Spiraling Deception (33 page)

“
Shh, Charlotte,” he
murmured as he rubbed soothing circles on my back with his hand. “I
got you now, Princess.”

The warmth from his hands, the sound of his
deep voice whispering in my ear, and the sensation of his strong
body against mine was both reassuring and calming that my tears
finally abated after several long minutes. “H-how did you know he
was here?” I sniffed.

Roman sighed and placed a kiss on the top of
my head. “Richard was supposed to report in after taking you home.
When he didn’t and Seth couldn’t get a hold of him, he tracked the
car. All of Knight Industries’ vehicles have tracking devices on
them. Seth located the car; it was parked in an underground space,
close to the school. Richard was in the driver’s seat,
unconscious.”

“
Oh my God! Is he okay?
Please, please tell me he’s okay.” Bile mixed with panic rippled up
my throat and I leaned back so I could search Roman’s
face.

“
Shh, it’s okay,
Princess.” His hand glided down the back of my hair and gently
pressed my head back to his shoulder. “Richard’s okay. Apart from a
nasty concussion, he’ll be fine, I promise.”

Moments later, Seth walked in the apartment,
his face grim and he shook his head in the negative once at
Roman.

“
Fuck!” Roman cursed
harshly, his jaw clenching.

His head pulled back and his midnight-blue
eyes pinned mine with their intensity. “You’re coming home with me,
Charlotte. The police can take your statement there.” His tone
brooked no argument and I nodded my agreement.

The glittering lights from the city’s
buildings sparkled like diamonds and captured my attention as I sat
curled with my feet underneath me on Roman’s comfy leather lounge.
His housekeeper had made me a pot of calming chamomile tea earlier
and I was on my second cup. Roman had absconded to his home office
twenty minutes earlier, directly after the police had left and I’d
taken a long, hot shower, donning one of Roman’s cotton t-shirts
that felt unbelievably soft and modestly hung to my mid-thighs.

While I recounted the events of the evening
to the police, both Roman and Seth had stood and listened intently
on either side of me. Roman’s hand had remained firmly entwined in
mine, squeezing intermittently when I’d said something he’d
obviously didn’t like until I had to stand and show the police my
arms.

Gingerly, I pulled the sweater I wore over
my shoulders and exposed the purpled bruises Jonathan had inflicted
when he grabbed me roughly to thwart my attempted escape. I wasn’t
surprised in the least to see that the bruises had already fully
formed because it’d hurt like a bitch at the time. While the police
took photos of my shoulders, my gaze stayed fixed on Roman’s. His
face was deceptively impassive—almost eerily calm—until he saw the
marks on my skin. A string of vicious curses tore from his lips and
his eyes cut to Seth’s with a chilling glare.

Seth imperceptibly lifted his chin in silent
acknowledgment and then promptly left the room; I made a mental
note to discuss the matter with Roman later when the police left.
The last thing I wanted was either Seth or Roman to go all
vigilante on me and get into some serious trouble. However, I
didn’t get a chance to talk with Roman because as soon as he
escorted the police out, he returned, brusquely instructed me to
take a shower, marched to the kitchen and barked an order to his
housekeeper to make me some tea and then stormed off to his study
and slammed the door shut. I could’ve sworn the glassed walls of
his penthouse shook from the sheer force of it.

After my shower, I collapsed on Roman’s
couch and curled into myself. I was completely drained and
exhausted, now that the adrenaline had receded within my body.

“
Princess?” I registered
Roman’s voice at the same time I felt his lips place a kiss on the
top of my head.

“
Hey.” I gave him a weak
smile as he walked around the couch. In light of everything that
had happened to me over the last few hours, my feelings of hurt and
anger toward Roman and his betrayal had greatly diminished or at
best, simmered on the back burner. My gaze followed him as he
lowered himself down onto the couch and angled his tall frame so he
could face me.

“
You okay?” Roman’s tone
was gentle; his beautiful, dark eyes probed mine.

Was I okay? I didn’t
really know the answer to that question; so much had happened in
the last twenty-four hours, my mind was still trying to process it
all. The saying
fake it ’till you make
it
came to mind, so I decided to lie.
“Yeah.”

His gaze roamed over my face and then
narrowed. As if reading the truth from my eyes, he said
emphatically, “You will be.”

My mouth curved into a grin and I shook my
head at him. “Always so damn arrogant.”

He returned my grin with a blinding one of
his own and then just as quickly, his features sobered.

“
Charlotte, we need to
talk. We need to talk about your job, about Paris, your passport
and what happened between us in Venice.”

Reluctantly I nodded, and tried to swallow
the huge lump that had formed in my throat.

“
Okay, good.” He watched
me carefully. “But first I need you to promise me you’ll
listen—really listen to what I’m saying. Don’t interrupt, just…just
please hear me out first before you say anything. Okay?”

My heart pounded hard in my chest, and my
fingernails dug painfully into the soft flesh of my palms but I
lifted my chin to him in assent.

Roman’s lashes slowly closed and he inhaled
a deep breath, as if gathering courage. But then those piercing
midnight-blue eyes of his opened and my whole body trembled at
their burning intensity. “When I first laid eyes on you, dancing so
gracefully, so seductively around that ribbon, I was enthralled,
completely captivated by your innocent beauty. There, on the stage,
I wanted you. I wanted you more than anything I’d ever wanted in my
life and I didn’t care what I had to do to have you.”

“
So let me get this
straight. Because you wanted to sleep with me you decided stealing
my passport was the best way to go about it?” I snorted
incredulously.

Roman threw me a pointed look. “I thought
you’d agreed to hear me out—no interruptions, remember?”

Grudgingly, I drew my lips together and
waved my hand between us for him to continue.

His gaze narrowed with what appeared to be
skepticism, but after a moment he continued. “After talking with
you that night, after we kissed in the hallway and after spending
time with you during the flight to Paris, I was intrigued. I
realized during the flight that having you all to myself for one
night would not nearly be enough to satisfy my curiosity or satiate
my desire for you, Charlotte. So yes, I arranged for your passport
to be stolen, knowing full well you’d be stranded in France for at
least two days. It was my hope, my…anticipation that you’d spend
that time with me in my bed.”

He paused, probably because my mouth was
practically on the floor. To say I was astounded at his audacity
would be a gross understatement. I was completely dumfounded
and…and flabbergasted. His confession ignited a flame of
indignation in me, burning like a wildfire. I threw my hands up in
the air. “Are you serious?”

“
Charlotte,” he growled in
frustration. “You agreed to hear me out. Now let me finish.” His
tone was reprimanding.

My teeth ground together and I barely
refrained from launching myself at him in order to scratch out his
eyes.

He sighed and waited for a long moment. His
gaze moved over my face and then he continued. “Something happened
in Paris.” He let out a disbelieving bark of laughter. “I honestly
can’t pinpoint it—you had this adorable and insatiable curiosity
for Paris that amused me. Your exuberance for life was so
refreshing, you made me want to look at life through a different
lens. And you’re just so goddamn beautiful. That last night, when
we were having dinner at the Moulin Rouge, I knew then I wasn’t
ready for our time together to be over, so I asked you to Venice
and you agreed.”

My arms folded across my chest and I shot
him a withering glare. “You mean the night where you sexually
coerced me into going with you to Venice, don’t you?”

To Roman’s credit, his
face turned sheepish. “Yes—as you put it—the night I sexually
coerced you. However, if I remember it correctly, you really
weren’t objecting. I believe the words
‘please’
and
‘yes’
were frequently coming from
your lips.”

My withering glare instantly turned into a
withering scowl and I might have actually growled at him.

“
In Venice, things
became…well, they became rather complicated. I’ve told you before,
I don’t do long-term commitments—all previous romantic
relationships have been strictly temporary in nature. My foremost
priority in life has always been my company: establishing, building
it and expanding its investments. I’m unapologetically ambitious
and quite frankly, the aspiration for a permanent relationship
outside of business up until now hasn’t been a factor in my life.
But in Venice, I began to question some of those priorities and my
values. The possibility of having something more permanent than
just a casual affair was a real consideration. And you, Charlotte,
were the reason for it.

“
Unfortunately, confronted
with the reality of the depth of my feelings for you that night—I
left. I wasn’t eager to explore those feelings, and I loathe being
challenged, even on a good day. Princess, you challenged me, you
beguiled me and I fell head over heels in love with you. That day
in Verona, you were being this vivacious and crazy tourist, rubbing
Juliet’s statue—that was the precise moment I knew I’d fallen
hopelessly and irrevocably in love with you. I’m sorry I hurt you
by leaving you in Venice but like I told you that night in Central
Park on the horse-drawn carriage—I want to be with you. I want
there to be a commitment between us.”

My lips curved to the side with a wry smile.
“Well, if it’s any consolation, I fell hopelessly and irrevocably
in love with you on that horse-drawn carriage.”

One brow arched and mirth danced in his
gorgeous eyes. “Not in Venice?”

“
Maybe a little in
Venice.”

Roman chuckled and the sound was like the
sweetest melody to my ears. I truly loved him—oh, I was still angry
and furious with him and my feelings of hurt and betrayal hadn’t
disappeared—but I was head over heels in love with Roman Knight.
And finally hearing him tell me he loved me was the most amazing,
gloriously wonderful thing in the world.

He brushed a strand of hair back from my
face and his fingers lingered along my temple. He cleared his
throat. “Now, I need to explain about the teaching job—”

I held up my hand to cut him off. “No need
to. Although I’m still mad at what you did, I had a long talk with
Mrs. Henderson this afternoon and she clarified a few things with
me. Most importantly, she told me I was given the teaching tenure
based on my qualifications and merits and that’s all I really
needed to hear.”

Roman shook his head slightly. A frown
pulled between his brows. “Of course you did. You’re more than
qualified for the position and truthfully—they’re lucky to have
you.”

I scoffed at his never failing arrogance.
“Really? You have such a distorted and egotistical way of looking
at things, Roman.”

At my words, he shot me a disapproving glare
but then his features sobered. “So are we okay?”

Were we okay? I honestly didn’t know. I knew
I loved this man more than anything in the entire world and I now
knew he loved me, but could I trust him? “Forgiveness is easy,
Roman, but I don’t know if I can trust you again. And it hurts me
when you shut me out of your life, when you go behind my back and
you’re dishonest with me.” I bit my lip and watched him consider my
words carefully.

“
Fair enough.” He reached
for my hands and held them gently in his.

Roman stared at our joined hands for a long
moment and then sighed with what seemed to be resignation. “I am
who I am, Charlotte. I’m ruthless, shrewd, and I’m not used to
being accountable to others, but I’ll do my best to let you in
more. However, know this, Princess: I will always, always take care
of you. I’ll fiercely protect you with everything I have in
me.”

The ferocity and sincerity of his words
brought instant tears to my eyes and I blinked several times to
clear my vision. From the maelstrom of thoughts swirling in my
head, only one stood out in neon flashing lights: I loved Roman
Knight. And my desire to be with him outweighed his hurtful
deception, his annoying arrogance, his enigmatic nature, his
infuriating, manipulative, controlling tendencies, and any other
damn thing he had done. Besides, I’d have no problems calling him
on his shit and at least life between us would never be boring.