Shaun hadn’t noticed Jozef enter the room until he stepped up to the man who was working on Shaun’s hair, giving him a glare that had the man’s hands freezing on Shaun’s head. She smiled at Jozef in the mirror, her eyes meeting his.
He’d arrived back at the house in the very early morning and, after kissing her awake, made exquisite, leisurely love to her warm, sleepy body. He’d told her he missed her while he was gone. He hadn’t given Shaun any details and she hadn’t asked, but she’d spent half the night awake and worrying about him.
Jozef’s gaze met Shaun’s in the mirror. What is he doing to your hair?
I don’t know, Shaun signed back, much to the bewilderment of her hair stylist. I think he’s trying to straighten it. She snickered and shook her head. Straightening her hair would absolutely not happen unless the man had some very specific products.
Still standing behind her, Jozef brushed his fingers over her jaw then sank them into the springy curls around the base of her head. He freed his fingers and signed, how do you want it to look?
Shaun shrugged, I guess I like it the way I usually have it.
Then that’s how it should look, Jozef agreed.
He turned his freezing stare to the hapless man attempting to painfully comb out Shaun’s hair. Somehow the guy knew exactly what Jozef was saying, though not a word was spoken. The others in the room, two dressmakers, a jeweler, and a makeup artist watched the encounter with curiosity until Jozef turned the heat of his glare on them.
He snapped his fingers and pointed at the door. There was a moment of hesitation and then one very brave dressmaker stepped up. “But Mrs. Koba insisted we attend to Dr. Patterson. How will she get ready for the party?”
Jozef let out a ferocious growl that had the stylists running for the door while Shaun covered a fit of giggles with her hand. Jozef closed and locked the door once the last person was out of their suite, leaving him alone with Shaun. He met her shining eyes in the mirror and smiled, a genuine smile, for her alone.
Shaun felt it right down to her toes.
I will help you prepare, Jozef signed as he approached her.
She turned in her seat and smiled up at him. “Thank you.”
He stood staring at her, the tension building between them until the rest of the world faded. It was just the two of them in a bubble of their own making. No gangsters, no forced engagement, no death, no family intrigue. Just them.
Shaun broke the moment by asking bluntly, “Did you take my phone? I couldn’t find it.”
Jozef’s gaze dimmed a little and he nodded. I had to know if my uncle set you up.
Shaun’s eyes widened. “He can’t have, I didn’t get the phone from him.”
Who did you get it from? Jozef asked.
Shaun sat silently, wondering what to do. She had to decide if she was going to trust Jozef with the information. Trust that he wouldn’t do anything to Saskia. Trust that he was telling Shaun the truth when he said his uncle set the whole thing up and that he wasn’t just trying to get the name of her ally. Then Shaun realized she’d already made her choice to trust Jozef when she’d told him about the phone call.
“I got it from Saskia,” she whispered, her eyes pleading. “But I know she wasn’t a part of any conspiracy to trap me. She’s too honest with her emotions.”
Jozef’s lips twisted in a grim smile. Yes, I agree. And it pleases me that you would protect the youngest member of my family. I believe my uncle found a way to get the phone to my cousin without her realizing he was manipulating the situation.
Shaun nodded her agreement. Then it struck her. Jozef didn’t need to tell her the truth of his uncle’s machinations. He could have left her in the dark. Instead he was trusting her with the information, firmly pitting them together against his uncle in this situation. They were inside the bubble, just the two of them.
Jozef rotated the chair away from the mirror until she was facing him, then he sank onto his knee in front of her. Shaun’s eyes widened and the breath caught in her chest as Jozef reached into his leather jacket and pulled out a box. This one was different from the one he’d shown her on the bridge. This one was a plain old-fashioned blue velvet box with faded gold trimming.
He opened the box and held it up for her to see. Nestled in the creamy satin folds of the box was a gold band with a single solitary diamond. The ring wasn’t new, though it looked like it had been refurbished. She sensed that there was a sentimental value to this ring that hadn’t belonged to the one on the bridge.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, touching the ring with her fingertip.
Encouraged by her lack of immediate refusal, Jozef pulled the ring from the box and gently slipped it on the third finger of her left hand. After Jozef had forced the other ring on her finger, after their botched date night, she’d taken it off and shoved it in a dresser drawer. When she’d gone back to look a few days later, it was gone.
Shaun stared down at the beautiful ring he’d placed on her finger, trying to remind herself of all the reasons she couldn’t accept it. Yet, none of the reasons would surface. They were all still there, but all she could concentrate on was the darkly handsome man on his knee, making her feel as though she was the only woman in the world.
He squeezed her fingers, bringing them to his lips for a lingering kiss that sent her heart racing.
He dropped her hand so he could sign. It was my mother’s ring.
Shaun nodded and blinked back tears at the thoughtful gift. Not knowing what to say, she repeated, “It’s beautiful, Jozef.”
One day I will ask you to marry me properly.
“Not today?” she whispered, bewildered. Why was he on his knees if he wasn’t proposing?
He shook his head. No, I won’t propose to you again until I know you will give me the answer I want to hear. He stared at her with his steady lake-blue gaze. Is today that day?
Shaun thought about his question and then shook her head, dejected that she couldn’t give him what he wanted. She wasn’t ready to give herself up wholeheartedly to her situation. There was too much about it that was wrong. She was a captive with no real free will. She had been torn from her family and forced to put her career on hold. She couldn’t reconcile herself to a life where so many of the things she loved and had worked hard for were being taken from her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
She was afraid she’d ruined the moment with her refusal, that Jozef would grow cold again, but he didn’t. He looked at her with understanding and dipped his head in a brief nod.
I will not ask you to marry me then, he signed. But I will ask you to wear my ring, in whatever form of commitment you are able to give at this moment.
Commitment. Was she ready to wear a symbol of Jozef’s ownership? She knew the Koba family and their elite friends would see it that way. She was property of the Koba family, and the ring sealed that fate. Shaun preferred to look at the ring in the spirit in which it was being given, a sign of Jozef’s commitment to her. A request that she consider one day giving him more when she was ready.
It amazed her how far Jozef had come from the brutal killer who’d kidnapped her. She wasn’t fooling herself into believing that he was no longer dangerous. All she had to do was remember the men who’d attacked her in the alley. He’d dealt with them with brutal efficiency and then walked away with Shaun as though he hadn’t a moment’s remorse for the lives he’d just taken. And though he’d admitted to her that he could remember the face of every person he killed, he still committed the act. He’d been raised a killer and he would die a killer.