Page 43 of Dangerous Temptation

She couldn’t stand to see him do this to himself.

He’d already been imprisoned once. The penthouse might be cushier and better equipped, but it had become a prison of his own making.

‘Sometimes you have to make tough decisions,’ Yvonne said quietly. ‘Even if they sting.’

Elena bit her lip. The screen saver had timed out and her laptop had gone black.

‘I was with a man with money once.’ Her mother’s voice became raspy. ‘I know how it can creep into the corners of your life and burst out the seams.’

‘Oh, Mom.’ They’d rarely talked about the divorce. She’d been so little, and then it had merely been a fact of life.

‘I loved your father, Lainie, but I had to do what was right for you and me.’

Elena swallowed hard. She had to do what was right for Alex and her, too. ‘I understand. Thanks, Mom.’

It was painful, but it was what she’d needed to hear. Sometimes a kick in the butt was necessary.

It was time. He’d protected her. It was time for her to do the right thing for him.

Terrible as it might be.

They said their goodbyes, and Elena picked up her laptop. She traced her fingers along the outer edge. It had been a gift from him, one of the many ways he’d rescued her. She tapped a key to bring it back to life and stuck a flash drive in the USB port.

She had it clenched in her hand as she walked into his office down the hallway.

She’d told her mother he could do anything here he needed, and his office was proof of that. It looked like a war room with two monitors on his desk, a work flow diagram spread out over two tables, and a big screen TV on the wall. Any technology he needed was at his beck and call.

Any but one.

‘Hi,’ she said softly.

He glanced up from his desk. He was scanning through another economics textbook. ‘Hey.’

That observant grey gaze ran over her, first to check if anything was wrong and then with more leisure.

She held up the flash drive. ‘I need to go to the printer.’

His pen clipped down on the desk, and he straightened. ‘Are you finished?’

‘With the paper.’ She inhaled deeply, but the sense of relief and accomplishment was muted inside her. She couldn’t summon up the excitement that was warranted.

He came around his desk and hugged her. ‘That’s fantastic, baby. I’m so happy for you.’

She was happy, too. It was an accomplishment, but this was just one milestone. She could take a day or two to refresh, but she needed to start preparing her presentation next. A committee of tenured professors was going to pepper her with questions, and she had to be ready to defend her findings.

She turned the flash drive over in her fingers. ‘I need to print out copies and have them bound.’

‘Send it over to Wolfe Pack. They can handle that for you.’

She scowled. Not that she didn’t trust his people, but she was going to do this herself. After all the blood, sweat and tears she’d put into it, she was going to make sure it was done right. There weren’t going to be any missing pages, smudges or crooked printouts.

‘I’d like to get everything over to the committee by the end of the day.’

‘Not a problem.’ He picked up the phone. ‘We’ll get a courier.’

She shook her head and covered the keypad before he could dial. ‘No. Alex, this is something I want to do myself.’

‘I know it’s important to you, baby.’ He rested his hips against the desk. ‘How about this? We’ll have James run them by here so you can check everything before he delivers them. Does that work for you?’

She sent him a sad look. No, it didn’t.

He saw the less than excited expression on her face. Catching her chin, he brushed his thumb along her jawline. ‘Let’s order Grimaldi’s tonight to celebrate.’

Her eyes started to sting, and she clenched the flash drive in her fist. She didn’t feel much like celebrating. ‘I’m not very hungry.’

She was frustrated and discouraged, but determination gelled inside her chest.

She turned and left the room. She grabbed her laptop, then headed past the living room and bar to their bedroom. Carefully, she tucked the computer into its bag. Her hand was shaking as she zipped the flash drive into a pocket of her purse.

Moving almost mechanically, she took the time to change out of her yoga clothes. A pair of jeans and a knit top made her feel more like her old self. Her throat was thick as she tugged on her boots.

She stared at the dresser for ever. The dresser with her drawer … which had become two. When she felt herself wavering, she turned towards the closet instead.

It was time to get to work.

She was halfway through the hangers when Alex poked his head into the bedroom. Elena lifted her chin. She hadn’t tried to be quiet, and the rustling couldn’t be helped.

His gaze immediately latched on to her suitcase. It was open on the bed and full of clothes. His eyes turned flinty, and his lips flattened. ‘What’s this?’

His stoic phase had come and gone long ago. He couldn’t hide his feelings from her any more.

She folded her black suit carefully and tucked it in the bag. ‘I’m going away for a while.’

He was leaning in the doorway, braced against the doorjamb. His posture didn’t change, but everything else about him did. His body stiffened and the air snapped. ‘Why?’

‘Because I can’t breathe here.’

She forced herself to face the dresser. Rummaging through her drawer, she found the black lace lingerie. She hesitated for a moment, her breath shaky, and chose something simpler.

His voice took on a measured patience. ‘Elena, I’ve told you. It has to be this way, at least for a while.’

‘And I don’t agree.’ She packed her toiletry bag. She was about to zip up the suitcase when she thought of something. It made her chest ache, but she couldn’t leave it behind.

‘We could have a picnic lunch on the roof.’ His words were coming more quickly. ‘It’s supposed to clear up later on.’

She looked at him sadly as she returned to the closet.

‘A walk around the block.’ He dragged a hand through his hair. ‘Smith and Hanson will have to accompany us.’

Her resolve strengthened. ‘I’ve lived in hiding, Alex, and I’m done. It can’t be us against the world any more. We need to find a way to coexist.’

‘Elena.’

She took a hanger off the rod. He paled when he saw the hoodie. It impelled him out of the doorway and he stood over her, hands on his hips. For once, the all-powerful Ax looked helpless, as if he didn’t know what to say to keep her.

She folded the hoodie with the utmost care. More than anything, she wanted to put it on, but in comforting herself she would hurt him. She was already doing enough of that.

The air was raw with emotion.

‘I know you think you’re protecting me, Alex, but the world needs us out there in it. Things are difficult right now, but you need to get back to work. Go back to Wolfe Pack. Do good things.’

‘I’m trying,’ he ground out.

She zipped up the bag and pulled it to the floor. He reached to help her, but then stopped himself.

Elena hooked the computer bag over her shoulder.

Gathering the rest of her things, she walked past him.

The walk down the hallway to the penthouse’s front door was the longest she’d ever taken.

Her eyes were damp, and her breaths were pummelling her lungs.

She didn’t want to do this, but she had to.

The roller case clattered along after her, the wheels sounding loud in the quiet apartment.

It couldn’t compete with the roaring in her head.

‘Elena, please.’ He caught her shoulder. ‘Don’t.’

She looked him in the eye, even when a tear slipped out and trailed down her cheek. ‘I love you, Alex, but I can’t live like this.’

She opened the front door before she could change her mind. Vasquez was waiting in the foyer. His astute eyes measured the situation.

‘Vasquez,’ Alex warned.

The bodyguard’s jaw turned rock hard. ‘I’m sorry, sir. Your orders.’

The wiry man took the roller bag and planted himself firmly at her side. ‘What the lady wants, the lady gets.’

It wasn’t what Elena wanted, but this was the way it had to be. Something had to break them out of this self-defeating cycle. It was up to her.

Still, it took everything she had to leave behind the man she loved.