The crowd swelled, and Vanessa was infinitely more pleased with herself until she saw Michael’s hard glare land directly on her from the stage.
The music began, encouraging people to dance the remainder of the evening away. Vanessa remained planted in her seat as she watched Michael walk toward her with intention in every step. When he arrived at their table, he said nothing, simply held out his hand to her and waited expectantly for her to take it.
She didn’t disappoint. Rising quickly, she nodded to the rest of her tablemates and placed her hand in Michael’s, allowing him to lead her onto the floor.
He said nothing, simply pulled her close to him, securing his hand at her waist and placing his mouth next to her ear. The mixture of the sweet yet spicy scent he wore, the circular motion of their dancing, and the heat of him plastered against her—it was almost too much.
She was lightheaded. Her heart was beating so fast she was certain he could both feel and hear it, considering how tightly he held her.
“Why did you do it?”
She cleared her throat, trying to steady herself enough so that chill she felt traversing her entire body didn’t turn into a full-body shiver.
“I’m not sure I know what you mean?”
He tightened his hold on her, and the pressure of his hard body, firm and tempting against hers, made her miss a step.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. How long do you think it’s going to take anyone in this town to jump to the conclusion that the incredibly generous donation we just received is because of the beautiful stranger who arrived in their town at the same time?”
His voice was deep and steady. She couldn’t tell if that was a sign of his anger or confusion. She pulled back slightly to stare up at him.
“Are you upset?” When he didn’t answer immediately, she felt the hairs at her nape prickle her skin. “Michael, I only wanted—”
“Can you afford this, Vanessa?”
She stared at him, tilting her head. Of all the things she’d expected him to ask, that wasn’t it.
“You did a background check on me before you arrived on my doorstep. You tell me.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t look into your financials, Vanessa. Even if I’d wanted to, I couldn’t without a warrant. No judge would grant one without cause. I don’t know how much money you’reworth. I assumed from the exclusive neighborhood, the designer clothes, and the luxury car that you’re not hurting for cash. Not hurting isn’t the same as being able to spare two million dollars like I’d give away a five-dollar bill out of my wallet.”
She stiffened in his arms, trying to pull away. Her resistance seemed to make him tighten his grip as he kept his arm fastened around her waist, keeping her right where he wanted her. Memories of him doing the same thing in bed, pinning her just where he wanted her so she couldn’t run from all the pleasure he planned on doling out, assailed her.
She shook her head, trying to clear her mind so she could focus on the conversation at hand. She needed to deal with this. It was one thing for him to boss her around in bed. That she wanted more than her next breath. This thing he did where he was trying to police her life, that didn’t feel good at all. It reminded her too much of the life she’d fought so hard to leave behind.
“Vanessa, I’m not angry with you,” he began, some of the tension bleeding out of his features. His eyes were aglow with something akin to… worry. “I just don’t want you to end up doing something to help me that will end up hurting you in the end.”
The softness of his eyes in that moment tugged at her heart, making regret spread through her faster than a tipped-over cup of black coffee onto white clothes. Michael wasn’t Karl. She needed to stop comparing them.
Finally gathering hold of herself, she leaned in, pressing her lips gently to his. “This gallant knight thing you have going on is the real deal, isn’t it?”
A light pink flush colored his cheeks as he smiled down at her. “If you’re asking me if doing the right thing and worrying about people is important to me, yeah, it’s the real deal.”
She threaded her fingers through the shaved hair at the base of his hairline, and the tingling sensation made her repeat the action.
“Listen, I know you’re trying to help. I’m realizing that’s yournature. It happens to be one of the things I like most about you. I just need you to remember, I make my own decisions. If I want to give away every cent I have, that’s my choice to make. I get that you take protecting people seriously. But you gotta stop. People have to make decisions for themselves. Even when they’re bad ones.”
She could see acceptance reluctantly taking root in his eyes and decided to throw him a bone. “Just to put your mind at ease, I could make that donation several times over for a long time and still touch none of my considerable assets. My divorce attorney was the best and I’m a pretty decent accountant.”
He chuckled, biting his lip to suppress amusement while looking sexier than any runway model she’d ever seen grace a catwalk or print ad. “Besides.” She cleared her throat. “It’s a tax write-off. And since I don’t have any dependents or business expenses yet, this is a good thing in the eyes of Uncle Sam. Mostly, though, I wanted to do it because it was a noble cause. If you were willing to sacrifice yourself to that auction, the least I could do was to part with some disposable cash.”
He stared intently, his gaze sliding over her slowly before reaching her eyes again.
“You’re really something, you know that, right?”
“Yeah, pretty much.” She secured her hands around his neck, and he surrounded her in his solid arms. She smiled, and breathed in deeply, treasuring the feeling of security she couldn’t remember experiencing before.
“What am I going to do with you, Vanessa?”
