She’s here, and she’s mine.

The warning call came with an hour to spare. Edison knows I have her—he won’t stop until his prize is returned.

I have to keep her safe.

I have to keep her.

James runs into my office. “Shaw knows. She isn’t safe here.”

Fuck. I thought I had more time.

Edison is a lazy ass. I didn’t think he would check the drop house for another week. I slam my glass on the walnut desk, the crystal tumbler shatters in my hand; water and tiny rivlets of blood flow across the surface.

“How long?” I growl to my friend.

I wrap my hand in a handkerchief from my desk drawer.

“An hour. An hour and a half, at most,” James confirms what I was thinking.

When I heard that Mr. Rose was shot in the kidnapping, I knew Sienna would be important to Edison; but I still hoped for more time. I needed more time.

“Go!” I shout to James.

We haven’t a moment to spare.

He rushes out of the room. He’ll start the evac of the staff and get Titus. They’re the only two men in LA I can trust anymore.

I make the arrangements. We’ll go to New York.

While my former employer’s grasp is deep here, it doesn’t quite stretch to the other coast.

No, the east coast is loyal to me.

Now Edison Shaw’s trust in me gives me the leverage I need—to escape. To keep Sienna safe. She doesn’t need to trust me, but she does need me.

It’s been days since she came here. I’ve counted the hours she wasted away in my guest room. I have done everything in my power to draw her out; now there’s no more time.

I need Sienna to move quickly.

I stand outside her door. Titus heard her draw a bath earlier.

Good, maybe this will be easy; maybe we can talk.

I want to talk to her. I want to tell her I’ve missed her, but there’s no time for that.

Not when we are running for our lives.

I take the handkerchief off my hand. There was one small cut, the bleeding has stopped.

I tap on the door. No answer, there never is.

I open the door, the bed is empty. Rumpled silk sheets, curtains drawn. The only change in the room is the closed bathroom door and the empty bed.

I take a deep breath. No time for niceties—I need Sienna ready to go now.

I open the closet further, grabbing an outfit, and I toss the clothes on the bed. I try not to think of Sienna putting on the black lingerie, the linen pants, the cashmere sweater.

My fingers linger over the soft fabric, imaging her round breasts through the cloth. I push those thoughts aside and toss a pair of flats on the pile.

She won’t be making any escape attempts. I won't take my eyes off her.

I’ve stalled long enough. I knock on the bathroom door.

“Get out. Get dressed,” I snap, as worry and anger creep into my voice.

She’s laying in the tub, white bubbles fading around her. I can see her lithe tan body through the foam. My cock throbs.

I force myself to say, “We’re leaving.”

“Where are we going?” she questions me.

The fire is back in her voice. She’s going to argue with me.

She stands, a goddess rising from the steam. My cock aches for her. She’s utterly perfect, and I catch myself staring for the longest moment.

I turn my back. I can’t stand here staring at her. We have go.

“Don’t ask questions. Just be ready. You have ten minutes.”

I slam the door to the guest room. Pressing my back to the cool wood, I close my eyes and catch my breath.

“Evac’s almost done boss,” Titus interrupts my reverie.

My eyes flash open.

“Good, no one knows the travel plans right?”

It’s back to work. I need to make sure none of the staff being left behind know where we’re going. Safer for them.

Safer for us.

“Standard procedure, we’re clear,” Titus confirms. “We’re getting out in time, Shaw will never find us.

My phone goes off. I nod to Titus.

“Plane’s here in LA. The chopper is too. I’ll get Sienna, you and James take the car. Make sure you aren’t followed, but if you are...” I look at him meaningfully.

“We can take care of ourselves. See you at the airport.”

Titus disappears down the hall.

It’s time. I rap on door, once sharply, then I open it. She’s sliding the black sweater over her tight tanned stomach.

“Knocking only counts if you wait for an answer, Nate,” she snaps at me sliding her feet into the black flats I set out for her.

Even while she’s fighting me, she follows an unspoken order.

“I don’t have time for your games, Sienna. The chopper’s here. Move!”

I open the door wider and gesture her towards it.

I don’t trust myself to touch her right now. My body is too keyed up. We’re in danger, and she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.

She’s better here in the flesh than in all my imaginings over the years.

She glares at me and nearly hits me in the face with her wet braided hair on her way out the door. I take a deep breath and follow her into the hall. Quiet as the grave.

Shaw’s men won’t be here for another few minutes, but we’re cutting it close.

She stands in the hall, hands on her hips, glowering at me.

“I don’t know where the fuck we’re going Nathan.”

The attitude I fell for as a kid. I nod towards her and lead the way down the hall to the elevator. Three floors up to the roof. The longest elevator ride in history.

I can smell her skin under the bubble bath. The glass elevator is suddenly too small and too large. I want to be pressed up against her, but I know that isn’t what either of us need in this moment.

I watch her breath out of the corner of my eye, the glittering diamonds mirroring her exposed collarbones catching the light with each inhale.

I catch myself breathing to her rhythm.

The soft chime sounds; we’ve reached the roof. I catch her hand, I don’t have the time or the focus to tell her to get in the helicopter.

I pull her forward, ducking the rotating blades. I practically shove her through the door.

Ignoring my throbbing cock, I fasten her seat belt.

My hands graze her curves, and I force myself to focus. I’ll keep her safe.

Handing her the earphones, I strap myself in.

“Clear,” I signal the pilot.

We’re off into the orange and pink sky. Going east, into the drawing evening, then further, to the dark night on the opposite coast.

The silence on the headphones is as deafening as the chopper noises. Sienna won’t even look at me. I don’t take my eyes off her.

I know her, I know how clever she is. She’ll try to escape, not even knowing that’s the most dangerous thing she could do. I’m the only thing keeping her safe.

We land at my private airstrip a hundred yards from the plane. Edison doesn’t know about this strip or this plane. Titus and James pull up in the black Ferrari moments after us.

“You fuckers better not have started a high speed chase with the LAPD on your way,” I call to them hustling Sienna onto the plane.

“Kidnapping you don’t blink at, but you’re worried about speeding tickets?” Sienna shoots over her shoulder at me.

I keep my mouth shut and my hand on her back. I can’t fight with her right now. I need to get her perfect ass into this plane and airborne before I can breath.

“Stuck to the back roads, scared a chicken on the way, but no heat,” James answers me.

“Good, buckle up,” I let my friend pass me, he takes a seat.

I stay by the door, staying between Ms. Rose and the escape she’s stubbornly looking for.

She watches me now, waiting for my guard to slip. She has an almost desperate look in her eye, her hope of escaping my vile clutches is fading.

Fuck, I wish she would trust me. I would never do anything to hurt her.

“You didn’t even let me pack a toothbrush, but I guess kidnap victims can’t be choosers can they?” Sienna spits at me.

She sits down hard in a seat facing the door. Her arms are crossed, and her breath is coming fast. The fading sunset through the window flashes from her diamond necklace.

“I guess not,” I say through clenched teeth.

Titus slides in the plane and takes a seat in the cockpit. I close and secure the door.

I check Sienna’s seatbelt and give Titus the all clear.

The ground falls away behind us.

Sienna looks pale.

She doesn’t know it, but she’s safe now. My penthouse in New York is a fortress. Edison Shaw will never steal her away from me there.

“Say goodbye to LA,” I say almost to myself sitting across the plane from the girl of my dreams. “You may never come back. You’re mine now.”

I look over as Sienna shudders and tries to suppress her tears.

My heart fills. I want to take her in my arms and comfort her. I want to kiss the tears away from her cheeks.

I want her, but I can’t touch her.

She’s safe, and she is mine.

But will I ever be hers?