All Chapters of BEAUTY AND THE BODYGUARD: DANGEROUS DESIRE BOOK 2: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

NANCY'S POVAfter throwing up in the bathroom until there was nothing left, I stood at the sink for a long time, just breathing.In. Out. In. Out.Trying to calm down. Trying to think clearly through the anger and fear and leftover fuzziness in my head.The bathroom was beautiful—all white marble and gold fixtures, a deep soaking tub, a shower with glass doors. Expensive and pristine. Like everything else in this prison.I splashed cold water on my face. Once. Twice. Three times. The shock of it helped clear my head a little.I looked at myself in the mirror again. Still pale. Still shaky. But the crying had helped somehow. Released some of the pressure building in my chest.I took a few more deep breaths, dried my face with a fluffy white towel, and walked back into the bedroom.The room really was beautiful, I had to admit. High ceilings with exposed wooden beams. White walls with blue accents. A huge bed with soft-looking linens. French doors that opened onto a private balcony with

NANCY'S POVThat night, as the sun was setting and painting my room in shades of orange and pink, there was a soft knock on my door.I was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, trying not to think about how hungry I was. Trying not to think about anything, really. Just existing in this strange state of angry numbness."Miss Valentino?" A woman's voice, soft and respectful. Not Zade. "It's Maria. I'm the housekeeper."I didn't move. Didn't answer."Miss Valentino, dinner is ready. Mr. Konstantin asked me to let you know. It's being served on the terrace."I stayed silent, hoping she'd just go away.Another pause. Then, "Miss Valentino? Are you alright? Should I—""I'm not coming down for dinner," I called out, loud enough for her to hear through the door. "I'm not hungry."That was a lie. I was starving. My stomach had been growling for the past hour. But I'd meant what I said earlier—I wasn't going to eat with Zade. Wasn't going to sit across from him and pretend everything was fin

NANCY'S POVI closed the door carefully behind me and stood on the front steps, looking around.The grounds were beautiful in the moonlight. Gardens with flowering bushes. Stone pathways winding through them. And beyond all that, I could see the dark shape of cliffs in the distance.I started walking.Not toward the beach—that felt too obvious, too expected. Instead, I followed one of the pathways toward the cliffs I'd seen.My flip-flops made soft slapping sounds against the stone. The only other sounds were the breeze rustling through plants and the distant ocean.I walked for maybe ten minutes, following the path as it wound up a gentle slope. The air got cooler the higher I went. The scent of flowers gave way to salt and earth.Then suddenly, the hairs on my arms stood up.I stopped walking.I had the distinct, unmistakable feeling that I was being watched.I looked around slowly. Scanned the shadows. Looked back the way I'd come.Nothing. Nobody.Just my imagination, I told mysel

NANCY'S POVMy face burned with shame.This was not okay. None of this was okay.I jerked my hand away like I'd been burned and scrambled out of bed.I needed a shower. A cold shower. Right now.I practically ran to the bathroom, stripped off my clothes, and turned on the shower. Made the water cold—actually cold, not lukewarm—and stood under the spray.The shock of it made me gasp. But I forced myself to stay under the cold water, letting it wash away the heat, the lingering arousal, the memory of that dream.It was just a dream, I told myself. Just your brain processing a stressful situation. It doesn't mean anything.People had weird dreams when they were stressed. It was normal. Natural.It definitely didn't mean I was actually attracted to Zade.It was just... proximity. And stress. And the fact that he'd caught me when I fell, and there had been that moment of physical contact, and my brain had just... misinterpreted it or something.That's all it was.I stood under the cold wat

Nancy's POVAfter staying in my room for a while—maybe an hour, maybe two, I lost track—I decided I couldn't just hide there all day.Zade had been right about one thing, much as I hated to admit it. Isolation was harder than captivity. Sitting in my room staring at the walls was only going to make me feel worse. More trapped. More helpless.And it would give me too much time to think about things I didn't want to think about.Like that dream.Like the way my body had responded to it.Like the way I'd barely been able to look at Zade during breakfast without blushing.No. I needed a distraction. Something to occupy my mind.I remembered seeing a library yesterday when I'd been searching for Zade. Books would be good. Reading always helped me escape when things got overwhelming.I opened my door carefully, listening for sounds of Zade in the hallway. Nothing. He was probably still outside, or in that security office he'd mentioned, or doing whatever mysterious bodyguard things he did w