Chapter 11Ari
Chapter Eleven
AR I
The limo pulled alongside the curb, and I rolled down the window as Ares parked the car. “Hey, beautiful.”
We’d texted since I last saw her, but it was conversational. Playing tennis with our words as we asked about our days and how we were doing. It wasn’t nearly the same as laying eyes on her. I’d missed her much more than I realized. Now the little box I picked up an hour ago was burning a hole in my pocket.
Anna stopped mid-stride and stared at me. “Still following me, huh?” She wiggled her ample derriere at me and laughed. “Can’t get enough?”
Her effect on me was instant. Blood flow reversed course and settled below my belt. There wasn’t an inch of her I didn’t want to taste. In fact, there were several I wanted to taste multiple times.
“Never.” I winked. “Get in, and I’ll give you a ride.”
Her gaze lowered to her sandaled feet. “Yep, still got two legs and two feet, so no, I can walk.” Her eyes caught mine and one corner of her lips tugged up. I knew exactly what she wanted.
“Will you please let me give you a ride?”
Her bottom lip was caught in her teeth as she grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Ares had trotted around the front of the car and pulled the door open. I stepped out, greeting her. As she walked past, I snaked my arm around her waist and pulled her close. It’d been a little more than a day since I’d breathed her in, and I needed to fill myself with her essence. Tucking my face against her neck, I took a deep breath. “I needed this.”
Her arms circled my neck, surprising me. “Needed your fix, huh? ”
I laughed and leaned back, cupping her cheek with my hand. "Is that a problem?"
She trapped her bottom lip between her teeth, nodding. “Not at all.”
I made like I was going to kiss her and at the very last second, pressed my lips to her cheek.
The little growl of frustration was amusing. Her nostrils flared, and fire flickered in her eyes. “I’m not going to beg.”
“If you say so.”
The petulant little pout of her mouth was almost more tempting than I could resist. With one last glare, she got in the car, and I followed her, the door shutting as I took a seat next to her.
With her arms crossed over her chest, she stubbornly kept her gaze pinned on the window.
“Anna, look at me.”
I waited for her.
“Anna. I won’t tell you again.”
Fine. In one swift move, I had her in my arms, her chin between my fingers, forcing her to look at me. “Do you know why I want you to beg me?”
She gave a tiny shake of her head.
“I want you to beg me twice, so I’ll know for sure I never forced you to do it. Asking once could be a whim. Twice, means you’ve thought about it, made the decision. It’s not in the heat of the moment. I will not have my first kiss with my future bride be thought of as a mistake. It will be the physical rock of our relationship. I don’t want you to beg for it, I want you to demand it. A verbal admission that you want me.”
Unshed tears glistened in her eyes. “How am I supposed to try to talk you out of this if you keep making me want you?” Her eyes widened with the soft admission.
“Let me lay that indecision to rest. You can’t talk me out of this.” I dug into the pocket inside my coat and pulled out a velvet box.
Her mouth slowly dropped open. “A ring?”
“We’re getting married. Of course, I’d get you a ring.” I opened the box, and the gasp was worth every penny of the purchase price. “A single solitaire diamond. If you need it sized, maybe we can go together and pick our bands at the same time.”
Holding out her hand, she watched as I pulled it from the box and slipped it on. “It’s…stunning.”
“I’m sorry it took so long. I had it made for you.”
Her head jerked up, eyes catching mine. “Made for me?”
I nodded. “Nothing about you is generic. I’m not putting a ring on your finger that’s anything less than custom.”
“Sweet talker.”
This was the part where things got tricky. “I need to ask a favor.”
Tilting her head, she narrowed her eyes. “A favor?”
“I need you to stay at my condo the next couple of?—”
She shook her head and tried to push away. “No.”
“Please.” I clenched my jaw as I fixed my eyes on her, silently pleading for her to understand.
Internally, I was a storm of conflicting emotions. Fear gnawed at me – fear for her safety, fear of her rejection, fear of the unknown consequences if she refused. A sense of helplessness threatened to overwhelm me, something I wasn't accustomed to feeling. I was used to being in control, to having solutions, but now I found myself at her mercy.
“No. This time please isn’t going to work. You can’t take my freedom.”
Admittedly, I got a little more forceful with her than I had been the next time I spoke. “Anna, I need to know you’re safe. Lorenzo Moretti has been following you, and I have business to take care of the next few days.”
Beneath it all was a current of frustration – at the circumstances that forced me into this position, at my inability to protect her without her cooperation, and perhaps even at her initial refusal. Yet, overriding everything was a fierce, almost painful need to ensure her safety, no matter the cost to my pride or her opinion of me.
“I have to work. I can’t keep calling in favors. I have rent to make.”
Honestly, I hadn’t even thought about her work, but with Lorenzo and her father hanging around, I couldn’t leave her alone at her apartment.
“You’ll have to call in. I won’t be able to keep my focus if I’m worried about you. I’m not asking you. I’m telling you.”
Her lips pinched together. “I knew it was only a matter of time before you pulled some crap like this. It’s the family way, right? Do as you’re told?”
I loosened my hold. “You can think whatever you like of me. Hate me. I don’t care. You’re staying where I know you’ll be safe. Thea has already packed your bags. That’s where you’re going now.”
Her mouth dropped open. “How dare you! Breaking into my apartment. Going through my—” She pulled the ring off and thrust it back into my hand. “I don’t have to talk you out of anything. The only way you’re getting me to the altar is by hog-tying me.”
This time when she tried to remove herself from my arms, I let her. “I want you safe. I’m not saying you have to stay longer than a few days.” At least not right now.
“This isn’t my war. I have nothing to do with it. For all I know, you paid that Lorenzo guy to follow me so you make yourself look good. One giant con so you could get me to do what you wanted me to do.” She held her hand up. “Don’t talk to me. I don’t want to look at you, and I don’t want to hear you.”
“Anna, you can’t mean that. You have to know?—”
She threw a glare at me. “I don’t know anything, and I don’t want to.”
The woman sure knew how to throw a dagger. But as angry as she was, there was no reasoning with her. We rode in silence to my apartment then parked; the icy shoulder continued the entire route to the entrance.
Arms crossed over her chest, she stood in the middle of my living room. There was zero chance I was giving her a tour of the place.
“Obviously, this is the living room, that’s the kitchen, and there’s a study beyond that door to the right.” I pointed toward the right and then to the stairs. “Upstairs is the master as well as the guest rooms. You are free to pick whichever one you want, including the master.”
“Yeah, right.”
“You can’t leave. There will be armed guards posted outside, at the entrance to the elevator in the parking garage, and in front of the structure as well. There are motion detectors all around this building. I have friends in the police department who will be patrolling this area. No one will hurt you while you are here.”
“Why? Why is all this necessary?” Her arms dropped to her side. “Don’t give me some vague reason.”
“Can’t you extend me a little trust?”
She leveled her eyes at me. “You’re exactly like Jason. Freezing me out, pushing me away. Treating me like I’m a child. I’m a big girl. Tell me.”
I slipped my hands into my coat pockets, fingers curling tightly around the fabric inside. The urge to reach out to Anna, to comfort her, conflicted with my need to maintain control.
"Did it ever occur to you that I don't want the ugliness of this world touching that sweet soul of yours? I've seen and done things that I'll never be able to undo, and if I could go back…" I exhaled, forcing my fingers to relax their grip. “I have to go.”
As I stooped to set the blue velvet box on the coffee table, I caught sight of Anna's face. The hurt in her eyes felt like a physical blow, making my chest tighten painfully.
When I reached the door, I paused, my hand resting on the cool metal of the doorknob. I swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the lump in my throat. "In the blink of an eye, I've come to care about you more than I ever thought possible. I'll see you when I get back."
As I stepped out, closing the door behind me, the image of Anna's distressed face burned in my mind. My stomach churned with a nauseating mix of guilt, concern, and frustration. I leaned against the closed door for a moment, eyes squeezed shut, willing myself to walk away.
Hopefully, I'd be able to put the pieces back together when I returned. If not, this marriage would be long and contentious. The thought made my chest ache anew, and I clenched my fists tighter, nails digging into my palms as I forced myself to move forward.