Elaina woke to the sound of her own moans. Her treasure wasn’t in her grasp.
Alex’s sharp scent wafted close, and gentle lips kissed her forehead. “Good morning, beautiful.”
She opened her eyes and found him standing beside the bed in a business suit, sans the jacket. “You’re dressed already.”
“It’s Monday morning.” He chuckled. “I have to go to work.”
Her arms felt empty without him. “How are you feeling? Did I drain energy from you?”
“I feel great. Wonderful, in fact.” He sat beside her on the mattress, and his gaze turned serious. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“You know what.” He massaged his temples for a moment and then smoothed his hair. “I’m not there yet, but I think I’ve started to forgive her.”
An invisible weight perched on her chest, and her throat thickened. She took his hand and kissed his fingers. Words about how much he deserved to feel loved threatened to spill from her mouth. If that happened, she’d succumb to guilt. And she didn’t do guilt.
Instead, she offered, “I’m glad.”
“My schedule is full of meetings today, but I’ll be back for dinner. The house staff knows you’re here and will help you with anything you need.”
He bent down and gave her a soft kiss. Before he could pull away, she grasped his tie and deepened their embrace.
Their moans echoed each other, and his hands took advantage of her still-naked state, skating across her skin. She wrapped her other hand around his shoulder, ready to tip him beside her on the bed, but he broke away.
His eyes glinted, amusement lighting them from within. “Whether you’re denying me or giving me what I want, you always manage to have the upper hand.” He pressed a finger against her mouth, preventing her retort. “I stayed in bed with you as long as I could. I’m already running late.”
Her lower lip stuck out in a pout.
He stood, putting distance between them, and grinned. “Does that mean you’ll miss me while I’m gone?”
Her limbs stiffened. The intensity of how much she’d miss him constricted her throat.
His grin faded. “You will be here when I come home.” Despite his firm instruction, the statement ended on a questioning tone.
“Yes.” She gave a long exhale. “And I’ll miss you.”
He picked up his suit jacket from the corner of the mattress and walked backward toward the door. “It’s taking every ounce of willpower I have to leave right now.”
His gaze traveled over her body, and his hungry expression let her know exactly what he was thinking. She stretched, sensuously moving her limbs to torture him.
His look turned even more heated. “I wish I could stay, just to teach you a lesson.”
A wince creased his features, and he left the room on the sound of her chuckle. Emptiness followed with his absence. She’d have to find a way to fill her day or else start moping. The second option didn’t sound appealing at all.
Stefano’s was closed on Mondays, as most of the staff worked events on the weekends, so she couldn’t occupy her time with that. Come to think of it, did she still need that job?
She’d taken the position to get the inside scoop on Chicago’s most lavish parties, but if Alex was serious about helping her acquire more treasure without stealing, the place had lost its allure. And he probably wouldn’t want her to keep the job anyway, as he was smart enough to figure out her motive for working there.
So where did that leave her? She’d had to hustle for the past ten years to survive. But now he’d taken responsibility for both of her goals—acquiring treasure and hiding from her father—so what was left for her to do? Lying around as a “kept woman” was contrary to her personality.
All the doubts about how she’d fit into his life returned to haunt her. Her bravado faltered with her scan of his sumptuous bedroom.
She didn’t belong with humans at all, much less here. Every soft fold of the high-thread-count sheets tangled about her legs confirmed that fact.
And yet she wanted to stay—she’d promised to stay. Rationalizations, defensiveness, and anger at the circumstances fought for her thoughts.
His willingness to help her increase her hoard in exchange for following his rules was rather close to “buying” her, like how he handled everything else he wanted. On the other hand, except for the lure of danger, she’d never wanted to resort to thievery anyway.
Could her goals really work within human society? Could she live by his rules and still get everything she needed? Could she fit in with humans—at least this one?
An uneasy decision formed in her mind, the one thing on which all her conflicting emotions agreed. She would stay—at least until he came home.
The morning ended up passing quickly while she distracted herself from a case of heartburn with an exploration of his bedroom. Every drawer, every niche, and every shelf came under her examination.
The rationalizing part of her brain claimed she was simply trying to familiarize herself with where she was now living. But that was a lie.
The defensive and angry part of her sought a sign of something. She didn’t know what. Maybe proof that he’d lied to her, wasn’t who he claimed, or hadn’t really changed. Something that would make it easier to leave later that evening. Yet even as she searched for this evidence, she desperately hoped not to find it.
Her hunt uncovered nothing. No pictures of former girlfriends. No old love letters. Not even a speeding ticket.
She closed the last drawer and regarded the room. That hadn’t made her feel better at all. The truth was just...
She sighed and swept her palm over the bare top of the nightstand. Sad.
His room—his life—was sterile. He’d buried the memories of his father by getting rid of everything that reminded him of his life before. Now that she understood that history, his reinvention made sense. She wasn’t going to find anything because there was nothing to find.
A knock at the door interrupted her exploration. She stepped away from the nightstand. “Yes?”
The door opened partway, and the skinny form of Alex’s assistant froze. Then he backed up and closed the door.
The wood muffled his voice. “Let me know when you’re decent.”
She checked her attire. The shirt she’d snagged from Alex’s side of the closet—for no reason whatsoever—was buttoned up respectably high, and the hem fell low enough to cover her panties. It’s not as though she was still naked.
Fine. Whatever. This only emphasized how difficult it was to fit in with humans and their rules—expecting her to cover her skin all the time. Bah.
She put on jeans but left her feet bare. That’d show them.
She opened the door. “Better?”
He scowled and swept into the room. “I’m George Barbour, Alex’s assistant. I heard about the uniform and nametag in the closet downstairs, ‘Linda Jones.’ ” His nose wrinkled, as though he found being in her presence disgusting, and he waved, indicating her clothes. “You might have him fooled, but that kind of display won’t work on me.”
Nice. She hoped this George wasn’t like the legendary Saint George who killed dragons, or she’d really be in trouble. “Was there a reason you stopped by?”
He gripped his laptop case and tensed. On instinct, she stepped back a second before he elbowed past her and laid his bag on the table she and Alex had used for dinner the previous night. His hands empty, he motioned for her to take the chair opposite him and didn’t start his explanation until she sat.
“Alex thought you might be feeling...” He cleared his throat. “Bored.” He looked past her, as though she didn’t deserve his attention. “He thinks you might like my help with a project.”
“A project?”
His mouth pinched tight, reinforcing his attitude about this assignment. “He’s under the impression that you’re not just a gold-digger. And he thinks you’d enjoy starting a business—he mentioned jewelry appraisal—and that you’d need help getting it started.”
“That’s what he sent you for?
“Disappointed?” He met her eyes and leaned forward. “Believe me, I’d like nothing more than to return to the office with the news that you weren’t interested in work that didn’t involve”—he glanced at the bed at the other end of the room—“lying down.”
The man was so off base about her she laughed. “You speak your mind. I can see why he keeps you around.” He blinked hard, and she grabbed the opportunity to keep him off balance. “Do you really think Alex wants to help me start a business simply out of the goodness of his heart? Or do you think his goal might be to keep me busy so I’ll stay out of trouble?”
George opened and then closed his mouth. Obviously, he’d assumed his boss was lovesick stupid when it came to her. In contrast, she assumed Alex was smart enough to have ulterior motives. Which of them was giving more respect to Alex now?
George answered her questions with a begrudging smile. “Touché.”
“You’re an intelligent man.” She patted his hand and winked. “Assumptions don’t suit you. Yes, I sneaked into the party—for reasons unrelated to your boss—but I was in the process of moving across the country yesterday when he kidnapped me and brought me here.”
“Nice try. I’m not that gullible.”
“What would you call it when I’m in my car, ready to leave, and the next thing I know, I wake up here? In his bed?” She gestured toward the door. “Ask any of the staff who were around when he carried me inside the house—unconscious. For that matter, ask James if I had any say over whether my stuff was moved here or if I was still unconscious when it all happened.”
He flinched. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. In case you haven’t noticed, your boss doesn’t take no for an answer.” She giggled to let him know she wasn’t complaining.
“Yeah, I’d call that kidnapped.” He groaned the sigh of a man who wouldn’t put anything past his boss. “But if you’re not a gold-digger, why aren’t you protesting the cage, no matter how gilded?”
“It would be a cage only if I was in it for the money. I’m not trapped. After I woke up, he convinced me to stay for the time being. I do like him—as a person, not a wallet—and I’m not giving up anything by living here that I can’t get back easily.” She’d started from scratch more times than she could count, and she could do it again if the situation worsened.
“I’ll admit.” His jaw shifted, revealing a chink in his attitude. “You’re not at all the type I expected Alex to choose.”
Was that almost a compliment? “That’s my point—I’m not a type at all, much less a gold-digger using sex to ensnare him. For that matter, until last night, I was a virgin.”
George snorted and did a double take, and she halted mid-rant. She’d forgotten how much importance humans attached to that status. But maybe his surprise would break through his beliefs more than her planned tirade.
She nodded, slow and deliberate, emphasizing her words. After letting that information sink in enough to elicit a few random stammers, she grinned and extended her hand.
“Hi, I’m Elaina Drake, and I’m not in control of this situation.”
He laughed and shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Drake.” He scratched below his ear. “Does this mean you are interested in starting a business?”
Honestly, it wasn’t the worst idea. After all, she’d been wondering how to fill her time and fit in here. And once again, Alex had shown how well he understood her.
There was just one little problem.
“Wouldn’t I have to complete a bunch of paperwork to set it up?” Government forms required a name, and now that she’d used her real name, her fake IDs weren’t any help.
George removed a laptop from his case and opened it on the table. “Not if we set it up properly.” He gave her a sidelong glance. “Alex warned me of your paperwork phobia.”
Of course he did. The man thought of everything.
Warmth that had nothing to do with his touch spread through her. He might have been a trust fund kid, but there was a reason his companies were going stronger than ever. While other rich playboys wasted their money until they had nothing left, he’d learned what it took to run a business. Or several. He was, quite frankly, amazing.
George indicated the document on his screen. “We can establish the business in Alex’s name. Then you and Alex would sign this agreement giving you control of all assets. As long as the company stays privately held, this contract would never need to be made public.”
She sat back, stunned at the thought already put into the plan. No wonder George had seen her as a risk.
“And he’s okay with all this?”
“Alex has authorized any start-up funds you need, from certifications to office space.”
A lump formed in her throat. The man was too good for her.
George took in her expression. “You really aren’t in control of this situation, are you?”
That was putting it mildly. “Why is he doing all this?” The ‘for me’ went unspoken.
“Alex’s relationships with women have always been complicated.”
“You mean his mother?”
George’s face scrunched, his confusion confirming that others weren’t aware of the abuse in Alex’s family. “No, I mean the women he dated.”
Oh yes, she couldn’t forget about his playboy past. Her lips twisted in a grimace.
George shrugged. “None of them stuck around long. They always gravitated to his father within a few weeks.”
“His father? Why would any self-respecting woman ever go out with him?”
George laughed. “Maybe that was the problem—they had no respect, for themselves or otherwise.”
“No.” She tapped a nail on the table, measuring what she knew of the abusive man. “His father did it on purpose. To beat his son at something, he stole anything and everything Alex cared about.”
She sat back as the full picture of Alex’s messed-up history came into view.
“Until Alex simply stopped caring.”
George propped up his head, openly scrutinizing her. A moment later, he dropped his hand and pointed in her direction. “I thought Alex was dating again simply because he’d finally gotten over his father’s death, but this is deeper than that. You made him care because you understand him.” He leaned back and dipped his chin. “Congratulations.”
Yes, she understood now. Just as much as Alex literally saw the real her no one else saw, she saw the real him.
He’d never intended to become a playboy. His father had driven Alex to self-destructive behaviors, where each “failure” reinforced his mother’s rejection, and he relived the pain of feeling “not good enough” over and over. The realization sat heavily on her shoulders.
At whatever expression had formed on her face, George’s tone gentled. “So should we get everything ready for you to sign or no?”
A shiver skated across her skin. Between this new insight into Alex’s abandonment issues and the risk of her actions harming his business reputation, she sat paralyzed, unable to answer George.
The power to hurt Alex resided in her hands, and he knew it, willingly giving her the capability. He trusted her enough to offer this opportunity. For the first time in her life, she had the chance to live how she wanted, not just focused on avoiding the threat of her father.
Possibilities—real possibilities—floated through her head. Alex’s understanding made it seem as though she could learn to live among humans, following their rules. Maybe a jewelry appraisal business could also include a design aspect, so she’d at least be able to play with the precious metals and gems passing through her hands. And as long as she laid low and didn’t risk another paparazzi incident, she might even be able to relax and enjoy life.
Enjoy life with Alex.
So the question was, echoing back to her uncertainty that morning, if she didn’t have to worry about treasure or her father, what did she want?
The answer quivered on the tip of her tongue, and she forced out the word. “Yes.”
That one word instruction for George to establish a business for her carried more weight than her agreement to move in with Alex. She’d bounced around crappy apartments so frequently the place she lived was inconsequential. As she’d told George, she hadn’t given up anything by living here. The decision to move out could happen as easily as the decision to move in. But this...
Starting a business together was the epitome of teamwork. That “we” he wanted them to have. She wouldn’t be able to walk away without leaving a financial and emotional mess for him to clean up in her wake.
This meant she wouldn’t be leaving once he arrived home later that evening.
This meant she was going to stay with him.
This was a commitment.