Page 54 of The First Taste

My question is, how is Keir capable of running a huge media conglomerate so ruthlessly well when he can’t even run his own household? It’s honestly a little baffling.

I try another tactic, choosing to leave his issues with Isla untouched for the moment. Clearing my throat, I change the subject.

“Why do you guys live out here? Why not London or Paris or… Really anywhere in the world. Why here?”

Keir grimaces. “I have a custody agreement with Isla’s mother. It says that Isla can leave the country for ten days at a time but has to return to Scotland for school.”

“That still doesn’t really answer my question though. Why live so far remote from all the day-to-day conveniences that Glasgow has to offer? There’s got to be a reason for that.”

He narrows his eyes on the road and purses his lips. “It’s a long story. But essentially, it boils down to the fact that it is so remote. See, Isla’s mother is something of a wild child still. And by living in a faraway destination from the types of dirt bags and parties that she loves, I’m almost assured that Isla’s mother will stay far away.”

My eyes widened. “So… You and Isla’s mother…”

He cuts me a look. “Are not together, if that’s what you’re asking. Kingsley is a wild child, not ready to be held down by anyone, not even her own daughter. I decided after years of Kingsley disappearing for months at a time that I’ve had enough of that. Isla deserves a lot better than that.”

His gaze hardens as he says the last line. I arch a brow, wondering if he intentionally left himself out or not. Hell, he could be in denial over that too, for all I know.

“So, when that journalist asked about your wife…”

Keir’s jaw tightens. “He didn’t know what he was talking about. Nobody does. It’s not something that anybody knows outside of the castle.”

“Except your family. Right?”

Keir briefly rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “Yeah. Except my family.”

I glance out the window, noticing that we are about to drive into a thickly forested area. I sit up a little straighter and peer out the window, thinking how different this area is with its tall fir trees and densely packed low light. Everywhere I’ve been so far around here has all been beautiful rolling hills and a small, lightly forested area of trees just behind the castle. This is new and different, taking me by surprise.

Keir speaks after a moment and I almost jump at the sound of his voice. Preoccupied as I was with the local flora, I nearly forgot that he was even here.

“I want you to try to calm Isla down when we get to her school. I have to take the principal out back to the woodshed and I would rather Isla not see me make the man cry.”

Squinting at him, I frown. “Is that why you brought me along?”

“What kind of question is that?” he mutters.

Folding my arms across my chest, I give him a look. “It seems like you are taking advantage of the situation. I don’t know if I have to remind you of this, but I am not supposed to be taking care of Isla. I’m here because you insisted that it would make the investigation that the journalist was doing go away. Since then, I haven’t heard a single word about it. I’m starting to think that you just wanted a nanny and the best way you could think of to get one was trick me into it.”

He slams on the brakes, bringing the car to an abrupt stop. I glance at him, my eyes going wide. He looks at me.

“That is not what is going on here. I wouldn’t just dump my daughter off on a random stranger. That’s what Kingsley did. And I will never be so foolish as to think that anyone else cares for Isla the way I can.”

He says it sternly, his blue eyes blazing and pinning me in place. Then he shuts up and stares at me, seemingly waiting for some response from me.

I swallow. “Keir, you seem to think that you are special and the exception to the rule on almost everything. But I have been around the upper class before. I just came from that world, from the elite ballet world and the very rich patrons that support it. I have seen rich men before. Hell, I even dated one. And my experience is that if you don’t speak up for yourself and put boundaries in place, you’ll be stepped all over in a flash.”

He cocks an eyebrow. “I thought I made myself perfectly clear on the plane. I slipped up when I spent the night with you before. It’s not gonna happen again. I just need to make sure that the journalist didn’t alert anybody else about the sex tape, that’s it.”

“Whatever,” I say. I roll my eyes. “You can say whatever you want. But I know about rich men. You sleep with them one time. And then they think they own you. Let me tell you what… You don’t own me.”

His brows hunch. “I thought you were a virgin…”

Flushing, I shake my head. “I am. I mean… It doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you understand my role here.”

He glares at me. “I understand all right. No need to explain. Once I am sure that we’re in the clear, you’re on the first plane back to New York City.”

I open my mouth to protest. But he suddenly floors the Range Rover, making me hang on for dear life as the car accelerates.

Before I can ask another question, we come around the rise of a hill. There in the valley below us spreads out a winding road with tall trees on each side and a large white building nestled just behind them. I can make out its shape and as we get a little closer, I see that it is three stories and nearly as grand as the castle itself.