Free Risky Temptation by Gemma Hart

everything, his life even, for me.
     
                  “Why did you pick Marco?” I asked, unable to keep the desperation out of my voice. “I’m sure you had hundreds of men to pick from. Why Marco?”
     
                  Tobias swallowed his bite before putting down his fork and knife and leaning back in his chair, eyeing me levelly.
     
                  “Let me ask you that same question—why Marco?” he asked. “You worked for his family, albeit under a ruse, but still, you saw what the Desmond Family was like. They are not a wholesome bunch, to say the very least. Why pick Marco?”
     
                  I sat, stunned by the question. Why would he care who I picked or didn’t pick as my partner, as my love?
     
                  “Because I love him,” I answered simply and honestly.
     
                  Tobias gave a shake of his head and a little dry laugh. “Surely you can’t be that naïve,” he said.
     
                  I felt my fists tighten in annoyance. “What is so naïve about loving someone?”
     
                  “Because one must also live by the brain as well as the heart,” he countered quickly, his green eyes turning a shade darker. His wavy dark hair fell around him like a dark halo, making him look even more shadowy and dangerous.
     
                  “You think he loves you back?” Tobias asked, a brow raised, waiting for an answer.
     
                  “He took your job, didn’t he?” I retorted. “I doubt he took it just because he was feeling generous.”
     
                  Tobias grinned suddenly. His brilliant smile lit up his dark face, again making him arrestingly attractive. He eyed me with interest. “You’re quite remarkable, Miss Margot,” he said softly with surprise. “I don’t think most people being held captive in a place like this would want to be so sassy.”
     
                  I bit my tongue, wondering if I had just caused Marco additional trouble for my lack of discretion.
     
                  But instead, Tobias looked amused. He looked at me with renewed interest.
     
                  “So you think he truly loves you because he’s taking my job,” he said. He tucked a hand under his chin, his head cocked a little. “Don’t you think that’s really just selfish?”
     
                  I stared at him, confused. “Selfish? Selfish that he’s taking on what is likely a very dangerous job so he can find and rescue me?” I said, giving me a look like he had lost his mind. What the hell was he playing at?
     
                  Tobias pressed his lips in a noncommittal gesture. “If he truly loved you, if he truly cared for you, if he truly worried about your safety, would he have let you be in such a situation like this?”
     
                  “He didn’t—!”
     
                  “What I mean is,” Tobias interrupted, raising a hand to stop me, “if he really loved you and cared for you, he wouldn’t have brought you with him to Europe. He wouldn’t have even dared to look at you back in America. He would’ve known that life with him meant certain risk and danger and if he really loved you, he would’ve spared you that.” He lifted his wineglass, swirling the contents. “You’re here, right now, with me because of him.”
     
                  “I’m here because you broke into our house and physically assaulted us,” I corrected, fighting to keep my tone even. “I’m a grown adult. I can make my own decisions in who I love and where I’ll live. I’m here because I chose to love a man who against all odds has managed to survive a hellish past and father. It’s not his fault for having baggage. I have my own as well.”
     
                  Tobias watched me as if watching a rare animal peek its