Paris. Venice. Monaco. I need someone like you to round out my appearance.”

“That’s disgusting.” When he reaches up, hand nearing my face, I slap it away. “Don’t touch me.”

He chuckles. “I like your spirit, beautiful. It’s gonna be fun to break.”

The heel of my tennis shoe makes a satisfying impact with Charles’s loafer.

His bellow echoes off the polished marble floor as I run.