Chapter 5 His Estate
1212 Words
For one second, I forgot how to breathe.
“What?”
Cassian Blackwood continued walking as though he had merely commented on the weather.
I rushed after him.
“What did you just say?”
He did not slow.
“I dislike repeating myself.”
“My brother—”
“Will receive treatment.”
The words hit me so hard my knees nearly weakened.
“How do I know you’re not lying?”
Cassian glanced sideways at me as we reached a private lift at the end of the corridor.
“You don’t.”
The lift doors opened automatically.
He stepped inside.
I hesitated.
He looked back once.
“If I intended to deceive you, Ayla, I would have chosen a prettier lie.”
I hated that I followed him in.
The doors slid shut behind us.
Silence wrapped around the polished steel walls.
Too close.
Too private.
I stood on the far side of the lift, arms folded tightly.
Cassian pressed the top floor button.
Then he simply waited.
No attempt at conversation.
No apology.
No explanation.
The red mark from where I had slapped him still faintly coloured his cheek.
It suited him.
“You bought a person tonight,” I said finally.
“I secured a contract.”
“You are unbelievable.”
“So I’ve been told.”
“You threatened my brother.”
“I motivated you.”
I stared at him.
“You really think that sounds better?”
His gaze met mine in the reflection of the mirrored wall.
“No. I think it sounds honest.”
The lift hummed upward.
I hated how calm he remained.
I hated more that part of me wanted him to lose control just once.
“To be clear,” I said coldly, “I’m not grateful.”
“I didn’t ask for gratitude.”
“Good.”
“I asked for obedience.”
My temper flared instantly.
“You can ask all you like.”
Something dark flickered across his face.
Then the lift doors opened.
The top floor was not an office.
It was a penthouse.
A vast, breathtaking space of glass walls, dark wood, low lighting, and a city view stretching in every direction beneath the rain-slick night.
Everything was elegant.
Everything was controlled.
Everything felt like him.
I stopped just inside the doorway.
“This is where you live?”
“It is where I sleep.”
“That was somehow more arrogant than I expected.”
He removed his coat and handed it to a waiting staff member I had not even noticed.
“Tea,” he said.
The woman nodded and disappeared silently.
I turned sharply.
“You have staff waiting at midnight?”
“I have staff at all hours.”
Of course he did.
I looked around again.
No photographs.
No clutter.
No warmth.
The place looked expensive enough to belong in a magazine and personal enough to belong to no one.
“It’s cold,” I muttered.
Cassian loosened his cuffs.
“It’s efficient.”
“That is the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”
For the first time, he almost looked caught off guard.
Almost.
I moved farther into the room, then turned back to him.
“So what now?”
“Now you learn the terms.”
“I didn’t agree to terms.”
“You signed them.”
“I signed panic.”
“Legally binding panic is still binding.”
I wanted to throw something.
Instead, I settled for glaring.
Cassian crossed to a sleek table and picked up a folder.
He placed it in front of me.
“Read.”
I opened it.
The contract was thick, formal, and horrifying.
One-year residency.
Discretion required.
Security compliance mandatory.
Medical costs for Liam Rowan covered in full.
Temporary personal protection under House Blackwood.
My eyes narrowed.
“What does ‘House Blackwood’ mean?”
“It means what it says.”
“That tells me nothing.”
“It tells you enough for tonight.”
I flipped pages faster.
Travel restrictions.
Escort requirements.
Non-disclosure clauses.
“No leaving without permission?”
“Correct.”
I looked up sharply.
“You think I’m a prisoner?”
“I think you’re in danger.”
I laughed once.
“From what? Overenthusiastic billionaires?”
His expression cooled further.
“From people who would have bid higher if I had allowed them.”
The words landed differently.
I remembered the room.
The eyes.
The way some men had looked at me.
A chill slid through me.
“You’re manipulating me again.”
“I am informing you.”
Before I could answer, the staff member returned with tea.
She placed the tray down silently and left.
I grabbed the cup mostly to occupy my hands.
It smelled expensive too.
I hated this place.
I hated him.
I hated that Liam’s treatment might already be happening because of the man in front of me.
“Why me?” I asked quietly.
Cassian did not answer at once.
His gaze moved to the city beyond the glass.
“Because someone else wanted you.”
“That blond creep?”
“Edward.”
“He looked like a villain in a toothpaste advert.”
Something very close to amusement crossed Cassian’s mouth.
“Accurate.”
“Then let him be disappointed.”
“It was not disappointment I was avoiding.”
My fingers tightened around the cup.
“Then what?”
He turned back to me slowly.
“War.”
The room seemed to still.
I set the tea down.
“You’re insane.”
“Frequently.”
“You expect me to believe rival billionaires start wars over women?”
His eyes sharpened.
“Not women.”
He stepped closer.
“Rarities.”
My pulse kicked.
“I’m not some rare object.”
“No?”
He reached out suddenly.
I flinched.
His hand paused in the air.
Then, more slowly, he took a loose strand of my hair between his fingers.
The instant he touched me, a violent jolt shot through my body.
Heat raced under my skin.
My senses sharpened all at once.
I could hear rain striking glass fifty floors below.
I could smell cedar, storm air, and something wild coming from him.
I jerked back, breathless.
“What was that?”
Cassian’s jaw tightened.
Interesting.
He had felt it too.
“You tell me.”
“I’m not playing games.”
“Neither am I.”
He dropped the strand of hair.
His eyes darkened.
“You reacted faster than expected.”
My heartbeat thundered.
“To what?”
“To me.”
I backed away another step.
Every instinct was screaming now.
Not run.
Something stranger.
Recognize.
Impossible.
“What are you?” I whispered.
Cassian held my gaze.
Then said the last thing I expected.
“The only one trying to keep you alive.”
A loud crash sounded from the far balcony doors.
Glass rattled.
I spun sharply.
Something large had landed outside in the rain.
Something with claws scraping stone.
Cassian moved instantly, stepping in front of me.
When he spoke, his voice was colder than I had yet heard it.
“Stay behind me, Ayla.”
A deep growl answered from beyond the glass.
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