And just when I think I have her pegged as a sweet, passive little girl, she leans forward, my eyes catching her tits down the front of her low cut dress.

“You think you’re the only with threats? You can watch me all you want, but if you try to ruin this for me, I’ll ruin you. And it’s not hard for a young, innocent girl to ruin a guy like you. So, watch me all you want, but don’t underestimate me.”

Then, she stands up and walks away, and I swear she sways her hips a little more just for me. I have to close my open jaw. Even I can admit, I did not see that coming.

“Hey Ruby,” I call to the nurse passing by through the open patio door. I have to adjust my pants to hide the now stiff bulge in my jeans. When Ruby peeks out the door to see what I need, I speak loud enough to make sure Savannah hears it.

“Will you prepare my old room? I’m going to be staying a while.”

He’s trying to get under my skin, but that’s not what’s bothering me. What’s bothering me is that it’s working.

Whenever I’m around him, I feel completely consumed by him. The slightest command, and I’m a useless, obedient child.

As I stare at the closed door to his old room, a bedroom I’ve never actually been in, but I’ve seen Ruby dusting and vacuuming from time to time, I start to feel out of place in a home I’ve made my own this year. And that really gets under my skin.

The last thing I need at this point is someone taking away everything I’ve worked for. It wasn’t enough that I had to bite and claw my way out of that toxic relationship with Hugo, but now I have to compete with an overbearing man-child over his mommy’s inheritance. Give me a fucking break. I haven’t conned that woman out of a dime. I’ve done everything this job has asked of me, and she made a promise that I don’t expect her to break—unless he gets a hold of her.

Just a few hours ago, we had that intense connection, stronger than anything I felt before, and now this intensity is something different entirely.

He stomps up the stairs a moment later, and I watch him coldly as he walks into the bedroom, dropping his bag on the floor. His smug grin does nothing to calm my nerves, but it does stoke the flames a bit, and I roll my eyes at him.

“You keep your hands to yourself now, sweetheart.”

The term of endearment sours my stomach. Hugo used to call me sweetheart, among many, many other things.

I simply scoff at him and turn away, heading toward the kitchen where I usually help Ruby with dinner. She’s heating up some soup on the stove as I start unloading the dishwasher. My shitty mood is not subtle, and she can hear it in the way I’m thrashing around, putting things in the cupboards.