A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 394

The few times Elissa and Rowan had seen each other recently had been at the office, during formal meetings. But on the night before the press conference, she received a call from him. She had just stepped out of the shower, and her voice was still laced with steam. "Hello?"

"Just showered?" Downstairs, Rowan leaned against a lamppost, looking up at the light from her window. His voice was deep and steady. "You haven't dried your hair yet, have you?" He stated it as a fact before she could even answer.

Elissa didn't know when he had come to know her so well. She rubbed her hair with a towel, her voice muffled. "Not yet."

"Then go dry it." The man's voice, smooth and magnetic, flowed through the receiver.

She didn't want to, but she answered perfunctorily, "Okay, I'm going to dry my hair. I'll hang up now."

"Don't hang up," he commanded, each word laced with an authority that allowed no argument. "You dry it. I'll listen."

"?" Elissa felt the weight of that three-billion-dollar contract pressing down on her. She thought he was being weird, but she didn't dare say it. Tossing the towel onto the sofa, she went to the bathroom to get the hairdryer. She hated drying her hair in the bathroom, where the air was thick and humid after a shower. She always brought the dryer out to her room. In the past, Rowan had indulged this little habit, often drying her hair for her.

Through the window, Rowan saw her silhouette flit past, catching the reluctance in her movements. The lamplight cast a stark glow on his handsome, chiseled features, yet it also revealed a clear, unmistakable fondness.

She was a lion at home and a lamb outside. She was good-natured with everyone else, but with him, she was always stubborn. It was a bad habit he had created, one only he could tolerate. In her heart, he had always been different from everyone else.

As he thought this, the corner of his mouth curved up. He pressed the phone to his ear. "Why aren't you drying it yet?"

"I'm doing it, I'm doing it," Elissa said, exasperated. "I'm turning it on now. You should turn your volume down, or you'll complain it's too loud." *Listening to someone dry their hair. What a strange fixation.*

"What?" Elissa asked, then immediately understood. He was asking about the press conference tomorrow.

She thought for a moment, then answered honestly. "A little. But don't worry, I won't embarrass you or the Murphy Group…"

"Come to the window." Rowan cut her off before she could finish.

She paused, then walked to the window. Looking down, she saw his tall, straight figure standing under the lamplight. He seemed to have just come from a business dinner, still in the suit he'd worn during the day, but the top two buttons of his shirt were undone and his tie was gone. His sleeves were casually rolled up, revealing strong, sinewy forearms.

Before she could say anything, he seemed to meet her gaze, his voice calm and steady. "What's there to be nervous about? No matter what happens, I'll be there to catch you."