Well, whatever. It’s not like I want to see him. It’s not like I miss talking to him. I’ve got Lev and though his conversational skills are limited, I’m grateful to have someone around to spend time with. Even if that requires suffering through hours upon hours of video games.
I pick up my book and attempt another stab at it. Once I discover that the male protagonist is a tall, handsome, broody lord of something or the other, I shut it again. I’ve had enough of tall, handsome, broody men. They might get your heart pumping and certain other ahem body parts throbbing… but they also leave you feeling constantly uneasy, unsure, and insecure.
Who needs that? Not I.
So he can go ahead and avoid me for as long as I’m his prisoner. I don’t give a flying fuck. I’m much better off on my—
“This is what you choose to do with your newfound freedom?”
I startle with shock, a little squeak escaping through my teeth. I rock back on my knees and straighten to face him. Uri has his eyebrows arched with amusement.
I clear my throat self-consciously. “First of all, reading a book in a dark basement is very different than reading a book under sunlight. Second of all, I’d hardly call this ‘freedom.’ I’m still trapped here with nowhere to go and nothing to do.”
“If I recall, you have a box full of sex toys to keep you busy.”
I blush and scowl simultaneously. “Not the same thing. I want to go out.”
“Where would you like to go?”
“What does it matter?” I laugh bitterly. “It’s not like you’re offering.”
“What if I am?”
Slowly, I get to my feet. The sun is slanting down on top of us, turning his hair into a molten mess of gold and cinnamon. “Don’t toy with me.”
He smiles and my heart shudders. So much for my aversion to tall, handsome, broody men. “I wouldn’t dream of it. You do plenty of that to yourself.”
“Ha. Ha. Ha.”
He adjusts his posture and tilts his head to the side to look at me from a new angle. “You’re right—you have been cooped up here for a long time and you haven’t tried to escape. It’s only fair that I reward good behavior.”
I desperately want to say something snarky but I bite my tongue. If he’s gonna offer me an opportunity to leave the estate, I’m sure as hell not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. “Where would we go?”
“I figured you’d know exactly what you wanted to do.”
I answer without thinking. “I mean, I don’t do much.” He cracks up at that one. Idiot, think before you speak. “What I mean is—”
“What you mean is your life isn’t that interesting.”
“Hey! It’s plenty interesting. I travel a lot. I’ve been to eighty-seven different countries. I’ve met tons of interesting people and done really cool things and—”
“And when you’re done traveling?” he interrupts. “What then?”
I blink at him.
“You’re just here to mess with me, aren’t you?” I snap, shoving past him. “You have no intention of taking me anywhere. You just want to make me feel—”
“Have you been to Sakura?”
I stop short and turn on the spot. “Sakura?” I repeat. “As in the Japanese restaurant that has a three-month long waitlist to get in?”
“That’s the one. Would you like to go?”
Of course I want to go; I’m just not sure if I should. We’ve been doing this whole back-and-forth thing for a while now and it’s starting to feel dangerous. Do I really want to be taken to an exclusive, romantic restaurant with a man that I know is not good for me?
The logical part of my brain is saying no.
The emotional part of my brain is saying, What time are we leaving and what should I wear?
And despite all the very salient points that my sensible side is throwing at me right now, the one thing that I keep coming back to is this: I’ve never opened up to anyone the way I’ve opened up to Uri. Because despite all that control and bravado, there’s a deeply complicated, deeply compassionate man who’s just trying to look after his family.
I bite my bottom lip and glance at him. “What about the whole ‘three-month waitlist’ part?”
He scoffs. “There’s no waiting list for me.”
“Right, you’re Mr. Big Shot. I forgot.”
He rolls his eyes. “Why don’t you go upstairs and pretty yourself up? Sakura has a dress code.”