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So I shrugged easily and said “Yeah, I guess it is convenient.” I turned and headed for the walk-in but he got there first and blocked me.
“Are you sure you want them, Lola?” he asked, his head cocked, his eyes glistening and goading me. What was his problem this morning? It was like he was going out of his way to make me mad.
Patience, Lola.“I don’t want them, Alfie. I need them. Big difference.”
“How much do you need them?”
“That depends. How much do you need me to not walk into the lobby in just a towel?” His eyes narrowed and I squared my shoulders, meeting his stare head on.
“You wouldn’t.”
I arched a daring eyebrow at him. I so would, and he knew it. He scowled, took my hand, and led me towards the closet. Nerves fluttered in my stomach as I entered the walk-in that would contain the first luxury I’d ever had of my own.
“Jesus,” I murmured as I stepped inside. The previously empty half of the closet was now full of clothes for me. Oh yeah, he’d definitely gone a little nuts.
I scanned the items with a dubious eye. They looked more like they belonged to Angie than me. Alfie’s entire wardrobe was lifeless and he’d given me one to match. Everything was in black, grey, and white, with the occasional deviation towards cream or brown. I shivered and wrapped my arms tighter around my towel-clad body. Was it possible for a closet to make you feel cold? It reminded me of a doctor’s office—too clinical, too clean.
It didn’t escape my notice that he had only provided dresses and skirts, items that would provide easy access to me. Towards the end of the rack were a few cocktail dresses and two evening gowns. It was a beautiful collection of clothes, but when was I ever going to wear any of this stuff?
I could feel Alfie watching me as I took it all in, and when I turned to face him his expression was expectant, like he was waiting for me to squeal with the glee of a girlish gold-digger. It was the same expression he’d worn when he’d tried to give me those diamond earrings.
“Alfie, this isn’t exactly the kind of stuff I usually wear.” I felt guilty but I’d never asked for any of it. In fact I’d emphatically told him I didn’t want it.
“So? You deserve to wear a better class of clothing.” There were so many things I adored about Alfie Tell, but he had moments where I could quite happily slap him upside the head and this was one of them.
“And when you were shopping for my new clothes, did it occur to you to consider what I might like?”
“I assumed you would be happy to own a decent wardrobe. Besides, I didn’t shop. My personal shopper at Harrods picked out these pieces.” Of course he had a personal shopper.
He walked to the rack, pulled down a grey fitted dress, and handed it to me. “Wear this.”
“Why?” I took the dress from him, not missing how the shade of the dress perfectly matched his own suit.
“Because it would please me,” he answered simply, as if that should have been obvious. This was the peach dress conversation all over again. I felt like an idiot that I hadn’t seen this coming. He’d been so vulnerable last night, of course he was going to punish me for it today.
“And what about what pleases me?”
“Haven’t I pleasured you enough this morning?”
My jaw dropped at his callous tone, but before I could formulate a response his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, and without another word he turned on his Gucci loafers and left me standing there with Prada, Versace, and Chanel all judging me like mean girls at a party.
Ten minutes later I skipped down the stairs, smiling triumphantly. After he’d left me I’d promptly dumped the dress on the floor and grabbed my handbag from the bed. After a little rummaging I came up with my ‘just-in-case’ denim shorts. I’d returned to the rack and found a nude silk blouse that could have paid my bills for two months. I’d thrown it on along with my Chelsea red block heel boots and trotted out the door. I was thoroughly looking forward to seeing the stumped expression on his face when he realised he’d been beaten.
I wasn’t disappointed. His jaw all but dropped, though I didn’t know why he was surprised.
“Problem?” I waltzed right by him, heading straight for the lift, but he grabbed my arm and yanked me back to him. I slammed up against him with a yelp and lost my breath for a moment, the rich smell of him flooding my nose.
“Game on, baby.” He grinned. I had just a moment to take in his cold grey eyes and realise he wasn’t playing before I was upside down over his shoulder. My handbag clattered to the floor as he marched me down the hall.
“Alfie, put me down! Let go of me!” I pummelled on his back but he ignored me. I heard the turn of a door knob and recognised the familiar tiles of the jacuzzi room. Realisation of what was about to happen dawned on me and I had enough time to struggle in vain before he dumped me in the jacuzzi. I spluttered and coughed and shot daggers up at Alfie who stood over me, clean and dry with his hands in his pockets and a smug smile on his face.
“Let’s try this again, shall we?” He enunciated each word carefully, a humming mixture of excitable anger emanating fromhim. I tried to get up but he merely pushed me back into the water. I splashed at him in frustration but he dodged it easily.
“Alfie, let me out of here!” He arched an eyebrow at me and I felt like a naughty child being chastised for not eating my vegetables. In another circumstance, this could have been fun, playful maybe, but instead all I felt was humiliation and anger. I’d laid my heart out for him last night and cold-hearted control was what I was getting in return. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I want you to wear that dress and despite how many times we have had similar conversations, you still seem not to understand that I am ruthless in getting what I want,” he said, in his calm, collected tone. I shivered and pushed a wet lock of hair out of my face. I felt ridiculous.
I huffed in frustration. I wasn’t getting out of here unless I caved so I swallowed my pride and through gritted teeth I said, “Fine, I’ll wear the stupid dress.” He smiled triumphantly and I had to fight the urge to slap him. I shivered again. “Help me out of here, it’s freezing.” I held my hands out to him.