CHAINED TO YOU: The Contract (5 page)

“I shall tell the maid to prepare the
necessities right away,” Ms. Lane said and headed up the
stairs.

Aria turned to the pretty one. “Sophie,
where’s Alfie?”

“He’s in your room, Aria,” Sophie said, her
sharp eyes on me.

“Oh, okay,” Aria said, pulling my hand to
step into the house. I saw Sophie was about to protest Aria holding
my dirty hand. But she held herself in check and took a few steps
back, allowing us in.

“Follow me,” Aria said, marching up into the
grand foyer. Sammy and I followed her like obedient soldiers.

I glanced over my shoulder at Sophie and saw
the woman narrowing her eyes at me. A sense of unease rushed
through me, and I shivered. That woman didn’t like me. I knew it in
my gut.

On the way to the bathroom, I didn’t take
much notice of the grandness of the house, as I was too worried
about the meeting with Mr. Maxwell. My body suddenly became tenser
as we climbed the stairs. Glancing back at Aria, I wondered if the
child was Mr. Maxwell’s granddaughter. If she was, then I wanted to
ask her what the old billionaire was like. I was so tempted to but
kept my mouth shut because Aria was talking nonstop about this and
that and piano lessons, and of all things, a rabbit on the
road.

“You know, Daddy should have brought the
rabbit home anyway.” She grinned at me. “I like rabbits. They’re so
cute and fluffy.”

I laughed. “I agree,” I said. I’d always
wanted a rabbit for a pet. But having a pet meant having another
mouth to feed, and I couldn’t afford that, even a rabbit who only
ate cabbage and carrots. Of course, there was still the cost of a
pet license, as well as vaccines for diseases, etc. There was just
too much money involved.

On the second floor, Aria stopped at a door
and opened it. “You can use this shower. It’s for guests,” she
said.

I peeked inside, and sure enough, saw it was
a bathroom. A very large and flashy one. Marble floor. Marble basin
bench. Multi-head shower. The stuff in a five-star hotel.

“Thanks, Aria,” I said, feeling a bit
overwhelmed. I was actually thinking I’d get a quick wash with the
hose in the backyard. And Sammy beside me, who was suddenly very
friendly to me, snuggling at my legs, would join me.

“That’s okay,” she replied. “You can come to
my sitting room when you’re done.”

“Actually, I have a meeting with your
grandfather,” I said.

“Oh?” she cocked her head to one side.
“Okay. But you can come to see me in my sitting room anyway. We can
have dinner to together. The housekeeper is making us spag—” She
paused and tried again. “Spaghetti bolognese.”

The word dinner and spaghetti bolognese
caught my attention, and my eyes brightened immediately. I couldn’t
really turn down a meal offer, now could I? After all, Aria looked
like she needed company.

“Okay,” I said, walking into the bathroom.
“See you later, then.”

She nodded at me with a big grin. “Have a
nice shower,” she said. Then to Sammy, she encouraged, “Come on,
boy.”

Once she was out of sight, I shut the door
and busied myself finding a pair of clean jeans and T-shirt.
Personal stuff fell out of the backpack in the process, including a
packet of muesli bars I’d made myself two days ago back home in New
Zealand. Ones that barely got out of customs at the airport
today.

On cue, the sound of my empty stomach
churning reached my ears, and I hastily unwrapped the packet. I
quickly munched one up as I stripped myself naked. I hadn’t eaten
since yesterday evening, my last meal, and it had been more than
fifteen hours.

Still chewing, tasting the sweetness of
cereal, dried fruits, and nuts in my mouth, I turned my attention
to the shower. Twisting the handle to the right, a burst of cold
water sprayed at me, making me jump. I turned it a little farther
to the warm section. A few seconds later, it was at the right
temperature, and I sighed in relief.

It felt so good, and the water temperature
was just right. Sticky brown goo ran down my body, leaving my skin
once again clean and milky white. I unbraided my long, black
tresses and rinsed away the dirt. I wished I could shampoo my hair.
As if God had finally for once answered my prayers, I happened to
turn and see the bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.
There was even a body sponge. My heart sang. Well, Ms. Lane did say
she’d tell a maid to prepare the necessities for my shower.

“Thank you, Ms. Lane,” I said softly. “Thank
you, maid.”

I quickly grabbed the shampoo and then
thoroughly washed out my long hair. Once it was rinsed, I proceeded
to condition it. Then I turned my attention to the body wash. A few
minutes later, I was nearly done. But what the heck? I didn’t want
to get out. I just wanted to stay in there forever. I was just
closing my eyes when a bark came at the closed door. I blinked.
Odd, this one sounded a little different from Sammy’s.

“Dogs,” I murmured to myself. I wasn’t a fan
of them. Even since I was a child, I’d been afraid of them,
regardless of the size. The encounter with Sammy previously hadn’t
been pleasant. Though the dog did warm up to me, and it kept nosing
at my backpack.

The sound of barks grew more aggressive,
followed by a low growl. I wondered if Aria was outside with the
dog. Perhaps I should have stayed put, at least until the barking
stopped, but I was stupid and I didn’t. I quickly turned off the
shower, grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around me. Then I
tentatively headed to the door.

The barking stopped then, and relief swept
through me. I’d always been a curious girl, and against my better
judgement, I grabbed the knob and opened the door slightly.

That was when all hell broke loose. Loud
barks blasted at me, followed by a whirlwind of a white fluffy body
throwing itself at me. Freaked out, I staggered back, landing on my
backside—
hard
—on the marble floor. I groaned and swore under
my breath.

Pain fled my mind the moment I saw the dog
heading my way, baring its sharp canines. It followed me until I
was cornered between the basin and the toilet. Suddenly, it cocked
its head to one side as it stared at me, its black eyes glistening
against the light.

I was told if you want to make a dog your
friend, let it smell you out by giving it your hand. Well, if I
wanted to get out of this bizarre spot, I had better become friends
with this little beast right now.

So with hand shaking, I reached out, letting
it sniff at me. It watched me for a moment, and I thought it was
going great. That was until it started barking again and growling
at me, snapping its mouth at me as if it were about to bite off my
hand.

I withdrew with lightning speed. Suddenly,
it turned its attention to my backpack, sniffing at the thing with
interest.

“What are you doing?” I asked the dog. It
was a stupid thing, of course, since the canine wouldn’t have been
able to understand me.

I leaned over, more concerned it was
interested in my bag. It turned and growled at me again. Then it
dipped its head into the bag and stuff flew out—my panties, bras,
T-shirts, shorts. You name it. Then it got what it wanted. My bars.
My delicious muesli bars.

“Hey, give it back!” I demanded
passionately. That was my only source of food for the next few
days. When they ran out, I’d resort to spending a tiny portion of
my three hundred dollars for buying burgers and chips to survive
until I went home. The return flight to New Zealand was in five
days. I hoped to get this two million dollars business sorted out
by then.

The dog turned its attention to me, and
knowing I’d fight it to the death for my belongings, it grabbed
onto my backpack and sprinted out the door.

“Shit!” I swore under my breath and hastily
got up. Clutching the towel against my chest so it wouldn’t unwrap
itself from me, I slipped out the door and raced after the little
thing.

“Come back here!” I demanded. “Give it back
to me!”

The little beast refused to heed my pathetic
commands and sprinted even faster across the hall. It turned and
then was out of my sight. I forced my legs to go faster, too, and
turned before realizing it was climbing the stairs. I went after
him, my anger flaring at the little canine who’d stolen my
belongings.

Finally, I came onto the next floor and,
without thinking, raced after the little beast. It turned a corner
and then slipped in through a slightly ajar door.

“Come back here, you little beast!” I
ordered. “Give me back my backpack!”

I burst through the door, and before I could
catch my breath, I slammed hard against a male body. I closed my
eyes as I puffed out a sound and bounced back from the brick wall
of pure muscle. I felt myself falling backward, when suddenly, warm
hands wrapped around my waist, pulling me back. In the process, I
automatically let go of my hands about the towel and wrapped them
around the muscular, hard body. The towel slid down and landed in a
pool of fabric on the soft carpet around my feet.

Finally, I opened my eyes and stared at the
pale-blue shirt that seemed oddly familiar to me. My heart pumped
loudly within my chest as I drifted my eyes from the broad chest up
to the muscular neck, to the firm jawline, the sensuous lips, and
then the aquiline nose.

I stopped there because I knew I just
couldn’t go any farther. I knew I’d seen that face already, a mere
hour ago, in fact. I knew if I were to go farther and meet those
Prussian blue eyes, I’d become breathless again with a sort of
electrifying excitement as well as foreboding apprehension. Of
course I wouldn’t be able to think clearly.

To be sure, I wasn’t thinking clearly now. I
mean, I never even thought about why the man with gorgeous Prussian
blue eyes, the man who had nearly driven into me, was here in this
house that belonged to Mr. Maxwell in the first place. Or the fact
that I was in his arms, naked and dripping wet. I didn’t consider
it was odd I found nothing wrong with the situation and, rather,
felt very natural. I felt like I belonged there, naked and in his
arms.

The dog barked again, securing my attention.
I turned my gaze to it and glared. Butchered pieces of my bars were
scattered on the floor and the dog’s mouth, evidence of the beast
devouring my limited resources for survival. My backpack was ripped
and torn, with damaged panties and bras and other pieces of
clothing lying haphazardly on the floor.

I was pissed. Had no one in this humongous,
expensive house fed this starving little beast of a dog? And my
clothing and one and only backpack was ruined.

I stepped back and rushed out of the tight
embrace of the man. I didn’t even care to even think what I’d look
like as I rushed over to the dog, naked, bending down on my hands
and knees, with my rear on full display for the hot stranger to
see.

I realized my mistake after I’d gathered my
clothes, clutching them in front of me. The moment I lifted myself
and met his eyes, I wanted to die.

There was blue fire there. His gaze was hot
and intense, and it made my body respond in a way I could never be
able to describe. A hot rush of excitement and pure agony and dread
whirled through my being, making me want to be anywhere but here. I
swallowed, my whole body now trembling as he paced toward me.

His gait, powerful and sexy, made me take a
step back, ready to bolt.

He stopped right in front of me. When I just
stood there, staring at the broadness of his amazing chest, he
said, “Mia Donovan?”

I slowly tilted back my head and stared at
his chin. That strong, beautiful chin that suddenly made me want to
touch and stroke it. The urge in me was so strong that I felt pure
pain aching within me.

“Yes?” I replied slowly, my throat dry.

“You’re so timid and juvenile.” He described
my flaws to me. His next words made me want to stab a knife into
his heart. “How the fuck are you going to find me that two
million?”

I flashed my eyes to him, anger flooding
through me. My whole body trembled as I said, “Mr. J. Maxwell?”

His response was, “You’ve messed up my
room.”

I held my head high and snapped, “It was the
dog’s fault. It took my bag and destroyed my clothes. It even ate
my food.”

He narrowed his eyes at me, and I suddenly
realized I was treading on thin ice. Any moment now, I would fall
into the hell he had Andy in.

Yes, I’d come to the realization this
man—this very hot, amazingly handsome man with beautiful Prussian
blue eyes—was
the
Mr. J. Maxwell, the man I’d dreaded
meeting. The man Andy owed two millions dollars. The man who would
have Andy shot dead in an instant just because he wanted to and had
the power to, without even the police stepping in and tarnishing
his pristine and powerful image.

The dog chose that moment to run to its
master, whimpering at the man with a cuteness no person could ever
resist, including me, who’d never liked dogs.

Mr. J. Maxwell bent down and lifted the
canine. “What have you been eating, Alfie? You’ll get sick from
it.”

I was offended. “It’s a healthy, nutritious
bar,” I said firmly.

He turned his attention to me, one handsome
brow raised. “Oh?”

I noticed him eyeing me again, which I
didn’t want. I suddenly felt self-conscious. Trying to cover myself
from his intense and interested gaze with pieces of ripped clothing
wasn’t going to do it. Thus, I looked to the towel near his feet.
Without thinking, I rushed forward, bent low, and retrieved the
white thing, avoiding master and dog as much as I could.

I turned my back to him as I awkwardly
wrapped the towel around me. When I returned my attention to him,
he was looking at me, his face stern.

I waited as he continued to stare, which
really unsettled me. I was about to say something when he quipped,
“Get dressed and meet me in my office.”