“Yes, I was hoping I could impose on you and use that suite again tonight and through tomorrow night?”
“Oh, absolutely. That’ll be fine. I’ll tell Theophilus and the staff. Things are going well between you, I take it?”
“I believe so.”
“And last night’s meeting with Garrett Green?”
“I’m satisfied, and I’ll fill you in later, at the club.”
“Excellent. Shall we expect you before ten?”
“Yes, that should be doable. I’ll drive her. May I park in her spot? I have a rental, an Audi SUV.”
“Absolutely. So glad things are working out.”
“Me, too.”
As I hang up, I see her fury building, like a beautiful storm billowing in off the Atlantic. She plants her hands on her hips. “You had no right to do that!”
“I believe I did.” I refuse to rise to the bait. Instead, I slip my phone into my pocket and stand there, hands in my pockets, staring down at her for a long moment. “Why did you just lie to metwice, Eilidh? If I already had a negotiated relationship with you, lying to me—twice—would earn you a very hard spanking over my lap. A spanking whichcertainlywouldnotbe conducted for your enjoyment but to punish you.”
That’s an extremely calculated risk on my part. I know it could send her running, and I’d be forced to chase and rebuild her trust from scratch.
But I hear a dryclickas she nervously swallows, her gorgeous throat working, and the way her pulse spikes. A beautiful flush rises in her chest and cheeks.
Therefore, I stand, waiting, coolly staring down at her with a practiced expression I’ve used on plenty of submissives before.
She finally cracks, her gaze dropping. “This can’t work.”
Her strained whisper isn’t one of someone convinced of that. More, it’s the tone of someone who very muchwantsthis to work, yet who feels terrified it won’t due to past events in their life.
Someone conditioned by circumstance to expect no good thing can ever be theirs.
It breaks my heart.
“Itcan, sweetheart. What I can’t do to directly protect you myself, I can buy that protection. I’ll put people in place to run the Tucson property, and you and I will live anywhere you wish. We can move every day, if you want. I amthatwealthy. There is nothing I cannot give to or do for you, if you’ll simplyletme.”
She gazes up at me through her lashes. “Garrett knows you spent the day here.”
“So? He gave me an exemption to be here.”
“It freaked out some people in the building. Including a shifter family on this floor. They have young pups, and I sometimes babysit for them.”
Ahh.This sounds like the truth. “Is that why you moved the chair in front of the door? You were worried someone might try to break in and hurt me?”
“Garrett caught me downstairs when I was leaving to get your things. He had one of his guys stand guard outside the apartment while I was gone. He didn’t want anyone trying to break in.”
I make a mental note to both thank and apologize to Garrett for the imposition. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. We’ll spend days at the club or at my hotel, your choice. Until you let me buy you a house.” But that’s only part of it, I sense. “What else happened?” Because therehasto be more. She’s still too upset.
Her gaze drops again. I risk stepping in close, so I can tip her chin with one finger, until she’s looking up at me. “Please tell me.”
Tears well in her eyes, breaking my heart and shattering it to absolute pieces. “I found a couple of your hairs on my dress after you were in the closet. I put them on the windowsill. I thought… I thought at least you could have that little bit of sunlight…” Her voice chokes.
Andnoweverything makes sense—why there was a frantic air to her actions when I emerged. Why I’d heard her moving around the tiny, spotless apartment, and why I heard her obsessively vacuuming for the past thirty minutes while I was texting with Mark and John, along with handling a few work e-mails on my phone while I still had a charge. I was waiting for John to give me the all-clear to emerge.
“Oh, sweetheart.” I fold her into my arms as she starts sobbing. Truth be told, tears prickle my eyes, too. “Robert used to do the same thing. He would try various ‘remedies’ on me and then test them out like that. He hoped beyond hope one day to see them remain intact past dawn.” I gently rock her in my embrace as she cries, and I bury my face in her hair while breathing her intoxicating scent.
Did I think she barely had a scent before?
