18. Chapter 18
Chapter eighteen
Lucy
When I woke, it took me a few seconds to realize where I was. My fingers spread out to grasp the cool silk sheets encompassing me. Heat crawled up my cheeks when I remembered everything that happened between me and Dax did last night.
How he gave me the most explosive, monumental orgasm—the way he felt in my mouth—and then how he walked away.
It was like he couldn’t escape from the room fast enough.
The rejection tasted bitter in my mouth, especially considering it was the second time.
One minute, he was scorching hot, the next he was cold as ice.
I ran my fingers down my face.
You asked him for a distraction. He gave you one.
That’s all it was.
As much as I wished I could lock myself away in that beautiful bedroom all day, there was too much at stake outside its doors.
Any awkwardness between us would have to go on pause until we figured out a plan.
I was still being threatened, and I knew there was more to all this that he wasn’t telling me.
I forced myself to get up and slip on my jeans and T-shirt, both of which had tumbled off the bed and were laying on the floor along with the rest of the contents from my backpack.
As I trailed down the grand staircase, I took a moment to really admire the craftsmanship of the beautiful Victorian mansion.
It was even more awe-inspiring with the bright daylight casting through high stained-glass windows, sending beams of rainbows throughout the sitting room.
I could spend hours here with my sketchbook, tracing every fine detail that whispered of history and elegance.
Another version of me would have relished in it, but that wasn’t the same Lucy I was right now. The current me had just fled her apartment because some scary fucking guys were after her. Then she went ahead and made things with her boss even more complicated. She was anxious. And she was starving.
A warm, inviting aroma wafted through the entry to the kitchen and into the sitting room, beckoning me closer. My stomach growled in response, and I remembered the only reason Dax came to see me last night was to see if I wanted dinner. Food had evidently been the last thing on my mind.
I entered the kitchen to find Dax standing at the stovetop in the middle of the kitchen island, his arm muscles bulging against his black tee as he flipped something in a pan.
A dark apron was tied around his back, and something about seeing him look so domesticated sent a warm flutter through my stomach.
Obviously, it wasn’t the first time I’d seen Dax in an apron.
He was a fucking chef, after all. But watching him move in the kitchen of his home with such relaxation seemed to soften his edges a little.
I found myself enjoying watching him like this, without the constant noise and chaos at Bellissima.
The savory smells rising from his pan made my mouth water, and I nearly gasped when I took in the rest of the scene.
The island’s gleaming black countertop was adorned with a vibrant array of different foods.
Plates piled high with waffles, bacon, sausage, and different syrups were spread out across its length.
Tiered trays of fancy-looking cheeses and charcuterie were arranged skillfully, and a colorful display of different fruits and crudités were cut into intricate shapes.
Smoked salmon, fresh-smelling bagels, and different spreads were neatly settled on large platters.
I looked back to where Dax stood and watched him flip the pan again, a perfectly cooked omelet turned over gracefully inside it.
“So, uh, are you hosting some kind of party?” Seriously, the display looked like it would feed a brunch gathering of thirty people.
Dax’s lip twitched into a half-smile. “I figured you were probably hungry.” He turned off the stove and slipped the omelet into a small dish that looked like it held omelets with different fillings.
“You did all of this for me?” I gaped at him from across the room, still standing in the entrance.
“Well, I was going to send some of it out to the guys who have been keeping watch all night. But yes, it’s for you.
You need to eat, keep your strength up.” He turned around to set the pan into the large sink behind him, then back to me.
A nervous flicker licked through my veins as he made his way around the island to where I stood.
He moved with the poise of a panther, but the strength of something far more vicious.
“How are you holding up today?” His tone was uncharacteristically soft.
I straightened my back, hoping he didn’t notice what the intensity of his gaze was doing to me.
Play it cool, Lucy.
“Well, all things considered…I’m fine. I’ll be fine. I am hungry though…” was all I could come up with.
He nodded, something glinting across his face that I couldn’t read, before gesturing to the food behind him. I took the plate he handed me, and followed his lead, stacking it high with waffles, fruit, and different cheeses I probably couldn’t pronounce the names of.
“How did you know I love waffles?” I asked him as I took a large bite drowned in butter and maple syrup. It was so delicious I had to hold back a moan as I speared a strawberry with my fork.
“I didn’t.” Dax flashed an amused look from his seat across the table.
He took an elegant bite of the omelet in front of him.
How did he always look so refined? Even after a long night, and presumably an early morning based on the feast he procured, he looked every bit his usual, polished yet rugged self.
Especially sitting at this opulent table underneath a massive wrought iron chandelier.
Despite us being the only two in the spacious dining room, he seemed to fill every corner with an aristocratic ease.
If he was a dark prince, then this house was his rightful castle.
I took another bite as I thought about what I wanted to say next.
I wasn’t entirely sure where we stood with one another after last night.
Things were said in the heat of the moment, but now we were back to the very harsh reality of why I was here in the first place.
I tried to ease the rigidness in my shoulders as I met Dax’s eyes.
“I want to thank you for last night,” I told him carefully.
Dax coughed a little. “The, uh…pleasure was all mine, Luce.” A dark expression crossed his features as he took another bite.
“No, that’s not—why do you keep calling me that? Ugh. I was talking about you rescuing me from my apartment. For taking me here. I just…we need to talk.” I twiddled a napkin around my fingers underneath the table, trying to hide how jittery I was about the conversation we were about to have.
“Okay”—Dax scratched his thumb against his jaw—“then talk.”
“The tall guy who was in the lobby of my apartment yesterday…I’ve seen him before. Who is he? Who are the guys outside?” I kept my voice steady and my gaze on him. Whether he protected me or not, I knew there was more he was hiding.
He had a fucking gun on him.
Dax nodded contemplatively. “His name is Clay. Given the dangerous situation that you found yourself in, I asked for a hand in keeping you safe.” His deep voice took an amicable tone.
A chill settled on my skin. “You had me followed?” I placed the napkin on the table and glared at him accusingly.
“It wasn’t like that.”
My tongue felt sharp and prickly in my mouth. “For how long?”
Dax rubbed his temple with his hand like this chat was starting to bore him.
“Since the night you came to me and asked for my help. I knew you would be too stubborn to accept my protection willingly, so I made an arrangement that worked for both of us.” He was acting like this was a perfectly reasonable explanation for invading my privacy.
“Without my permission! Why would you do something like that?” I was nearly yelling at him, my appetite suddenly dowsed by anger. “You had no right!”
Dax slammed his fist down on the table, our plates and glasses jingling from the impact.
“I had every right, Lucy! You came to me. I’m doing everything I can to help you.
The problem is you’re so damned stubborn you don’t even realize when your safety is in jeopardy.
That fucker stalked you and took photos for two weeks and you didn’t even notice! ”
“Meanwhile, you had someone stalking me at the same time! How does that make you any better than them?” I knew I was yelling now, but I couldn’t believe the audacity of him. Of all the people in the world, he had no right calling me stubborn.
Outrage lit up his steely blue eyes, his hand still clenched in a fist on the table. “I am nothing like them and I think you know that.” He gritted his teeth.
Deep down, I knew this was true. Dax was nothing like those revolting pigs. That didn’t change the fact I knew he was hiding something from me.
“Then who are you, Dax? Because I’m getting the feeling you’re not just some business guy who decided to drop his life in New York to become a chef in San Francisco.
” I gestured around the sophisticated dining room.
“What kind of chef has a house like this? What kind of regular guy drives around in a fucking space shuttle?”
“One with a lot of money?” He lifted his brow in challenge.
I wasn’t going to let him placate me. “If you don’t start telling me the truth, I’m gonna leave.
I’m done playing this game with you. I don’t need your help if this is how it’s going to be.
I’m going to the police, just like I should have when all of this started.
” I pushed myself up from the table, moving toward the exit.
“If you don’t need my help, then why did you call me last night?” Dax scowled at me from his seat at the table. “Why weren’t you with the cops instead of screaming with my lips between your legs?”