“No. Definitely not. Come to breakfast with me. I’ve missed you these past few days.” He smiled and withdrew a tin of her favorite tea from his coat pocket. “A peaceoffering.”
She made no move to take the green tin. “I feel like this is made ofstrings.”
“As in strings attached to my offer? No. No strings,chérie. Silk or otherwise. As I told you, I’m peckish. Both for food and for your wit. Indulge a jet-lagged and desperate man?” He held the tin of tea out in front ofhim.
Elizabeth huffed and plucked the canister from his hand. “Fine. Let me get my shoes and put on a bettershirt.”
“You look fine the way you are,” Alexander insisted as she left him in the hallway. He was dressed casually himself: jeans, brown leather loafers, and a burnt orange sweater. Still, her terse acceptance rang like melodious bells in hisears.
A few minutes later, Elizabeth emerged with her thin rain coat and a knit hat that hid her hair. He’d been right about that luxurious mane. It did shine, and he ached to run his fingers through it, to grab the thick locks, and gently, but firmly, angle her head back so he could nibble herthroat.
He offered his elbow to accept Elizabeth’s hand. She kept looking up at him, her eyesuncertain.
“Are you hungry?” he asked her once they’d descended the four flights ofstairs.
She slid across the supple leather seat in the back of his limo. “Yes.”
“Mike’s Diner, Thomas,” Alexander said as he took the seat across from Elizabeth. He wanted to touch her, but he didn’t think it would bewelcome.
The ride passed largely in silence, Elizabeth fiddling with the belt on her coat and Alexander unable to lookaway.
At the diner, they found two seats at the counter, and soon they had cups of coffee and plates of eggs Benedict in front ofthem.
“I cannot get you out of my mind,Elizabeth.”
Her eyes widened, and he caught the hitch in her breath and the flush on hercheeks.
Alexander reached over and brushed a knuckle along her jaw. “I think about you every morning when I wake up and every night when I fall asleep. But I do not only want you in my bed. I want you in my life. You say you won’t fit in my social circles, but I say you will. You’re a Harvard-educated woman. Summa cum laude? And before you say anything, I did not researchyou.”
Her lips twitched into a small smile. “Magna cum laude. I got pneumonia in my third year. One of my professors was a dick and refused to let me make up an exam.” She forked up a bite of eggs and washed it down with a sip of coffee. Her eyes fluttered, and a satisfied moan escaped her lips. “I haven’t had eggs Benedict this good inyears.”
“I’m pleased. Elizabeth, you are brilliant. And you are lovely. You carry yourself with such grace. You know who you are. Well, mostly. I still believe there is a true submissive inside those walls you’ve erected around your heart.” Alexander leaned closer. “Give me a chance. Please. Do you find me a pleasant companion? Enjoy talking tome?”
“I changed my mobile plan so I had unlimited text messages,” she admitted. “I had to drop my cable to doit.”
Alexander chuckled. “And I was late to the office every day while I was in London. My mother interrogated me that last day after you hung up on me. She could see the effect you had on me. Let us see where this goes, shall we? I have a fundraiser to attend on Friday night. A black-tie ball for the Jimmy Fund. Come with me. If you don’t, I’ll be stuck with my brother and his insufferable date for theevening.”
Elizabeth set down her fork and folded her napkin. The dark cloud that settled over her features dimmed Alexander’s smile immediately. “The nicest dress I own cost less than your socks, Alexander. I wouldnotfit in. I can’t go withyou.”
“Nonsense. I can easily have a dress sent over foryou.”
Elizabeth slid off her stool. “I’m not one of yourcauses. You can’t throw money at me and expect that it’ll fix everything or make me come to heel and be your pet. I don’t need you to swoop in and save theday.”
“I am well aware of that, Elizabeth. You are a strong and beautiful woman who has found herself in circumstances unbefitting of her intelligence, kind heart, and moral code. I can help. Why won’t you allow me to do so? I’m not asking you to let me pay your rent, move you into one of my properties, or find you a job, though I would be happy to do any of those things. But right now, I am offering a dress. Nothingmore.”
He barely suppressed his ire. Any other woman would have jumped at the chance to join him. But every other woman he’d dated paled in comparison toElizabeth.
“No.” She shook her head. “No dresses. No meals. They all come with strings. And right now, I have enough on my mind without figuring out how to escape your knots.” She shoved her hand into her pocket and withdrew a crumpled twenty-dollar bill. Tossing the cash in the middle of his plate of eggs, she said, “Good bye. Enjoy the party. Don’t call meagain.”
Before Alexander could rise, Elizabeth stalked out of the diner and disappeared down thestreet.
How dare Alexander try to buy her with an expensive dress and celebrity shoulder-rubbing.
“I am not submissive,” she muttered over a dinner of stale popcorn and half a bottle of wine. River butted her head against Elizabeth’s ankle. “You don’t think I’m submissive, do you, sweetie?” The cat meowed and rolled over.Riverwas submissive. Nother.
Merlot sloshed into her glass, more than was prudent. She didn’t want to stay sober tonight. Loneliness pressed in on her like an unforgiving prison from which she had no escape. Not even wine could unlock the cell. When Alexander had buzzed her this morning, she’d allowed herself a brief moment of hope. He desired her. No one had desired her for a very longtime.
By the time she climbed into bed, the effects of her over indulgence had largely worn off, and only the headache remained. She looked longingly at her phone. Dammit, she missedhim.
Enough,she chidedherself.
Alexander was a rich man, and he was used to getting what he wanted. Darren, her last serious boyfriend back in Seattle, had been the sameway.
They’d dated for five years. She’d found him rude and dismissive at first, but at her parents’ urging, she’d tried to adapt to his strong personality. She’d adapted too well. Within a year, they’d been living in an apartment he chose, eating at restaurants he liked, and associating with his friends—nothers.
He’d told her what to wear and how to act. Gradually at first. Snide comments about her preference for loose sweaters. Glares when she laughed too loudly for his tastes. A raised brow when she took a second helping of dessert. Every time they had a social engagement, he’d bring home a dress or pick something out of her closet thatheliked. She hated it, but she’d never said a word. He signed her up for a gym because she’d gained five pounds and even went so far as to have meals delivered to their apartment to try to help her stick to the diethe’dprescribed.
Darren’s true colors came out when he parents disowned her. By then he was one of Seattle’s best cardiologists and flush withcash.
A few tears escaped her eyes, and she dashed them away. The controlling, arrogant asshole wasn’t worth her tears. Nor wasAlexander.
