“Come with me,” he commands when the kitchen is spotless. “I have something for you.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I don’t want it.”
His lips press to a grim line. “You’ll accept it regardless. You don’t seem ready to accept the fact that you don’t have to work anymore to make ends meet. I’m going to show you how I will provide for you. You’ll learn to embrace it, even if youhave always been stubborn about accepting what my money can afford us. That ends now.”
I never should’ve let him buy my drinks. I shouldn’t have accepted the fancy dress for Meadows’ wedding.
I’d been afraid that he’d wield his wealth as a weapon against me, just like my family.
I’d been right, but I hadn’t listened to my gut instincts.
My back goes rigid.
“I told you that I won’t be controlled financially ever again.” It takes effort to maintain a calm, flat tone. “Whatever you have for me, I refuse to accept. You can’t buy my affection, Dane.”
He shakes his head sharply, the only sign that his irritation is breaking through his cold façade.
“This isn’t about controlling you. It never has been. I want to take care of you. You’re the one who’s insisting on misunderstanding what I’m offering. I will never leverage my money against you. What I provide doesn’t come with strings attached.”
“No, you’re misunderstanding.” He truly seems to believe what he’s saying. “You want to keep me captive. You think I’ll soften toward you if you buy me things and ensure my comfort. That’s controlling behavior, Dane. You have to see that.”
“I will provide for you, Abigail. This isn’t a negotiation. And it’s not a manipulation. I told you from the beginning that I’m selfish. This is what I want: you, content and cared for in the way that you deserve. In time, I’ll prove to you that I don’t expect anything in return.”
His eyes glitter with icy determination. “Now, are you going to come with me, or am I going to have to carry you?”
I fix him with an imperious stare that’s icy enough to match his. “I don’t intend to be spanked like an unruly child again. I’ll walk.”
He shrugs. “It’s your choice.”
I hold back the tirade that it’s not a choice at all. He will take me wherever he wants to go, despite my protests. My only autonomy in this situation is whether or not I maintain some semblance of dignity.
He turns his back on me and strides out of the kitchen. It’s a small mercy that he didn’t reach for me, but I don’t dare hesitate to follow him in case he changes his mind about touching me.
We go through the labyrinthine rooms again, making our way back to the cavernous, wood-paneled entry hall. He silently leads me up the grand staircase, and I realize we’re heading toward his bedroom.
My steps falter. “I’m not going to have sex with you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
His shoulders stiffen, but he doesn’t turn to face me when he replies, “I’m not taking you to my bedroom.” He opens one of the doors we passed on our way down the long corridor with the portraits. “I converted this guest room into a studio for you while you were sleeping.”
I hate the longing that tugs at my heart, even as my stomach churns. Dane knows my deepest dreams of being a successful artist, and he’s using them against me.
“If you think I’ll want you just because you’ve provided a space for me to paint, you’re mistaken. This isn’t a gift, Dane. It’s a betrayal.”
He finally turns to face me, pivoting in the center of the room, just beside the easel he’s already set up alongside a table of paints.
“I’ll tolerate your barbed comments because I appreciate the fact that the way I pursued you was unconventional. If you would take a moment to see things from my perspective, perhaps you wouldn’t be so prickly.”
I lift my brows, incredulous. “And what is your perspective? What mental gymnastics have you done to justify all of this?”
He lifts one finger. “You were so drunk that you forgot our initial meeting, so I couldn’t ask you out.” He lifts a second finger before I can respond. “You refused to make eye contact when I came into the café, but I knew you wanted me.” A third finger goes up. “We both have dark, kinky fantasies that defy social norms. I had to be sure that you really wanted what I had to offer before I risked showing you my true self.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “You’re right. You are selfish. Everything you’re describing is about what you want, about keeping you safe from judgment. You could’ve been vulnerable with me. You could have put yourself on the line and asked me out on a date. I should’ve had the chance to truly choose you, but you took that away from me. Everything we’ve shared has been a lie, a manipulation to get me into your bed.”
He waves his arms at the room in a jerky gesture. “Getting you into my bed would’ve been easy. Does this look like seduction to you? I’m offering you everything you could ever want. I’ll offer you the world, Abigail. And I’ve offered you myself in return. My real, frightening, unmasked self. You saw what I am at my core, and you wept in ecstasy.”
It finally registers that he must think he’s made himself vulnerable. He keeps saying that he’s revealed his true self to me in a way he’s never shown anyone.
But that doesn’t make him any less monstrous.
