“Yes, sir,” Milos said, and the two headed for a small bungalow on the adjoiningproperty.
Alexander hefted their luggage and his laptop, despite Elizabeth’s protests. “You can get the keys,chérie,” he said with agrin.
From the gleam in his eye, she had a pretty good idea where those keys were. As she slipped her hand into the tight pocket of his jeans, his cock stirred against her fingers. Though the keys rested high in the pocket, she dug deep and scraped her short nails along hiship.
“Careful now,” he said. “Or I’ll strip you naked and make you sit quietly on the couch while I build a fire to warm up thehouse.”
“You wouldn’t!” Elizabeth gasped, withdrawing the keys and unlocking the door as quickly as shecould.
“I would. You’ve been lucky not to earn a punishment from me yet, Elizabeth, but that time is coming.” Despite his ominous words, he smiled ather.
She shivered, but not from thecold.
Alexander flipped light switches as he led Elizabeth through the house. In the living room, a light blue sofa sat in front of a brick fireplace with a flat-screen TV mountedabove.
Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over the snow-covered backyard. Inky blackness beyond the fence confused her for amoment.
“Wait. Is that theocean?”
“It is.” Alexander dropped the bags and then wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. Angling her to the left, he pressed a kiss to her ear. “Watch.”
Brilliant red and white lights winked on and off. “That’s Nubble Light. It’s been standing since 1879. The little nub of land it sits on—that’s how it got its name—is really only accessible by this motorized tram—more of a bucket,really.”
Alexander sighed, and his voice took on a wistful tone. “I discovered this place after a particularly….bad time in my life. I needed to be somewhere else, and I came up here for a fortnight. The very first time I saw the lighthouse, I couldn’t look away. I sat in the parking lot for an hour watching the waves and the sunset, and the rest of my problems faded away. I bought this place the very nextweek.
“This is the only place I can go and be completely myself.” He nuzzled the back of her neck and feathered kisses along herearlobe.
“So you haven’t been completely yourself with me until now?” sheasked.
Alexander bit her ear, and she yelped. “You bring out the real me, Elizabeth. I’ve not needed this place since I met you. The only reason we’re here now is that I want to share it withyou.”
“Oh.” She twisted and looked up into his dark green eyes. “Thank you forthat.”
He kissed her tenderly and sucked her lower lip between his teeth before releasing her. “Relax while I build a fire and fix us somedinner.”
“I cancook.”
“You can have arest.”
Elizabeth scowled. “You’re the one who drove more than two hours in a raging snowstorm to get us here. You’ve slept less than I have the past two days. Let me cook something for us.Please.”
“Elizabeth, you’re still injured, and you need rest.” He brushed a finger along the edge of the bruise on hertemple.
“I’m not planning on running a marathon. I’m going to cook dinner. You can unpack our bags if it makes you feel better. Even do the dishes.” She jabbed his shoulder softly as she skirted him, but he caught her around the waist and pulled her againsthim.
“Someone is feeling feisty,” he saidroughly.
“You’re the one who told me not to give up who I was—my strength—in the rest of our relationship. If you want a future with me, you can’t expect me to do what you say all the time.” She tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he held hertightly.
Alexander’s eyes softened. “I didn’t mean to imply that I expect you to…obey me…outside of the bedroom. I worry about you. I cannot look at you right now without seeing you unconscious and bloodied on the floor of your flat or seeing that tosser’s hands on you, causing you pain. I’m going to be a bit overprotective for awhile.”
“We’re going to have to figure out how to make this work,” she said. “Some sort of balance. You’re . . .intense.”
He laughed. “I am. That is part of the reason we’re here. Time alone. Time to learn about each other. Find that balance. I’m used to getting what I want. But the one thing I’ve never found…is love. Not until now. I’m out of myelement.”
Alexander released her with one last kiss. “I’ve fallen for you, Elizabeth Bennett. There’s not much I wouldn’t do to ensure you one day feel the same aboutme.”
Elizabeth watched him slip out the glass doors to the backyard, presumably to get wood for the fire. “I’m pretty sure I’m alreadythere.”
