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“Take my car, Nic. My driver can take you to where you want to go. “
“Thanks, but I’ll take care of it, Walkden.” Damn if he was going to be told how to take care of Lexie.
“Don’t be stubborn, Fernandez. It’s a mob out there.”
Blue eyes stared into green ones in challenge. No one was backing away from the standoff.
“It’s alright, Julian.” Lexie’s barely concealed anxiety penetrated the mist of rage he felt at the sound of the other man’s name on her lips. “My bodyguards are already on their way.” She gestured to two hulking men in suits shoving their way through the paps.
Julian broke off first. “If you need me, don’t hesitate to call.”
“I’m sure there will be no need,” Nic said coldly.
The Duke planted a brief kiss on Lexie’s cheek. He shot Nic one final, hard glance over the top of her head before walking away.
* * *
“We need to talk.”
Yeah, right. A thirty minute silent drive all the way to the front door of the mansion and he chooses to speak, now, after he let her simmer in quiet resentment in the car. Men and their inability to multitask, she scoffed mentally.
Lexie shoved the key into the front door viciously. It was juvenile but felt really necessary. She made her way to the mammoth state-of-the-art kitchen on the right wing of the mansion. Mrs. Rosario was off to visit her grandchild. Blair was out clubbing. She kicked off her shoes and felt the cold marble on her feet as she made her way to one of the hanging cabinets, searching for a glass. A headache was looming like dark rain clouds, and she needed to nip it in the bud with ibuprofen before it became a full-blown migraine.
She could see him from her peripheral vision, a hip resting on the island counter, his arms folded across his chest tracking her every movement. A day or two ago, a “talk” would have been welcome. Who was she kidding? She was so desperate to hear from him that she never let her mobile phone out of sight in case he called. She turned down Blair’s invitations to shopping sprees in case she noticed how distracted she was and tried to ferret out what was bothering her. This morning, her denial painfully morphed into acceptance. Just like any other guy, Nic had freaked out about the possible consequence of unprotected sex with a girl he was just banging for fun and was running scared. He was just protecting his deal with Stefan and had come barging in during dinner to protect his turf and make sure he got Pygmalion. She dumped the contents of her bag on the kitchen counter and popped a pill from its blister pack. Midway to her mouth, she stopped dead cold and dropped the pill back to the counter.
“What’s wrong?” He hadn’t moved, but the concern in his voice reached her.
She tucked a strand of hair that had detached from her chignon behind an ear. “It’s nothing. Just a headache.”
“Take your meds then.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Not until I know −“
“Know what?”
Did she really have to spell it out? Apparently she had to by the clueless, frowning look on his face. “Not until I know whether I’m pregnant or not,” she whispered, but the words carried in the deep quiet of the house.
He appeared stunned for a moment. “Jesus,” he uttered savagely, striding to where she was hunched miserably in a corner of two apposing kitchen counters. “Look at me, Lexie.”
She reluctantly raised her eyes to meet his. “It’s a distant possibility with that one time but if you are, you have to tell me. Alright?”
A tic was beating madly at his jaw, and Lexie reached out to touch it. He flinched and backed off. She pulled her hand back in shame. Now he couldn’t even bear her touch?
“Shite!” he cursed, grasping her hands, refusing to let go when she would have pulled away. He touched his forehead to hers, his breath teasing her nostrils. “Touching you is the easy part. It’s the letting go I can’t bear. It gets harder every time.”
“You don’t ever have to let me go, Nic. I’m yours.” Shameless and desperate, but there it was. All her cards on the table. She leaned back, tilted her head up, and looked him in the eye as she pulled the pin on her emotional grenade. “It’s not like I even had a choice,” she accused with some degree of bafflement, as if the truth had just dawned on her. He detached himself from her and walked a few paces away. She saw his expression change, become guarded. Before he had even opened his mouth, Lexie knew he was going to convince her otherwise.
