Page 26 of Blissful Devotion

“The master sent me to show you the way,” she says, still bent at the waist.

Still nothing comes out when I open my mouth, so I give a pathetic little nod instead. Thankfully, that seems to be enough, and she stands, turns, and walks away, leaving me to either follow or stay here alone.

With a sigh, I move to follow her, the bowl and cup clinking together; apparently the cup fell in my haste, and I hadn’t noticed.

“Oh, I’ll take that.” The girl takes the tray from my hand and leads me again, God knows where.

We walk down a long hall before we reach a living room of sorts; it’s large and open, with minimal furniture. The entire back wall is glass from floor to ceiling, and though the sun shines bright and blinding, it’s impossible to miss the garden on the other side.

“Katherine.” This time, when I jump, it’s out of fear, and again I get that itch to run. My heart races, and I feel sweat gathering on my palms. I’m not safe, even if I didn’t know that by looking at him and the fact that he kidnapped me; my body knows a predator when it sees one.

It takes me a moment to realize what he’s waiting on. I blink, then blink again, before I realize the girl is gone, and he stands, waiting with his arm held out to me near the door.

The last thing I want is to get closer to him, to touch him or have him touch me, but I also know better than to push my luck. I need to not create waves, at least not yet.

Swallowing down the taste of my breakfast as it threatens to make another appearance, I move toward him. I see his jaw clench, no doubt about how slowly I’m moving, but he doesn’t say anything, and all too quickly I’m beside him, wrapping my arm around his before he leads us out the door. I expected it to be cold given it’s December, but wherever we are must not be New York because it’s pleasant.

Breathe, don’t scream, keep it together. I tell myself over and over, willing myself not to fuck this up.

Lorenzo clears his throat, and I look up to find him watching me, his annoyance clear in his frown.

“How did you end up a nanny for my niece?”

I chew the inside of my cheek, unsure how to answer. If he really does know everything already, then lying won’t help; and even if he doesn’t, what does lying about this help?

I tell him how I left Maine and started teaching in New York, where I ended up teaching her. How I’d talked to Nathan, and we’d become friends before my apartment got broken into.

“Sounds like my brother knew just how to get his way. Nice to see nothing's changed, and that not even his son’s girl is off limits.”

Did he just… No.

He wasn’t trying to insinuate that Nathan was the one who broke in… Right?

Or that Nathan would be willing to try and steal me from Desmond. Not that it would ever be a possibility in our situation, but still.

I shake the thought away because that’s crazy. Even if he were saying that, I’m not going to argue with him about anything.

Though I can’t help but wonder what made his opinion of Nathan so low. Most people who meet him love him; even with his standoffish nature, he’s still a good person.

“Hmm,” he hums, and I look at him to find he’s looking down at me. “I can’t say I blame him, though.”

I look away, hoping it looks like I’m interested in the flowers as I swallow bile.

“I have nothing against my nephew, other than the fact that he’s the spawn of his father, but I guess that can’t be helped. We can’t choose our families, can we?” Something about the way he says that last part makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention, or maybe it’s just him.

We’d stopped walking for a moment as he spoke, and I nearly trip over my feet when he tugs me forward once again. We circle around the garden, and while it’s beautiful, I can still feel the urge to vomit right there, just waiting.

“So, I assume you have some questions for me.”

I force my gaze back to him and find his gaze on the garden instead of me this time.

“I don’t promise to answer, but you might as well ask them before they eat away at you.”

The second he gives me permission to ask questions, my mind goes blank.

There’s so much I want to know, but I’m also not stupid. Like Carter, I know Lorenzo isn’t really giving me full freedom here, and the wrong question could very well have consequences.

“Why have I never heard of you before?” I ask because something tells me he doesn’t mind talking about himself.