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He doesn't flinch. "You're very aware of everything around you. I was surprised you didn't realize a car was following you last night while you were following me."
Shit. I didn't think of that. Why would I think of that?
"Was it a security detail?" I scan his face, looking for some subtle reaction but there's nothing.
"Yes. That's exactly what it was."
"Why?" I hesitate a moment, then ask. "Why would you need that? You own a cosmetics company. It's not like you're the President of the United States."
That draws a smile to his lips. "A man doesn't need to run a country to require extra security sometimes, Ellie."
"Elaborate on what that means."
"It means that people, other than the President, need security."
"Why do you need personal security?" I press my hands against his chest again, but there's no movement on his part. He won't budge. "Are you in trouble?"
"Define trouble." He dips his chin, the grin on his lips widening.
"You think this is funny?" I shake my head, frustrated and embarrassed. I didn't expect this at all. I felt victorious in some twisted post-fuck sense when I followed him last night. It was as if I'd caught him doing something before he could hurt me.
It still hurt, though, not in the same bone-numbing way that it did when I realized that Tad had cheated on me with who knows how many women. When I saw Nolan leave his apartment last night, I felt a sense of loss over what could have been.
"Not funny." His smile disappears, replaced by calmness. "There's an occasional threat directed my way. I'm never sure if it's a disgruntled customer or an actual lunatic. If it has any weight, I have security personnel who follow me until things settle."
"I didn't know."
"Now you do," he says, his voice low. "I think it's interesting that we both felt compelled to follow the other."
"Why did you follow me to lunch?" I ask hoarsely.
"I consider Wolf a threat. A much different thre
at than those that require extra security, but still, a threat."
I'm buoyed by the answer as much as I am irritated. He doesn't own me. He fucked me once. That doesn't grant him a ticket into my soul. "A threat? Because you think he wants to sleep with me?"
"He doesn't want to sleep with you, Ellie. He wants to fuck you and I'm not about to let that happen."
Chapter 27
Nolan
Following her to lunch was a spontaneous, cock driven decision. I was coming back from a meeting with Kristof when I saw Liam on the sidewalk in front of Matiz. I waited, in plain view, until Ellie emerged from the store, her face beaming as she approached him.
She held back when she got close. The only contact a quick brush of his lips across her cheek and her hand sweeping across his arm. They walked side-by-side, not touching, to an Italian place around the corner that serves overcooked pasta and sauce from a jar.
I could have easily stopped there and turned back toward the office. I didn't. I took a table, ordered a whiskey and spent the next hour trying to read their lips. It was useless. She knew I was there. Her face gave way to what was going on inside of her.
Conflict. The anger from my presence combined with her confusion about last night.
I didn't know she followed me until Kristof mentioned it during our brief meeting right before I saw Ellie with Wolf. She watched me come out of the building she thought I lived in before seeing me walk into the building I actually live in. It's not how I wanted her to find out, but I'm pleased it's out in the open. I'm glad that she knows at least one of my secrets.
"Liam doesn't want to fuck me." There's irritation in her tone.
She pushes against my chest and this time I take a step back. It surprises her enough that she doesn't move immediately. So I take another step, to the side this time. She passes me and moves to sit in one of the chairs in front of my desk.
"I saw the way he was looking at you, Ellie. He clearly wants to fuck you."
