Possession (19 page)

Five minutes later, the knock came, followed by Julian's voice. “Open the door, Violet.”

She pressed her cheek against the door. “Please, call me a cab.”

“I'll drive you home.”

“No,” she said. “I-I can't see you again.”

There was a long pause before he answered. “Is that what you really want?”

“Yes.”

“Be outside in fifteen minutes.”

As she heard his retreating footsteps, she slid to the floor, tears of embarrassment burning her eyes. Not only had she rejected the most beautiful man she'd ever seen, now her job was in jeopardy because she sure as hell wasn't going to face Ash right now. Most of her makeup had been licked off and her hair was a mess. And though the man had no claim on her, he acted like he did.

She hurried back to the mirror, fixed her face and hair as best she could, then emerged from the restroom, grateful the hallway was empty. She went to the cloak room, grabbed her things, then went outside where a town car waited.

The passenger side window opened. “Ms. Banderas?”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Kronos asked me to drive you home.”

She looked back at the house, regret stabbing her in the heart. “Thank you,” she said, stepping off the curb.

Twenty minutes later, as the car merged with traffic on I-70, Violet knew she'd made a fatal mistake. But that's what happened whenever she let her guard down: bad things happened. And that's what she'd lived with most of her life.

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