Chapter 5: "You're new aren't you?"

The guard looks unsure when I arrive but my glare gets him cooperating immediately. I shove him aside when his wits don’t tell him he has to move and I crouch to peer through the keyhole.

Layla’s taken a blanket to every security camera in her room.

She’s shut down every electrical appliance and blocked all her windows. There’s barely any light filtering in through the glass and her room has been thrown into semi-darkness. 

I frown because how many dresses can one woman have? And how thick can they be?

A voice from behind interrupts my thoughts.

“I… almost went in to dissuade her, Sir Ryan. I remembered you said we shouldn’t.”

I turn back to glance at the guard and I peer at him, “You’re new aren’t you?”

He nods eagerly and I take stock of his features

Tall the way all my men are tall, although he’s a bit on the shorter side compared to most of their general height. He’s stocky the way all my men are stocky.

He’d have made a typical Earl guard, except he seems a bit empty up there where it matters.

“What’s your name?”

He stares at me skeptically, “Jax, sir.”

I nod.

“Next time Jax, when you almost mess up, don’t tell your boss about it.  You aren’t going to get a pat on the back, you’ll get fired.

You’re fired. Now Leave.”

The silence on his end is pin drop but I don’t have the patience for dumb men. What’s happening in Layla’s room interests me more.

I pulled myself out of some good fucking for this. It better have been worth it.

“I’m sorry for my mistake Mr Earl. This… this job is all I have now. I need it to feed 

my family sir.”

“Does your family know you possess toothpicks for brains?”

I angle my head to the side to get a better view of what’s happening in the room through the keyhole as I speak. My eyesight isn’t picking up anything that looks like Layla despite all the other things it does.

Jax’s answer is a slow stutter.

“N... no sir. I’ll get smarter.”

This irritates me. 

I get up, straighten my shirt, and knock on the door.

“Layla.”

There’s no reply.

I knock again,  “Layla.”

I try to turn my tone soft as I speak, “Layla, it’s Ryan. I need to know if you’re okay.”

There’s no response so I strain an ear against the door and listen. I pick up a heartbeat inside.

It’s hers. 

Layla’s breathing is heavy and annoyance fills me at her behavior. She’s hearing my knocks.

She hears the concern in my tone, yet she refuses to answer.

“I want to go to the kitchen Ryan, clear your men out from that space, and be nicer. You don’t think everyone wants to work for someone who treats them like shit right?”

Her voice rings cool and clear and I bask in the feeling of the slight husk in her voice. I lean against the door once more and ask, “Will you promise me you’re okay first? We can talk if you need to”

Layla scoffs, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Ryan Earl. This watching thing you’re doing is creepy enough, let’s leave it as it is.”

I signal to the man behind me to carry out her orders and I hear his shudder of relief as he walks off.

I just got chided in front of my own employee. My guts roil as a smile spreads on my lips. I ask,

“Are we going to talk about this Layla?” I drop my voice a note lower as I add, “About us?”

I want to hear her say there is no us. 

That we don’t have anything and we never will because she’s who she is and I am who I am.

It wouldn’t make me give up on her though, but maybe it’d get this strange rushing in my blood to subside.

Maybe my cock wouldn’t thrum for her and begin to go hard from the sound of her voice in a mere conversation.

I hear Layla huff and I hear fabric ruffle as she gets up. The outline of her becomes evident in the room and blood rushes to my brain immediately.

I can make out every inch of skin on her body.

Though there’s barely any light I can see she’s undressed. I can see the planes of her body, like darker ink against dark ink. She slips into clothes and responds, slowly.

“I’m not having this talk, Ryan. I want to use the kitchen.”

I straighten my posture and nod while clearing my throat, “The kitchen will be ready soon, Be safe, Layla.”

If she hears that she makes no indication of it and I tap a message out on my phone to have all the cameras in the kitchen hidden and doubled. She can cover some, but she can’t cover all and that means I won’t be totally blind again.

I feel my brain cloud my mind with images of need and soft bodies. My unsated desire sits heavy and my wolf growls at the fact. Everything in me tells me to go back to finding a way to get release. It’s an itch under my skin,

But I can't.

I have to watch Layla and make sure she doesn’t do something radical like try to stab herself or kill one of the guards with a knife.

I pick up my phone again and place a call, “Hide all the knives in the kitchen. Cover anything sharp with a blunt end.

Stay out of sight.”

The response is a brief grunt and I cut the call, opening the door to my room and going in. I strip, leaving myself in nothing but my underwear, and I try not to touch my erection as I watch the feed come alive.

Different security cameras around the house display empty rooms, empty hallways, and an empty kitchen.

Layla comes out of her room and I feel my blood heating immediately. She’s in a tight white top and jeans but that’s not what catches my eye.

That’s not what has my brain sparking with lust.

It’s the sight of her nipples, two pointed peaks stark against the fabric of her top.

She walks to the kitchen with decided determination, and then she goes to the wine cellar.  

Layla picks out two bottles of wine, and then she begins to drink.