“Am I being too businesslike about this?” he queried.
Ilse slowly shook her head. “No.”
“Then do you accept?”
“If I ask you for a million euros,” she heard herself say, “will you agree?”And a million euros would solve so much, she thoughtvaguely. Jan would receive the best kind of medical care, and she could go back to school—-
“Yes.”
Her jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”
“Even if you ask for another million, I’ll still be inclined to say yes.”
“ARE YOU SERIOUS?” Should she be flattered, or did money just mean that little to him because he had so much of it?
A million euros, Ilse thought dazedly.
It was so, so tempting to say yes.
And she might have said yes...
...if she hadn’t caught that fleeting look in his eyes—-
A look that told her he had always thought she had a price.
Ah.
She waited for their eyes to meet.
And when it did—-
“I truly appreciate the offer...” And Ilse slowly came to her feet. “But I’d rather you gofuck yourself.”
ALL HIS LIFE, WOMENhad always been the ones to throw themselves at Jaak de Konigh. It was the way of the world, the way it was supposed to be. Jaak hadn’t ever the need to run aftera woman, and even now, having a woman walk out on him for the first time in his life—-
The part of Jaak that was entirely used to his every command being followed told him to fuck it. She was beautiful, exciting –different.
But so were a million other women.
And yet, even knowing this, he found himself standing up.
Even as he cursed himself for doing something completely unnatural, he found himself going after her.
He reached her at the end of the narrow and steep staircase spiraling from the café’s entrance doors, Jaak cupping her elbow as he pulled her back to face him, the urgency in her action causing her dark locks to spin like a wave of caramel silk behind her.
Her big brown eyes clashed with his, and an unfamiliar emotion struck Jaak, causing his chest to tighten. It felt very much like...fear.
In her eyes, he saw that she had dismissed him already – that they were over before anything could have started.
He stared at her beautiful, impassive face, and he could practically hear her gently chiding him.Did you expect me to make a scene, mijnheer? Or even worse, did you expect me to throw my arms around you simply because you ran after me?
His grip on her elbow tightened as that tight, painful feeling squeezed his chest just a bit harder. He knew he was being foolish, but he couldn’t get rid of the thought that if he let her go now, then he could never have her in his life again.
And he didn’t want that.
It didn’t matter that they barely knew each other.
All he knew was that she was different...and that he needed her.
