I’m happy and relaxed as I lie against Adir's hard body. Utterly and completely satiated. Limp with it. The sex was amazing. I didn't really know what to expect from my first time and had braced myself to be disappointed. After all, it was my first time, I didn't know what I was doing. A lot could have gone wrong. But I didn't factor in that Adir most definitely knew what he was doing. Really knew what he was doing. I’m sore, yes, but deliciously so. A memory of the pleasure that just drenched my body, and the way he's holding me now, tight against his muscled body, his heart beating against mine—I feel like I'm his.

Utterly and completely possessed.

But somehow, it doesn't chafe like I thought it would. It seems right. Like this is exactly where I'm supposed to be. With him. Here in his arms, skin to skin. It’s so perfect.

I should have known it wouldn't last.

A harsh buzzing sound echoes around the room.

Adir is immediately alert, frowning as he rises up on an elbow.

"What is it?" I ask, sitting up too, his alarm infecting me.

"It's the—" he starts but then quiets as my father’s voice and the sounds of a scuffle come over the speaker.

My heart leaps into my throat and I immediately slide off the bed. I don't know why Father's here, but I need to get to him now.

Adir barks out orders to his people, but it's in the background for me as I quickly clean up the evidence of what we were just doing. I don't want to put the uniform back on but I also don't want to waste time running to my room and grabbing my own clothes. Quickly pulling on the yellow dress, I leave the apron off, hoping it won't look quite so ridiculous without it.

Adir and I rush to the elevator to take it down to the lobby. Neither of us say anything as the doors open, both of us grim. There's no good reason for Father to show up like this. But plenty of possible bad ones. He’s waiting at the receptionist's desk and run over, only half noticing Adir stays back. Father looks terrible. His hair is in complete disarray, a bruise high on up one cheek, a black eye, his clothing torn. When he sees me, he limps over, indicating more injuries.

"Father!" I cry out, taking him into my arms gingerly, not wanting to inadvertently hurt him further. "What happened to you?" Anger washes over me at the thought of someone attacking Father, someone so sweet I've never even seen him kill a spider.

His face is worried, grim. "I'm sorry I came unannounced," he says as he pulls back, searching my face.

"Nonsense," I dismiss, taking his hand. "Tell me what happened," I demand.

"It was Gideon," he says grimly. "Gideon and a gaggle of idiots dressed like him. He came looking for you."

"What?" I say, shocked.

That doesn't make any sense. I told Gideon exactly where I would be.

"He wants you to marry him, Isa," he continues, his eyes tearing up. "I told him you weren't there and that you didn't want him anyway. That you'd made that clear." He shakes his head, anger suffusing his face and drying his tears. "That was when he and his cronies attacked me."

Rage bubbles up inside at the thought of a group of young men attacking an older one. Cowards. Cowards with no sense of decency at all.

"We have to call the police," I say, enraged. "This is unacceptable. Even he isn't above the law, I don't care how powerful his family is."

Father shakes his head, clutching my arms. "No, Isa. He threatened the library. He said...he said if I didn't find you and bring you back, he'd make sure he and his father destroyed it. That the only thing that will stop him is if you agree to marry him."

My blood turns to ice. So this is what he's resorted to. I thought Gideon was just a nuisance, someone I needed to humor to keep the peace. But he's shown me that I’m wrong. I never expected he would go to such lengths to own me. Because that's exactly what he wants to do. Own me. He doesn't want a relationship or an actual marriage. For some twisted reason, he's fixated on me and decided he has to have me. Whether or not I want him. And the coward knows he can't take on a Singarti directly, that he can't fight Adir and win. The Singarti have too much power, much more than Gideon and his family, so he's decided to go for my vulnerable spot.

"What an asshole," I say quietly.

Father looks away, despair etched on his face. I want to hurt Gideon just for that expression alone.

"I'm sorry I came here, but I didn't know what else to do," he whispers.

"You did the right thing," I reassure him.

I just wish I had a clear solution. I think through the entire situation, trying my best to come up with one. Adir is more than the beast I first took him for. Much more. Underneath the harsh exterior is a sensitive man, one who cares much more than he wants to let on. Who feels much more deeply than those looking only at the surface would expect. I'm finally reaching that man. Forging a real connection with him, one I never would have expected. But I can't escape the fact that the only reason I'm here is because he was threatening the library too.

I'm an indentured servant. Owned for three years. No matter how thrilling and important my feelings for Adir might seem, he still holds all the power. I look down at my feet, seeing the skirt of my uniform and the flats he got for me to wear with it. A symbol of my agreement. A symbol of the control he has over me, no matter how different the newly discovered side of him seems.

What should I do?

What can I do?