“I’ve pulled some strings, and my contact has agreed to drive up and get you in his Jeep,” said Anthony without preamble when she finally came downstairs.When he saw the flare of anger in Thea’s eyes, he ignored it. She was getting out of this cabin whether she liked it or not. He’d throw her over his shoulder, kicking and screaming, if he had to.“Are you serious?” she said. “In this weather? This is crazy. Once the rain stops I’ll drive out of here myself. Besides, I have four-wheel drive. How is a Jeep going to be better?”“We have no idea when the rain will stop. According to the weather, it isn’t supposed to let up for days. Maybe a week. I’m not prepared to wait.”“And what about you?” she countered. “What if you get stranded from the rain?”He shrugged. “I doubt that will happen.”“Since you’re so rich, why not call in your private jet? Or even better, Air Force One? I’m sure you have loads of contacts in D.C.”Each word from her was a barb, but he ignored them all. She
Anthony sat down at his laptop the next morning, coffee in hand, and opened his email to find that the Society article had been published online. After reading it, however, he was close to tossing his coffee against the wall.The moment Anthony Bertram sits down across from me at the upscale French café he chose for this interview, he’s all business. He drinks the most expensive espresso drink on the menu, and yes, his suits look like they cost more than my annual salary. I’m pretty sure his cufflinks have diamonds in them, in case you’re wondering (I am).“I built this company from the ground up,” he says when I ask him about how he’s dealt with this flood of bad press. “I won’t let anyone stop me.”When he says that, I know he means it. I’m glad I’m not the one he’s set his sights on, because I have a feeling this CEO is not just driven but utterly ruthless to boot.The article continued, characterizing Anthony as a brutal control freak who refused to listen to any kind of critic
It wasn’t until Saturday, an entire week after Thea and Anthony had arrived, that the rain finally stopped. By that point, the entire cabin was surrounded by mud and puddles that resembled small lakes. Despite the mud, when the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, Thea put on her hiking boots and jacket and headed outside.She and Anthony had avoided each other since their confrontation in her bedroom. They’d barely spoken more than ten words to each other altogether. That was fine with Thea.She just hoped that now that the rain had stopped, she could get out of here. Her resolve to stay had disintegrated in the face of actually having to be around Anthony Bertram. And despite wanting to find some kind of dirt that she could relay to Mittens, she wasn’t exactly going to get results by not speaking to him. Or even getting near him or his things.Thea sighed happily as she felt the sun on her face. Even though mud sucked at her boots with every step, she didn’t care one bit. She co
Thea took the rabbit into her bedroom and wrapped it in a towel to get it warm. She knew that rabbits could die of shock, and she held her breath, hoping the poor thing wouldn’t collapse from the stress of its adventure. The fact that the rabbit wasn’t even trying to get away said everything. Thea just hoped they hadn’t acted in vain.Anthony knocked on her door. “How’s it doing?” he asked.“It’s alive. Actually, could you find me a box or something to put it in?”Anthony nodded; she heard him go downstairs. She still couldn’t believe he’d helped her rescue the rabbit. Where had the arrogant, selfish billionaire gone? The one without a heart? The one who didn’t care about testing on animals and sure as hell didn’t care about helping other people?Thea couldn’t help but wonder if he had an ulterior motive, but then she dismissed the idea. He had nothing to gain from her. In fact, she had more to gain from him in this situation. But he’d crossed the creek, potentially risking his own
Thea couldn’t stop trembling. It wasn’t the cold, considering she’d left her room so warm for the rabbit. And it wasn’t even because she wore only a towel.It was because she’d never been kissed like that. No man had ever kissed her like he would consume her very soul. Anthony had kissed her and, in the process, had imprinted himself upon her like a brand.She touched her kiss-bruised lips. It wasn’t like she was some innocent virgin. She’d had boyfriends, although she hadn’t dated much in the last few years, mostly because Fair Haven wasn’t great for dating. She’d lost her virginity in high school to her first boyfriend, and she’d enjoyed sex with different men in her early twenties.But this wasn’t about sex. Not really. Oh, Anthony definitely wanted her—she wasn’t stupid enough to think otherwise. But that kiss—it had obliterated all of her good intentions, all of the warnings she’d given herself about Anthony.He wasn’t a good man. She knew that. She could list every reason why
Thea finished chopping an onion and was about to throw it into a bowl when the lights flickered. Then she heard a huge popping sound before the entire cabin was plunged into darkness.Turning off the burner behind her, she waited a few more minutes, hoping the power would come back on. The darkness persisted. Sighing, she turned on her phone’s flashlight, swearing under her breath when she saw that her battery was low.“Did you hear that?” called Anthony from the living room. He came into the kitchen, the light of his flashlight brighter than Thea’s phone.“Yeah, I heard it.” Thea sighed her displeasure. Although the rain had stopped, a windstorm had blown in, and apparently it had done something to make the power go off.“I’m going to go check what it was. It’s probably the generator,” said Anthony.Thea frowned at Anthony’s retreating back. Since when did some pampered billionaire know how to fix a generator? Morbidly curious, she put on her boots and followed him outside.“You
Thea was tempted to leave Anthony to his gloomy thoughts, but she didn’t want to freeze upstairs. Granted, it wasn’t that cold, but it was the principle of the thing.She sat down on the couch next to him with two plates of food: one for her, and one for Sneaky. She tore up some of the lettuce and placed it inside the box. She smiled when Sneaky immediately began eating. Soon, she’d have to figure out a way to let him get some exercise. She’d tried to let him hop around her room earlier, but he’d hidden in a corner the entire time.Thea then bit into a carrot stick of her own, loudly crunching it. Anthony raised a sardonic eyebrow, but she just smiled widely.“You said you have four siblings?” said Anthony apropos of nothing.It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. Why did he suddenly care? She bit into another carrot. “Yeah. Why?”He shrugged. “I could tell. You acted like an older sister.”She wanted to snort. She sure as hell hadn’t been thinking about Anthony like an older siste
Thea couldn’t sleep all night. She tossed and turned until she finally gave up around five in the morning. Going downstairs, she made coffee, bringing Sneaky along with her.Setting up a pen of sorts with various furniture while lining the floor with towels, she let Sneaky begin to explore his new digs. At first he stayed in the corner, but eventually he found the courage to venture further out. It helped that Thea had placed a nice pile of lettuce and carrots for him to munch on in the middle of the pen. Sneaky was still favoring his right leg, though. Once they were able to get out of this cabin, she’d take him to a vet to be looked at.She blew out a breath as she sat down on the oversized leather chair near the remains of the fire from the night before. The candles she’d lit had burned down to puddles of wax. She shivered, wishing she knew how to start a fire. It couldn’t be that difficult, right? She’d watched Anthony do it last night.Thea lined the fireplace with newspaper an