page26 (1/1)

The iance, “I pay the housekeeper to cook—or in this case deliver pastries”

“Oh I would have liked to walk to the patisserie”

A flicker of surprise crossed his expression, followed by a purse of his mouth that made her bite her lip He didn’t want to stroll hand in hand down the Chaing for romance either

“I’ve never been to Paris I’d like to visit a patisserie for fresh croissants at least once inher cheeks “But that’s fine I’ll be out in a naling she needed privacy to rise and dress

He didn’t move

Because there were no secrets from him behind this sheet Perhaps he had sent his housekeeper out and come to wake her for a different reason Her heart tripped and her fragile poise slipped She sed,with indecision She knew she shouldn’t want to sleep with hi stole over her even as she searched his expression for his intention

He gave nothing away as the silence grew loaded Finally he entered the roo around the bed She tensed, but he passed her by, stepping into the bathroo off the back of the door When he returned, he draped a pewter-colored robe over the foot of the bed “Take your time”

He left and she let her breath out in a whoosh, staring at the closed door, wondering why she felt so forlorn In the space of twenty-four hours the man had completely taken over her world, which was intolerable She didn’t need to be coht have tapped through her inner walls last night, but she had an infinite capacity for shoring herself up against the world He’d siht her in a moment of weakness Showered and dressed, she’d be completely unaffected

She had to be

Aleksy was not used to sexual denial If he wanted a wo for Clair in the lounge, knowing she was running a soapy cloth over her nectarine-scented skin, was excruciating

The proxiht as he paced the dark lounge Taking her should have iced his vindictive cake, allowing hi about how exquisite she’d been He’d thought he only wanted to mark his victory over his eneed to him, only him

It was one ht him unexpectedly He’d planned to be in London indefinitely as he drew the noose ever tighter around Van Eych’s neck, putting hioing to London had turned into nothing more than a for the takeover was gone He could leave it to his tealected far too long

Given Clair’s inexperience, he should sever their association The deepest part of him knew that, but the rest of hiallant now? Her virginity was gone She’d given it up as a survival tactic in the face of losing her job and hoht as well be to him

It was a rationalization he grasped with surprising desperation, which disturbed him For two decades his entire life had revolved around one thing: retribution Taking Clair was supposed to be a facet of that, but instead she’d been an escape from it

The stark realization unsettled hi hiain He told hi and circunificance in any woht now, but he didn’t want any woman He wanted Clair

So he would keep her as long as it took to satiate this inexplicable want, he decided

His resolve took a hit, however, when she appeared in a fil sense of purity made his heart lurch It was not unlike theable to reveal herself by leaving the bed this hts behind a olden veil and her minienuous

If this was going to work, she had to fit the mold

“I’ll book you into a salon today,” he pronounced with the swift call to action that had made his meteoric success possible It would also fill her day so her nearness wouldn’t te Women always expected a neardrobe anyway