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“Good girl,” he said, his patronising tone grating on me. He bent over the edge of the tub and took my hands. As quick as a flash I leveraged my feet against the sides of the jacuzzi and pulled with all my might. He fell into the water beside me with a satisfying splash, his suit completely ruined.
I hopped out of the jacuzzi before he could grab me, took a moment to enjoy the stunned look on his face, then sauntered on out of there with as much flounce as I could muster. I left a wet trail in my wake as I ran down the hall, grabbed my bag from the floor, and was pressing the button for the lift before I knew what I was doing.
My hands shook with rage and tears stung my eyes. After last night I should have woken up to sweet nothings and a romantic breakfast, not this manipulative mess. I heard the slosh of watersignalling his exit from the tub and I pressed the button for the lift again, muttering under my breath for it to hurry up.
“Lola!” I heard his footsteps squelching down the hall, a sound which would have been hilarious if I hadn’t been so angry. The lift doors pinged open and I stepped inside just as he emerged from the hall. I had just enough time to see his expression shift from excited rage to terror as the doors closed between us.
I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as I was out of his sight. I was free of him for now. There was no way Mr Etiquette would appear in a crowded hotel lobby in a skin-soaked suit. I, on the other hand, wasn’t that dignified. My clothes clung to me. The silk shirt looked indecent now. I was about to give the lobby quite a show.
All too soon, the doors opened. I stepped into the lobby, and all eyes turned to me. The owl-eyed receptionist gave an almost imperceptible sigh. I fought the urge to run and hide and stuck my chin in the air as I walked through the mass of judgement with my head held high. I’d just approached the doors when I heard several gasps and then a wet hand encircled my arm. I turned and found a drenched Alfie Tell glowering down at me.
My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. Without a word, he turned on his heel and frogmarched me back to the lift, completely ignoring the shocked stares of the hotel guests and staff. I didn’t bother to fight him, it would have been pointless, so instead I just focused on not tripping over my feet as he dragged me through the lobby.
I wondered how he’d caught up to me so fast. The arrogant arse probably had a teleportation machine stashed away somewhere.
As soon as the lift doors sealed us inside I wrenched my arm out of his grasp, knowing full well that he only released me because there was nowhere I could go.
He loomed over me, glowering, but I was too angry to wilt. A shiver ran up my spine that wasn’t just due to the palpable tension. My wet clothes had turned freezing really fast. I caught a glimpse of myself in the glass doors, I looked like a drowned rat. Alfie on the other hand looked mouthwatering. He’d dispensed with his jacket and waistcoat and was left in his white shirt and trousers. The material clung to him, defining the deft planes of his muscles for all to see. His hair, usually slicked back with immaculate precision, was a mass of errant locks that somehow made him even more attractive than usual.
“You ran from me. Again.”
“You tried to control me. Again,” I retorted, scowling up at him. He stared down at me, considering and calculating. I tried to read his mind to figure out what his next move would be. A smug smile began to tug at his mouth and I became very, very wary.
He turned, keyed a code into the number pad, and the lift came to a grinding halt, my pulse coming to a halt with it. He turned back and looked down at me with a ‘Where are you going to run to now?’ look in his eyes.
“Are you trying to scare me?” I whispered, and he paused, seeming surprised by my question.
“No. I’m just trying to own you.” He took a step towards me, advancing until I was backed up against the wall, the gold handrail digging into my lower back. He was humming with desire, but I wasn’t listening, not this time. He leaned in to take my mouth but I turned my head, denying him access. A low growl emitted from his throat at my refusal and a strong hand encircled my neck. He pulled me up to him, forcing me up onto my toes until our mouths were level and my breathing became restricted.
“You run from me and now you’re going to deny me?” He pressed into me, his erection grinding against me. My nipples,hard from being encased in cold material, begged for his attention, but I wouldn’t cave. His expectant look began to waver as I simply stared at him, refusing to give in.
After a moment more of my stoic silence, he slammed a fist against the wall above me and pushed himself away to the other side of the lift. I released a breath, sagging with relief. He ran his hands through his hair, smoothing it back into place, and straightened his shoulders. As I tried to slow my racing heart I watched with a sick fascination as he slid his mask back into place, erasing any sign of the anger and passion that had been there a moment before.
“This kind of behaviour needs to stop, Lola.”
I gaped at him, incredulous.Mybehaviour needed to stop?
“I’m one of the most influential people on the planet. I can’t be seen making a public spectacle of myself.”
“I didn’t make you follow me,” I pointed out.
“You didn’t give me a choice. Do you really think I would let you wander around in public like that?” He gestured at my now-transparent shirt and the swells of my breasts that were clearly visible. I didn’t bother reminding him that my shirt wouldn’t be see-through if he hadn’t thrown me in the damned jacuzzi. “That body is mine, O’Connell. All of it is mine.”
“It’s mine too! It was mine first!” I argued, my voice rising, my treacherous emotions beginning to get the better of me whilst his own remained carefully under wraps.
“Do you think I care, Lola? I see. I want. I take. I have. That’s how things are for me.”
“But not with me,” I said firmly. He sighed as if bored by this conversation. I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to stifle another shiver. I really wished he would start the damned lift so I could get the hell out of here.
“Why are you always so difficult?”
“Why are you pretending that this morning has anything to do with that stupid dress?” I shouted and the tick in his jaw told me that I’d hit a very real nerve. Iknewit. I knew this wasn’t anything to do with the dress. This was all about last night, all of it. “The dress is just a distraction from the real issue. You let me in last night, Alfie. You let your guard down and you let me in?—”
“Enough.” He held up a hand to silence me but I wouldn’t stop.
“No,” I continued. “That deadness you feel so much, it melted away last night and I filled it right up with light and it’s fucked with your head, but instead of talking to me and letting me in, you pull this. You pick on an insecurity, on my fear that I’m not good enough for you, and cause a fight just to keep me from seeing how vulnerable you really are.” When I was done, a calculating silence hung in the air. Alfie looked absolutely unaffected by my words, instead looking like a father waiting for his five year old to finish a temper tantrum. Eventually he spoke.
“You’re reaching, Lola. Had it perhaps occurred to you that I would be introducing you to my world in less than two weeks and I wanted you to get used to dressing and behaving more appropriately?”