Walker held her for what seemed like hours as she cried, her tears soaking the front of his button-up shirt, but he didn’t mind. He was shocked to the core by her story. He was disgusted -- though not surprised -- that anyone could take advantage of such a young girl. That someone could force her into doing things no child should even know existed, never mind endure.

Even worse that now, in her twenties, she still had to live with the threat of being sold off as a sex slave. She was afraid every minute of every day, because some spineless perverted lowlife had her believing that she owed him something at sixteen. By now, she was trapped in a web of bullshit and manipulation.

Once she’d cried herself out, she’d muttered something about needing another shower. She fled into the bathroom. He could hear the shower running as he contemplated her words and her fate.

His mind wandered to his own situation. His brothers and his father weren’t going to stop pressuring him about getting a girl. They saw him settling down. But his fists clenched and his stomach rolled at the thought of replacing his fiancée with some random girl. To give his mother’s ring to such a person.

He thought about how good it had felt to protect Doll, to have someone to shield with his body again. He considered the fact that she’d trusted him with her story, but still hadn’t yet told him her real name.

An idea started to take shape in the back of his mind. A crazy idea, but possibly a way out of both their situations. 

He needed a relationship that would take the pressure off of him. Something that would still allow him to mourn the death of his fiancée. To come to terms with the life he had lost on that fateful day. 

Regardless of what anyone thought, regardless of the fact that it had been five years... he just wasn’t ready to just move on. Not ready to replace her, or to forgive himself.

What he needed was a fake relationship of sorts. Someone who would be his companion to the world... but didn’t expect anything romantic from him beyond what had to be done for the sake of keeping up appearances. Someone he could pretend to fall in love with and who would be willing to pretend to do the same.

The door to the bathroom opened. He moved toward it, expecting to see her dressed in the same clothes she had gone in wearing.

Only, she wasn’t. Wearing anything, that was. She wore nothing but the small hotel hand towel.

He did a double take as his eyes raked over her before he could stop himself. He took in her wet, tousled red hair. Her piercing eyes were fixed on his as she placed one long leg in front of the other, swaying her hips slightly. She gave him a coy look as she crossed the space that separated them.

His train of thought from before felt like it had crashed into a brick wall at the end of the tracks. When she raked a fingernail across his chest, still devouring him with her eyes, he made an indecipherable sound.

His concerns flew from his mind as he looked down her body. She trailed her hand over his chest, down toward his stomach, where her fingers danced over his abs.

He raised his gaze from her eyes to her full, pouting lips. But his eyes didn't stay there. They dropped further to her breasts, to the spot where the towel was knotted between them. 

A single bead of moisture ran down her chest, right between her breasts.

He felt his cock stirring as he imagined how easy it would be to undo that knot. That would leave her completely naked, inches away from him.

His fingers itched to feel her soft skin against his body, but he kept his hands at his sides. He gave his head a little shake.

Not now, Roman.

“No, Doll. I can’t...” 

His voice came out infinitely more confident than he was feeling. He tried to push the dirty thoughts from his mind.

“Why don’t you go put some clothes on, and we can talk?”

The gasp that escaped from her lips as he turned her down instantly made him question his resolve. His mind flooded with images of the things he wanted to do to her to make her gasp. To make her moan. To feel her body shudder against his.

The look in her eyes once a deep breath helped to clear his mind ripped it from the gutter in a heartbeat. The terror he saw there, the uncertainty, the helplessness... It made his stomach twist in a way that made him feel sick. 

“I... uh... I’m... okay,” she stammered before making a beeline for the bathroom. 

She emerged less than a minute later, fully clothed, her wet hair pulled into a messy bun on top of her head.

“Have a seat.” 

He gestured to the vacant spot on the couch, moving over to create some space between them. She bit her lip as she hesitated for a moment, eyes darting to the door as if she was contemplating making a run for it.

“Please sit down, Doll. There are some things that I’d like to talk to you about, if that’s okay with you?”

She gave a low sigh, fidgeting with her hands. She took small steps toward the couch and sat down at the end primly, her spine straight as an arrow. He could see the wheels turning in her head as she searched his eyes, a puzzled look on her face. She started toying with the edge of her shirt.

Eventually, she dropped her gaze. She seemed to train all her attention on the spot where her hands were bunching up the material. 

He cleared his throat when it was clear that she wasn’t going to bolt and was willing to hear him out.

“You’re worth more than that, you know.” 

She might not have said anything, but it was obvious enough. She was used to her body being the only thing that was worth anything, the only thing people wanted from her.

“Not that I wasn’t sorely tempted,” he confessed, trying to ease her near palpable embarrassment. “You’re beautiful and sexy and seductive as all hell. I’m not a fucking saint, but it wouldn’t have been right. I don’t see you as an object. I would never take advantage of you like that.”  

She seemed frozen, so he tried again.

“You trusted me with your story, so I’d like to tell you some of mine. You okay with that?”

She gave a small nod, but kept her eyes averted and bit her lip.

“Before I start, do you have anywhere safe to go? Anywhere those guys can’t get to you?”

She frowned and shook her head. 

“No, I don’t. I was going to...” Her voice was quiet, unsure. She trailed off as she briefly met his eyes, releasing a rattled breath.

“I thought that might be the case.” There was no judgment in his voice, only simple resignation to the truth. “I think I may have a plan that could help both of us out with our current situations.”

Her left eyebrow raised in suspicion at his words. She made a low scoffing noise, but she let him continue without interruption.

“Thing is, I’m under a lot of pressure from my family at the moment to settle down. Get married. Make a bunch of Roman babies. Only, I don’t quite want the same thing right now. That doesn’t mean a thing, though. My father wouldn’t hear anything about it even if I was plannin’ on telling him.” He shrugged.

She listened carefully before speaking.

“With all due respect, Walker, what does any of that have to do with me? I need to go try and find someplace to sleep tonight, so if it’s all the same to you...”

“Well actually I was thinking, what if you came back with me? We could tell people that we met a while ago. That we wanted to see how things went before saying anything to anyone. We could pretend that we’ve fallen in love. You’d pretend to be my girl. Cook, clean, attend town functions, come to Sunday church socials with me. That sort of thing. It would help take the pressure off me, and you’d have somewhere safe to stay.”

He could see her turning the idea over in her mind, but she still looked suspicious. 

“And why would you need me to pretend to be your girl?” She cast an eye over him again, then gestured toward him and the room they were in. “You’re gorg-- er-- not bad looking. You clearly have money. Why don’t you have a girl? Why don’t you do all that stuff they want for real?”

He shrugged as he answered her question. 

“It’s complicated,” he said simply, not offering any more information.

“Where’s home? Would I be far away from here? From Dimitri and Igor and the others?”

He nodded. “Catahoula Creek. It’s far enough. It’s a small town, it never gets any attention.”

“What if I don’t like it? What if I wanted to come back? Would you bring me back?” 

She started fidgeting with her hands again, clearly conflicted.

“I would never keep you there against your will, Doll. Ever. I’m not trying to buy you, or enslave you. I’m not trying to take advantage of you. If you come, it will be because you want to, because you choose to. If you want to leave, I’ll drive you anywhere you want to go myself. I swear it. Hell, I’ll help you apply for a passport and buy you a plane ticket to the other side of the world, if that’s what you want,” he assured her sincerely. 

She bit her lip again, narrowing her eyes as she considered his offer. After a few moments, she gave a decisive nod. 

“I’ll do it,” she declared.

A knot of tension uncurled in his stomach as she agreed.

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. I have nothing keeping me here. And you’re right. We can help each other. I get a place to stay far away from Dimitri until I figure things out, and you get your family off your back for a while. I can’t see a good reason not to do it. You’ve already proven you’re not a rapist or a serial killer..." she paused, brow furrowed. "You’re not? Right?”

“I swear it.”

“Then yeah, just like that.” She nodded again.

He released a long breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding as a slow grin spread across his face. 

“Thank you.” Relief was evident in his voice. “Okay then, let’s get packing and head home.”