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Snow fell around them in thick, fat, lazy flakes. The wind had picked up a bit, blowing around her as she stared up at him, wrapped warmly with his overcoat over her dress. Khalid wouldn't let her leave the limo without it.
"I'll take you up to your apartment. " His arm went around her back as they moved to the doors.
"Good morning, Ms. Rutherford. " The doorman nodded politely as he opened the heavy glass doors to allow them in and nodded to Chase.
"Good morning, Kenny. " She smiled.
It was close enough to morning. Like a fantasy, dawn was coming and when its fragile light began to spill over the city, this night would be nothing but a dream.
Chase escorted her through the wide lobby to the bank of elevators at the far side. Her apartment, more a penthouse suite, was on the twenty-fifth floor, dark and cold, and lonely.
Chase kept his arm around her, kept her close to his side as the elevator made its way too quickly to her floor and the doors slid open smoothly. Kia opened the tiny purse she carried, extracted the key, and found herself handing it to him.
There was such arrogance in the way he had held out his hand for the key—command and dominance. Chase was a man used to doing certain things, to controlling too much around him.
Kia pressed the security code by the door, and when he opened it, the lights were already on low throughout the apartment. She hated walking into the dark.
They stepped inside, Chase's narrowed gaze raking over the small foyer and luxurious living room that opened out onto a balcony overlooking one of the larger parks.
"I've been looking for another place," she said, feeling his gaze on her.
"What's wrong with this?"
The apartment was too large for one person. She'd known this for years, but had held on to it anyway. It had been awarded to her in the divorce agreement. With the bank of windows that looked out on the park, the large rooms, and the spacious layout, the penthouse would be easy to resell.
She turned to him, staring up at him. "I could fix some coffee. There's wine. "
He could stay the night. He could curl in that large lonely bed with her that she never slept in and hold the cold at bay.
His expression was brooding as he stared down at her, and she knew the answer that was coming.
"But I'm certain you need to get home. " She moved away from him, allowed the warmth of his coat to fall from her shoulders and handed it back to him. Reluctantly.
He took the coat slowly, glanced at it, then with his free hand touched her cheek.
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked.
No, she wasn't. She was going to curl up on the couch, and she was going to try to remember the comfort of his arms holding her, perhaps try to convince herself he was still there with her.
"I'm fine. " She smiled back at him, aching inside, wondering why it was so hard not to beg him to stay.
He nodded slowly, his fingertips sliding over her cheek before his hand dropped, taking the warmth with him.
"You're an incredible woman, Kia Rutherford," he told her.
"Not hardly," she whispered as he left the apartment, closing the door behind him.
She stared around the open, too large rooms before walking to the glass doors that led to the balcony. Opening them, she stepped out, shivering at the chill in the air, watching as the snowflakes created a curtain of white before her.
"Not hardly, Chase," she whispered into the night. "Unless we count incredibly stupid. "
She sighed as she wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed at them, unwilling to step back inside just yet. Here she felt cocooned in the icy wind and the snow falling and she wondered if she could freeze out the suddenly bleak darkness surrounding her.
She had thought one night with Chase would ease the loneliness. She hadn't expected it to only make it worse.
Turning, she reentered the apartment, closing the doors behind her as she reached back to slide the zipper of the dress below her hips.
The phone rang on the table in the foyer. Picking up the cordless headset she stared at the number displayed and shook her head. Drew's cell phone. She had no desire to talk to him tonight. Or this morning. Why destroy the memories she wanted to wrap around her by allowing that intrusion? She placed the phone back in the cradle and moved into the bedroom.
