Page 150 of Pandora's Pleasure

I’d turned up the air-conditioning thinking that was the reason my chest felt tight. But no, it was her not being here that made me feel like I couldn’t get enough oxygen.

Pandora had eventually texted to say she was on her way, but until I saw her I would be filled with trepidation.

That little minx had ditched her security and gone off on a jaunt in my BMW. I knew driving around town without an escort was her way of rebelling against the system that had held her captive all her life. Still, even as my lover she’d have to stay within the confines of my security detail.

I will marry her one day. I’ll find a way.

I followed Theo back into the sitting room. “Did you fire everyone yet?”

“Can we wait, please? Hear what Pandora has to say?”

Unable to draw in a deep breath, I loosened the bowtie I’d been wrestling with in the bathroom. “I’ll fire everyone myself then.”

I heard the sound of a key turning in the lock.

We both turned to watch Pandora walk through front door, both of us letting out a collective sigh of relief.

She strolled in as though her being out in the world alone was normal, carrying high-end shopping bags and looking unfazed from breaking the rules.

What the fuck were you thinking?

Days ago, she’d gone to see Salvatore Galante. Anything was possible with this girl. Keeping an eye on her was essential. I may love her, but Pandora going rogue again wasn’t an option.

I made sure my expression did not show the anxiety she’d caused me. Of course, I was glad to see her, but I had the urge to smother her in a revenge hug.

She looked different in an unexplainable way. I saw an internal conflict reflected in her eyes, as though she’d been touched by an inexplicable experience.

Or maybe it was just me.

Maybe I was seeing her as just a girl who’d been wronged all her life; being privileged but having gone unloved for all these years—a kind of hell camouflaged in luxury.

She needed someone to show her the purity of love. And I wanted to be that someone.

She threw the shopping bags onto the couch. “You both look nice.”

My back straightened. “Where have you been?”

“Just in case you changed your mind about tonight, I needed something to wear.”

I stepped closer, a look of apology on my face.

“I’ll wait in the car,” said Theo, moving by her. “Please don’t evade our security detail.”

“You mean Damien’s security detail,” she said abruptly.

“Damien’s, then.” He forced a smile. “If they fail to protect you, they’ll lose their jobs. Let’s not forget that.”

“As of right now,” she replied, “I’m a free agent. Let’s not forget that.”

Theo looked affronted.

“Theo, I’ve been stashed away in a fuck pad across town while the adults decide my future—advised not to return home because my parents want to ship me off to God only knows where…again.” She looked defiant. “And so, I wait to see what’s decided on my behalf. What will it be? Will I be a whore stashed away in a nice chateau as a plaything? Or will I disappear in the quiet of the night to a place where even you can’t find me.” She brightened. “Or I can take my power back.”

“By going shopping without an escort?” said Theo.

“Why, yes,” she faked a southern belle accent. “For starters.”

Theo let out a huff and headed for the door with his head bowed.