I could bear being Dad’s trophy a few more years. It wouldn’t be for ever. Eventually I’d find a way to get free. Tonight, though, I’d have to keep my plan secret because obviously if Ajax found out he’d try to stop me.
Arranging for a car wasn’t a drama; in fact I was almost annoyed by how easy it was to convince Ajax that I needed a shopping trip. And then, when the car arrived, he barely looked up from his laptop as I came to say goodbye.
This would be the last time I’d ever see him and it hurt that he only gave me a quick glance as I bent to kiss him.
But that was good. If he’d seen the tears in my eyes he’d have asked what was wrong and I didn’t think I had the strength not to tell him.
So I only brushed my lips against his cheek, inhaling the scent of him one last time, imprinting him in my head for ever.
‘See you soon,’ he said, his gaze on his screen.
I didn’t trust myself to speak, turning and walking through the door, letting the tears fall only once I’d got into the car.
I didn’t want to leave him, but there was no other option.
I loved him and if there was one thing Ajax King had taught me it was that, unlike my father, who’d used my love to get me to do what he wanted, Ajax’s love wasn’t selfish. He loved his brothers and his city and he put them first. Before everything.
I couldn’t do any less.
As the car pulled away I didn’t look back, gritting my teeth and wiping away the tears.
We pulled up outside one of the department stores and I searched the footpath surreptitiously, looking for Dad’s guards. He’d told me that they’d be waiting for me.
A man signalled from the crowd and fear caught me by the throat.
Ignoring it, I pushed open the door. ‘I’ll be five minutes,’ I told my driver.
Hopefully he wouldn’t come after me.
The streets were full of people and I had to bite down on the urge to scream for help as Dad’s guard caught my elbow, beginning to usher me to another car, long and black and drawn up down the street a little way.
But I put my shoulders back as the guard pulled open the door for me and I lifted my chin, steeled my spine.
Then I got in and sat down, turning to look at my father.
Except the man sitting beside me wasn’t my father.
‘Hello, Imogen,’ Ajax said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Ajax
THERE WAS SHOCK in her wide green eyes, which I’d expected. They were also red from crying, which I hadn’t.
My little one had been crying for me.
Pain sat between my ribs, like someone had sunk a knife into me, and I wanted to pull her into my arms and wrap her up tight, hold her and never let her go.
But that wasn’t why I was here.
I was here to set her free.
‘Ajax?’ She sounded bewildered. ‘What are you doing here?’
I glanced in the rear-view mirror and caught the driver’s eye. Then I gave him a nod and the car pulled back into the traffic.
‘I know what you were trying to do, Imogen,’ I said quietly. ‘I know you were coming to meet your father.’
She blinked and her mouth opened. Then she shut it again as if she couldn’t trust herself to speak.
So I went on, ‘I saw your email this afternoon.’
‘No,’ she said faintly. ‘I deleted—’
‘It wasn’t deleted. One of the emails failed to send and it was sitting in my outbox.’
She’d gone very pale. ‘I wasn’t going to hurt you. That’s not why I was going back to him.’
‘No, I realise that.’ I knew why Imogen had decided to leave. Given the type of person she was, only one explanation made sense. ‘You’re trying to save me, aren’t you?’
Her eyes filled with tears. ‘You can’t keep me, Ajax. Dad would force you into doing something terrible to protect me and I can’t let that happen. It’s better for me to go back to him. Then we’ll both leave Sydney for good and you won’t have to worry about me any more.’
I wanted to laugh—if only it were that simple.
Letting her go back to White and make her grand gesture for me would have been the easiest way out of the situation. Certainly it would have been better for me.
Except there was no way in hell I could do that.
The past few days with her had only cemented her worth to me, made me more aware of how vital she was. And not just to me, but to the people whose lives she would one day change. Because she would change lives. She’d changed mine.
The moment I’d seen her email to her father I’d known that I couldn’t keep her any more than her father could.
What Imogen needed was freedom.
She needed the chance to stretch her wings, find out who she was on her own terms, figure out for herself what she was worth, without her father holding her mother’s death over her head.
Without me stifling her.
Because that would happen if I kept her.
I’d accepted the truth as I’d read her email to White, telling him she wanted to come home. That she’d agree to return only on the condition that he’d leave me alone.
I’d wanted to save her in that moment. And I knew that saving her didn’t involve keeping her here with me. It was only condemning her to more fucking captivity.
She deserved better than that. She always had.
‘You’re not going back to your father, little one,’ I said gently.
She blinked, her eyes glittering. ‘Then where am I going?’
‘I’m taking you to the airport.’ I tried to keep my voice steady, but the rough edge crept in all the same. ‘There’s a King Enterprises jet ready to go, with all the documentation you need. I have a friend in New York who’s going to make sure you’re set up once you get there.’
She was silent. A streak of red tinged her cheekbones, the glitter in her eyes not fear or sadness like I thought, but anger. ‘No,’ she said flatly. ‘I’m not going anywhere. I need to see Dad. I won’t let him put you in a position where you have to do something you’ll regret.’
My jaw tightened. She was right to call me on that. It was the slippery slope staring me in the face—the one that would make me no better than Dad.
You are no better.
‘Give me some credit, for fuck’s sake,’ I growled, ignoring the thought. ‘You think I’d really put everything on the line just to get him out of the way?’
‘Wouldn’t you?’ Her chin lifted. ‘What if he hurt me? What would you do then?’
I gritted my teeth. ‘I would—’
‘Hurt him back. And you wouldn’t care what happened to you after that. All you care about is that the people you love are safe.’
She’s wrong. All you care about is yourself.
Fucking lies. If that was all that mattered, I wouldn’t be sitting here ready to put her on a plane to goddamn New York.
‘I’m not accepting that any more,’ Imogen went on, not letting me speak. ‘You protect everyone all the time and yet who protects you?’
‘I don’t need protection.’
‘Oh, don’t give me that alpha male bullshit,’ she said fiercely. ‘Of course you need protection. And I’m going to protect you whether you like it or not.’
I felt the knife in my chest twist. She was so strong and I kept forgetting that. Far from the delicate little thing she seemed, she was electric. She felt things passionately and deeply, and she didn’t give up.
But this was one fight she wasn’t going to win, not if I had anything to do with it.
‘No,’ I said. ‘It’s not happening and that’s final.’
Her green eyes burned. ‘Look, it’ll be okay. I’m not the same person I was when you kidnapped me from that ball. I won’t let Dad hurt me the way he did before. I�
��ll figure out how to get away from him eventually and—’
‘No.’ I kept my voice hard and cold. ‘You’re not going to give up your freedom for me.’
‘You can’t stop me.’
‘I can. I will.’
Her pale throat moved as she swallowed. ‘Don’t...do this to me, Ajax. Don’t let it mean nothing.’
‘It won’t mean nothing. Because you won’t be doing it at all.’
Anger had flushed her cheeks, made her eyes glow. Her hair was in a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck and little wisps of hair were curling around her forehead.
She was so beautiful. Giving her up was going to hurt like fuck.
But I’d made my decision.
‘Ajax,’ she said hoarsely, ‘I care about you. That’s what I told you on the boat. You’re worth ten thousand of my father and I’m not going to sit around and watch you—’
‘And you’re worth ten thousand of me,’ I interrupted. ‘That’s why you’re going to get on my jet and leave the country.’
Her eyes were liquid in the light coming from the freeway, but there was fire in them. ‘You’re wrong. You’re worth the sacrifice, Ajax King. Don’t you know that?’
No. You’re not.
And that was the truth that had always been there, sitting inside me. I wasn’t worth it and I knew it.
‘Go and have a fucking life,’ I said, ignoring her. ‘Go and have the life you should have had.’
She stared at me a second then looked away. ‘And what about Dad? What are you going to do about him? Because if you end up in prison, Ajax King, so help me I’ll come back and...and... I don’t know. Murder you or something.’
Tenderness caught at me, unexpected and sweet. Bittersweet.
I reached out, touched her cheek, her skin so soft against my fingertips. ‘You won’t murder me.’
She shivered at the contact, turning back to me. ‘Tell me you won’t hurt my father. Promise me, Ajax. Promise me you’ll do nothing that will end up with you in prison.’
I trailed my fingertips along her jaw.
You can’t make that promise.
And if I didn’t? Shit, I’d be no better than Dad.
Why fight it? Maybe it’s time you embraced it.
‘Imogen...’
‘I won’t go without a fight. I’ll come home on the next flight and you won’t be able to stop me.’ Determination glowed in her eyes. ‘If you want me to have my freedom then you have to keep yours. I won’t go if you don’t make me this promise.’
‘Stubborn little one.’
‘You’re better than that. Promise me. Your word as a King.’
What could I say? That I wasn’t better? That deep down there was a part of me who was just like my dad? Just as violent, just as ruthless...
You should claim your legacy. Once she’s gone, there’ll be no one to stop you.
I could. Except there was one thing stopping me and she was looking at me right now, demanding a promise that would hold me back from that slippery slope into the past.
She thought I was better. That was the rope that kept me from falling and I couldn’t refuse to hold onto it, not without hurting her. And I would never, ever hurt her.
‘I promise,’ I said, staring deep into her pretty eyes. ‘My word as a King.’
I’d broken that word with her father, but I wouldn’t with her. It was an oath, a vow.
She seemed to understand, giving me a slight nod. Then she pulled away from my hand, putting distance between us, turning to look out the window. ‘Good. You can take me to the airport now.’
Her withdrawal was like the sun clouding over, leaving me in shadow. I felt cold. I wanted to reach out again and draw her back, let her warmth and brightness cover me.
But if I did, if I touched her again, I’d never let her go. So I stayed where I was.
The rest of the drive was spent in silence and neither of us broke it. There was nothing to say.
The jet was waiting on the tarmac, Imogen waiting with it while I spoke with the captain and the customs official who was handling the departure.
Once that was done I went to take her hand, only to check myself at the last minute. No, I couldn’t touch her. That would be a mistake I wouldn’t come back from.
If she noticed my hesitation she didn’t show it, following along behind me as I led her to the jet and showed her up the stairs and inside.
The stewardess was there, making the cabin ready.
‘Can you give us a few minutes?’ Imogen said unexpectedly.
The stewardess looked at me and I nodded, so she went out, leaving us alone in the cabin.
Imogen turned to face me, a familiar glow in her green eyes.
It made everything inside me tighten.
‘No,’ I said before she could speak. ‘Not now. Not here.’
She ignored me, closing the distance she’d put between us in the car, her hand reaching out, her palm flattening against my chest.
It stole my breath, froze me in place.
‘I want one more thing,’ she said softly, looking up at me. ‘One last time with you.’
‘Imogen—’
‘Just one more time. If you’re going to make me leave, you have to give me something to take with me.’ Her eyes were liquid. ‘Please.’
‘I touch you and I might never let you go,’ I said roughly. ‘That’s not what I want.’
‘I know.’ She swallowed. ‘But you will let me go. And this would be for both of us.’
I didn’t know where she got her certainty from, because God knew I didn’t have it. But I couldn’t refuse her.
My goddamn cock wouldn’t let me.
I let her take my face in her hands and bring my head down, let her mouth brush over mine.
She tasted of salt and sweetness, and I had her in my arms before I could stop myself, crushing that soft mouth beneath my own. Taking and taking. Gorging on her because this wasn’t going to happen again. I would never kiss her again. Never hold her again.
This was all I’d ever have and it was going to have to last me and so I fucking took it.
Two steps took us to the closed door of the cockpit and I pinned her against it, my hands shaking as I slid them beneath her ass and lifted her. She wound her legs around my waist, raining kisses all over my face, hot and hungry and desperate just like me.
I was instantly hard and I ached, but there was also a knife in my chest and she was twisting it with every kiss. Every touch. But I didn’t let her go. I shoved up her little dress and slid my hand between her legs, finding the slick heat of her pussy. She was wet for me, shuddering in my arms as I stroked her.
I wanted to go slowly, to make this last so we had something more than desperation to take with us, but there was no time. Her hands were at the fly of my jeans, pulling down my zip and sliding inside my boxers, cool fingers on my cock.
I turned my face into her neck, biting and licking her skin, her taste more delicious to me than anything I’d ever eaten, finding her clit and stroking at the same time.
She gave a sob. ‘Ajax...’
The knife worked its way deeper, a dull agony seeping through me. But it wasn’t enough to stop.
I found my wallet and managed to get it open without loosening my hold on her, dropping it on the ground as I took out the condom.
She tried to snatch the packet but I didn’t let her, ripping it open with my teeth and then rolling the latex down.
My hands were fucking shaking like she was my first time.
She is your first time. Your first time with a woman you care about.
I hadn’t thought that would make it different. But it did.
I continued to stare into her eyes as I drew my hips back then pushed in deep. Again. And again. Harder. Faster.
We did
n’t speak, our breathing loud in the quiet of the cabin, and the world shrank down, getting narrower and narrower as the pleasure curled around us and wrapped us up tight.
There was nothing but this. Nothing but us. Me inside her, her around me.
Except she was going to let go of me and I had to make her.
How are you going to live without her?
The thought was as clear as the deep green of her eyes, and as vivid. But pleasure was dragging at me, choking me, and I shoved the thought away.
I would live the way I’d always lived. Cold and hard and certain. Wanting nothing. Needing nothing. Living for the big picture.
Except it wasn’t the big picture I saw as she sobbed in my arms, the orgasm flaring in her eyes. I only saw her. And when mine hit, a deep, annihilating pulse of pleasure, for a second there was no past and no future. Only a perfect, shining moment of us.
Her and me. Together.
It took a supreme act of will to let her go, but I did. I was proud of myself for that, if nothing else. I moved like a fucking robot, lowering her to the floor, dealing with the condom and my clothes. She’d already smoothed down her dress, but she let me lead her over to her seat and buckle her in. I didn’t rush, taking my time, savouring every last second of touching her.
But then it was done and I couldn’t put it off any longer.
I kissed her one last time then I turned to go, moving towards the door of the aircraft.
‘Ajax,’ she said softly.
I paused, everything in me wanting to turn around and grab her, take her back to my house and keep her there for ever.
‘I love you.’
The knife in my chest found my heart and slid straight into it.
I walked away from the jet a dead man.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Imogen
NEW YORK WAS FINE. I had an apartment and a great job, one I’d found for myself—basic data entry at an office. The apartment was one Ajax had organised for me, and perhaps I should have found my own, but apartments were expensive and the one he’d found was too nice to give up.
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