His for Now (His #2) by Octavia Wildwood Read Free Book Online Page A

wearing a skirt suit with sneakers wasn’t exactly the sort of professional look I was striving for.
    I didn’t look at the car, hoping that if I ignored it I’d remain invisible to the driver.  I didn’t want to call any unnecessary attention to myself so I just hurried toward the building.  That’s when I heard footsteps behind me.
    Spinning around, I came face-to-face with Hayden Slate. 
    He grabbed my arms.  This time I didn’t get a chance to scream because a second man seemed to come out of nowhere and shoved something in my mouth to keep me quiet.  I recognized him instantly – Hayden’s limo driver.  But this time he wasn’t driving a limo.  The two men tied me up, forced me into the back of the nondescript silver sedan that had been tailing me and off we went.
    Hayden was in the backseat next to me.  He held me as I struggled, trying in vain to sooth e me.  I wasn’t exactly in any state to be comforted.  I’d just been abducted !  It was one thing for Hayden to act like a nutcase but now he’d involved his limo driver too.  What the hell was going on? 
    “Daniella,” he murmured, his voice calm but his eyes looking panicked.  “Shh, it’s okay.  I’m so sorry we had to do this but when you made it clear you wouldn’t come with me willingly there weren’t a lot of options left.”
    I stared at him, wishing I could speak.
    He was talking a lot more than usual, as though maybe if he said enough the words would gloss over what he’d done.  All I could do was listen as he explained, “I had one of my bodyguards keep an eye on you after I left but I just wasn’t satisfied it was enough.  I’m sorry we scared you.  I’m just trying to keep you safe.  I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you.” 
    He reached out and tried to stroke my hair but I jerked away as best I could in my restraints.  He looked wounded by the rejection.  “Please,” he whispered, lowering his voice so the driver wouldn’t overhear.  “I know you don’t understand why I’ve done any of this.  To you, I must seem like a monster.” 
    Our eyes locked and I silently pleaded with him to take my gag out.  He seemed to intuitively know what I wanted and he reached out to do it.  That’s when the driver interjected.
    “Leave her as she is,” he ordered.  I could see his eyes trained on us in the rear view mirror.  We weren’t in a limo anymore, so there was no privacy screen.  I also had a feeling the limo driver wasn’t actually a limo driver, because Hayden immediately obeyed and pulled away. 
    Since when did he take orders from his staff?
    “We’ll be there soon,” Hayden assured me, looking mournful.
    I didn’t answer him.  In fact, I didn’t even look at him.  Instead, I leaned my head against the window and pretended to doze as we drove out into the country.  But I wasn’t sleeping – far from it.  I was actually doing everything I could to memorize the route we were taking.
    Wh en we pulled onto a gravel road, the limo driver stopped, got out and blindfolded me.  I kicked and screamed into my gag for all I was worth but it was no use.  I felt Hayden’s hand stroking my back reassuringly, recognizing his caress instantly.  But it did little to calm me down.  I felt like a caged animal.
    “Is all this really necessary?” Hayden protested, sounding like he already knew the answer.
    “Your father is angry enough that you insisted on going back for her,” the driver replied flatly.  “We have no way of knowing if she can be trusted.  She could endanger your life.  We need to take precautions.  You should have blindfolded her right from the start.”
    “She c an be trusted,” Hayden insisted as we continued to drive down the bumpy road.
    “Didn’t you tell me that bandage on your hand is from where she bit you?”
    “Yes but that’s different…”  Hayden sighed deeply.  “Okay, fine.  Let’s just get her inside.”
    Once we reached our