Page 29 of Conail (Members From Money Season 2, #150)

"I'm starving."

His deep chuckle warmed her heart and turned it into mush. It was the first time she had ever heard him come close to laughing. It gave her hope.

His hands ran up and down her back, his touch oddly soothing.

"What are you in the mood for?"

Lifting her head, she felt a jolt at the relaxed look on his face. The cynical lines that she was so accustomed to seeing had practically disappeared.

"If I tell you what I'm in the mood for, you have to promise not to judge me."

He gave her a narrowed-eyed look. "Why would I judge you?"

"Uh no. Promises first."

He lifted one thick brow. "I promise."

"Peanut butter. Lots of it and some grapes. Big juicy purple ones."

"Not green or red?" he asked, tongue in cheek.

He had to tamp down the laugh as she rolled her eyes. "Purple, and you promised not to judge."

"I'm just trying to gain some clarity. Are you going to slather the peanut butter over the grapes or eat them separately?

" He was enjoying himself immensely and realized to his surprise that this was the first time he had a woman in such an intimate position and was being entertained at the same time.

"Sounds like judgment to me." She lifted her chin and managed to look haughty.

"Why don't we go and raid the kitchen?" he suggested. He would feed her cravings for the peculiar first and then come back to bed to feed his enormous need for her.

"One small look of disgust and you leave the kitchen."

"I promise to keep my disgust to myself," he told her solemnly, laughing as she poked him in the chest and slid off him.

"That's considered abuse." He was still smiling as he rose along with her.

"Wait." Walking towards the enormous closet with the revolving shelves, he selected a thin navy robe piped with gold and handed it to her. "Put this on."

It smelled like him, that elusive expensive cologne that was so enticing. She wanted to wrap herself in the silk and felt the emotions tearing at her as it slid over her skin seductively. It felt as if he was holding her in his arms.

"Something wrong?" He paused in the middle of dragging on his sweats.

"No." She shook her head. "Just eager to satisfy my cravings."

So am I, he thought wryly.

She had seen the kitchen before but never appreciated how large it was. "Your housekeeper must be in culinary heaven," she murmured as he guided her to a stool around the spotless counter.

"Why?"

"The place is immaculate. Do you cook?" She propped her chin on her palm and watched as he searched for the items she wanted.

"Not if I can help it." He found the peanut butter and grapes. "How about this?"

"Too big. Half of that. And I'm going to need a bowl. What can you cook?"

"Steak." He handed her a bowl and a spoon along with the grapes and small jar of peanut butter.

"Just steak?"

"And roast chicken." Filling a glass of water from the tap, he turned to watch as she scooped out peanut butter and actually started to spread it on the grapes. "You meant it."

She looked up and laughed at the expression on his face. "Of course I did. Be grateful I'm not craving things like chunks of coal or graveyard dirt."

"That's disgusting."

"Or pee."

"Now you're trying to scare me."

She shook her head and took a bite of the concoction, closing her eyes in delight. "You would not believe the things I read. It's unbelievable. One woman said she had a craving for chalk the entire nine months." She grinned. "Fortunately for her, she was a teacher."

"They no longer use chalk in classrooms." He sat on the stool across from her.

"She found a way." She toyed with the rest of the grapes. "Boy or girl?"

"Pardon?"

She loved the aristocratic way he phrased the single word, and it hit her then how far apart they were in the social stratosphere.

He had been to private prep schools and Ivy League colleges.

She attended the local high school and even though her education had been at a prestigious institution, she was still out of his league.

It was depressing and it brought her down to earth.

"Do you want a boy or a girl, or does it not matter?"

He sipped water and eyed her for a few seconds. In the initial stage, he would have answered differently, but things had changed.

"What about you?" he asked quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"What's your preference?"

Her heart started to thud rapidly, and she had to concentrate hard to stop her hands from shaking. "Why are you asking me that?"

He shrugged and was wondering the same thing.

Draining the glass, he rose to fill it some more.

His back was to her, and he was staring at the elegant chrome pipe fitting.

He had poured the water but had not taken a sip.

It was crunch time now and he was scared spitless.

This was the second time he was confronted with a situation like this.

The first time, he had been so excited, he had hardly been able to contain it.

Plans had been put in place, like a proposal, the selection of a ring and the purchasing of a house.

He felt the sweat forming in his armpits and the panic settling in.

"Conail?"

"Yes?" His voice was terse, but he could not help himself.

"Why did you ask me that question?"

"Forget it." Taking a swallow of the water, he put the glass in the sink. Schooling his expression, he turned to her, ignoring the pensive look on her lovely face. "Finished?"

She looked down at the almost empty bowl. "Yes."

He took it from her and put it in the sink. "Ready?"

"I want to know what's going on."

"I would like to make love to you again, that's what's going on." Taking her hand, he helped her down. When he started to lead the way out, she tugged her hand from his.

"I would like an answer to my question, if you don't mind."

"I don't want to talk about it. In fact, I would rather not talk at all." He reached for her again, but she sidestepped him.

"Answer the question."

"No."

She folded her hands over her breasts and stared at him mutinously.

"What the hell is the matter with you?"

"Me? You were the one who started to say something and now you're too much of a coward to follow up."

His face turned cold, his eyes flinty. Warning bells fluttered inside her stomach as she watched the changes. "What did you say to me?"

"You're a coward." Although her heart was pounding inside her chest, she was determined to have her say. "I know all about what happened to you, what that bitch did to you. I want this baby and I'm saying it to you. We're in a relationship."

His harsh laughter had her faltering. "How presumptuous of you." His voice was cold and indifferent. "We had sex twice and you jumped to the conclusion that we're a couple? Have I mentioned any such thing?"

She had heard the saying of a heart breaking, but she was experiencing it firsthand. She actually felt it splintering inside her chest. Fighting the urge to burst into tears, she clenched her fingers and bore the pain.

"You're right." She managed to say quietly.

"How could I ever be that presumptuous to think that the powerful and wealthy Conail McLaughlin would ever want anything more from me than a roll or two in the hay?

" Drawing herself to her full height, she lifted her chin and gave him a scornful look.

"Whatever that bitch did to you was well deserved.

I would appreciate you taking me home now. "

"Look--"

"Or I can call an Uber." With that, she hurried from the room and practically raced up the stairs. She was near to tears and wanted to drown herself in private.

He did not go after her. He wanted to, but did not have the words to tell her how he really felt. How afraid he was that he would be hurt again. That something inside him had made him say those things to her. Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes. He had hurt her and never meant to do so.

But he had no idea what to do. The last time he was in this position, he had been hurt beyond belief. He needed time. And he needed space to think.

She was dressed and already descending the stairs when he walked out of the kitchen.

"Let me get dressed." He avoided looking at her as he made his way up the stairs.

*****

She was grateful that it was late enough, and everyone had turned in for the night. No doubt, her brother was cuddled up with Maddy somewhere and her parents had already gone to bed. They made the journey in heavy silence, neither of them willing to break it.

As soon as he entered the driveway, she opened the door before he could come around and do so.

He came out just the same and accompanied her to the porch.

When he started to say something, she shook her head.

"I think you've said enough. Goodbye." She slammed the door in his face and stood there, braced against the solid wood, listening as he went down the steps and to his car.

Making her way up to her room, she closed and locked the door. Crawling into bed, she only took the time to take off her boots. Pulling the sheets over her head, she gave in to tears.

How foolish she had been to hope! she thought bitterly.

He had obviously seen the opportunity to have sex with her and had seized it.

The intensity had led her to believe that it was special to him when it was just routine.

She had thought that they were getting somewhere, that surely after what they had shared, it meant a great deal.

She had allowed herself to fall in love with him and hoped he felt the same way.

How naive could she be? And what on earth was wrong with her that she kept getting her heart broken and her ass kicked?

When was she going to learn? And now this was the biggest heartbreak of all times. She had never felt this way about anyone before. Nothing in her thirty-two years had prepared her for this. She had no idea that these kinds of emotions existed. It was on a different plane altogether.