Claire: The Forced Virgin Of The Billionaire
Chapter 39

I let out a half laugh, half cry. He shrugged kind of apologetically. I shook my head.

“She says surprise her,” he said and ended the call.

He pulled out and left Rosita at the supermarket and drove me back to Azriel’s house. That phone started ringing from my pocket. I took it out.

“A” calling. Great. I stared at it. After the third ring, Earl cleared his throat, “I’d answer that, Miss.”

I didn’t. I couldn’t do anything but stare at the screen. It stopped at 5 rings. Then Earl’s phone started ringing and he said a mix of yes Sirs and no Sirs all the way back. When we pulled inside the gate, which Earl appeared to have engaged somehow from within the vehicle.

He stopped in front of the gate and sat there for what seemed like the longest time. He dialed the phone and said, “What’s your ETA? s**t. Can’t do it. Won’t work. No, that’s not the plan. Can’t. We will have to reschedule.” he growled into the phone and then hung it up and finally drove in through the area between the gates.

“You can go ahead, Miss Dawson. I’m instructed to come with you, keep you company until Mr. Clarke returns.”

I nodded and opened the car door and followed him into the house.

I sat at a stool at the kitchen island and folded my hands in front of me. I was dizzy.

Please don’t hurt her, please don’t hurt her. It was a chant inside my head and I said it over and over and over.

“Do you want something to drink? Some tea?” Earl asked me. He seemed really uncomfortable.

I nodded. He put his suit jacket on the back of the chair, loosened his tie, and then rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and filled the kettle.

“I didn’t have anything to do with that.” I whispered, “They’re good people. Please tell me they won’t be hurt.”

“Azriel will replace a way to get them to back off. Don’t fret.” he said softly, then put the kettle on its base and turned it on. He stepped into the dining room when his phone vibrated. I couldn’t hear his conversation.

A moment later, he returned and then filled a tea pot and put it on the table with two cups, the sugar, and the milk.

A few minutes later we were drinking tea and saying nothing but it was a kind of comfortable silence. Finally, he fetched a newspaper from another room and handed me the entertainment section and opened the sports section.

After a while, I heard a noise and it wasn’t what I’d hoped for, which would’ve been Rosita coming in with the groceries. Instead, it was him.

Azriel leaned in the doorway of the kitchen, his face stoic, his eyes narrow and very angry and unfortunately on me, “That’s all for now,” he said.

Earl left the room.

“Upstairs,” Azriel said to me very calmly and then turned on his heel.

I was frozen in place. He looked back over his shoulder at me, “Now.”

I rose slowly and then followed along, taking slow deep breaths and wishing I could just vanish into thin air.

Inside the master bedroom he sat on the bed and started to untie his black leather shoes. Then he took them off, took his tie off, his blazer off, and took the cufflinks out. He looked even more dressed up than usual.

Great, this incident got him pulled from an important meeting; that should put him in a fine mood.

He took his silver crucifix necklace off and put it on the nightstand. He took his shirt off and threw it on the bed. Then he folded his arms and stood up. He undid his belt. He was looking at me with intensity; biting down on his bottom l*p.

My heart rate started picking up and my throat felt dry. He had the halved belt in his hands and he jerked his hands to make it snap loudly.

I jolted and then shuddered.

“So,” he said to me, “Care to explain what happened in the store today?”

I blanched. He had to already know what had happened from Earl.

“I saw Lily in the bathroom. She followed us. She was just worried. I told her to back off. She will.” My voice was small, weak, I was quaking.

“Yeah, Lily Davidson, her family and your father, Richard Dawson are making inquiries. It needs to stop.”

Under any other circumstances, I would’ve been shocked by the revelation that my father was worried and was actually looking for me.

But my impending doom had my mind preoccupied at the time.

“I-I told her I was fine. She will back off.” I was not at all comfortable with the names he was dropping, the fact that he obviously had information on them. I kept my eye on the belt, feeling bile rise in my throat.

“Yeah, you said.”

He was silent, watching me.

“What are you gonna do?” My chin was trembling.

“You want to know what I’m going to do?” His eyes were challenging me.

“I want to know you’re not going to do anything to — to Lily or her family or my family. I’ve talked to her; it’ll be fine. She…” I didn’t know how to finish that, to replace the words to make him leave them alone.

He sighed, then pinched the bridge over his nose, “I do not need this hassle.”

I stood there, not knowing what he wanted me up here for. It was still the afternoon and he was undressing in front of me so of course I didn’t feel like, based on his track record so far, that this was going to go well.

“Come here,” he told me, dropping the belt on the bed beside him.

I blew out a slow breath. “Listen,” I said and took a step back.

He raised his eyebrows, “Here.”