Ruthless King

“This isn’t your fault,” she told him. “Well, maybe it is.”

He frowned, nodding.

“Because you make me feel safe,” she told him. “That allows me to let go, knowing you’ll catch me.”

“Fuck,” he muttered quietly. Jilly wasn’t used to him swearing in front of her. One of his quirks that she found so fascinating. “You’re just so sweet. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, sweet girl. But I am never letting you go.”

She was all right with that.

“I have something to show you.”

They’d finished their dinner. To her delight and embarrassment, Regent hadn’t let her sit on her own chair, but had kept her in his lap, feeding her from his plate.

It had been strange and yet exciting at the same time.

He’d even picked up a napkin to wipe her face for her.

“You do? What is it?” she asked excitedly.

He pushed his chair back and placed her on her feet before standing.

Then he held out his hand. “Come with me.”

They walked toward the back of the house and he led her into a room she hadn’t been in yet.

Her mouth dropped open. “You have a freaking library?”

“Yes, I have a freaking library,” he repeated. “I thought you might like this room.”

“Like it? I love it. It’s all moody and dark.” Every wall was covered in bookshelves except for the wall with an open fireplace flanked by two large windows.

The carpet was a rich burgundy, the shelving was dark wood, and the colors perfectly matched the two burgundy velvet chairs in front of the fireplace.

She could see herself using in this room in the evenings. Curling up in front of the fire, even if it wasn’t on.

Wandering around, she took in the titles of the books.

Urgh. Bit old and stuffy for her liking. And where were the romance books?

If this was her library, it would be filled with romance novels.

But it’s not. And maybe it wouldn’t hurt you to read a different sort of book once in a while.

If Regent had these books in his library, that had to mean he enjoyed them, right?

“I have another room to show you if you can tear yourself away.”

“Another room?” she asked, taking the hand he held out. “Lead on.”

He led her out of the library and down the hallway again, walking through a door she hadn’t even noticed. Then downanother corridor with large windows on either side and into a vast room.

“You have a swimming pool?” She gaped at the pool. It was in a building attached to the back of the house. When she looked up, she saw that the roof had multiple skylights in it, so you could see the sky beyond.

“The skylights recess. So when the weather is nice you can open that up. Plus, open all of these sliding doors. Then it’s like an outdoor pool. So it can be used all year round.”

Wow. How the other half lived.

“I thought we could go for a swim,” he told her, taking her hand and leading her into the massive room. The floor around the pool was tiled, with several comfortable loungers surrounding it. She wouldn’t mind just curling up on one of them with a book.