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CHAPTER ELEVEN
WHENALEXHADsaid it was time for a drink, she’d thought he meant wine or coffee. Not the two bottles of water he was fetching from the fridge. Emma leaned against the counter on her elbows, admiring his sculpted muscular back and broad shoulders. He truly was the very embodiment of masculinity.
There had been a time when she would fantasise about someone like him. Unapologetic in his maleness. Strapping. Choosing her to love and be with. But that had been before her parents had eroded the very idea. Between their hateful bickering and her father’s constant affairs, Emma had entirely given up on love. There was no such thing. And when she’d once thought she’d found someone to challenge that, just a little, Lauren had been right there to prove that Emma had it right the first time.
She hadn’t given anyone her heart because there would never be a reason to. And now there was Alex, who believed the same. She had never had a connection to anyone as she did with him, and if even he believed that love was an imaginary construct, then it must be true.
Even if it wasn’t, why would someone like him ever chooseher? Emma had years of evidence that, given the choice, no one would choose her. If she thought about it, Alex had been careful to make sure there were barriers that weren’t broken. In the overheard snippets of conversation on his phone and his driver in the limo, she’d heard them all call him Alex. Yet she didn’t.
Emma didn’t know why, but that thought stung.
‘Alexander, can I ask you something?’
He turned around to look at her, sliding over the bottle of water. ‘Of course.’
She wasn’t looking at him. Instead, she ran her fingers along the patterns in the marble. ‘Why do you let everyone call you Alex? Seems a bit familiar, given who you are.’
He placed his arms down on the counter, leaning in towards Emma. ‘You mean why do I allow everyone to call me Alex but not you?’
He’d guessed her actual question. She didn’t respond, trying not to show her hurt.
‘Because, Emma, you’re the only one who calls me Alexander.’ He walked around the large island and pulled her to her feet, taking her face in his hands. ‘And I love hearing the way you say it.’
‘You do?’
He kissed her cheek.
‘Mm-hmm. Especially when you’re coming for me.’ He kissed her neck. ‘And when you think I’m being ridiculous.’ He kissed her forehead. ‘And when you’re trying to get my attention.’ He kissed her lips, slow and lingering. ‘And when you want me to kiss you but you don’t want to say it.’
He brushed his lips against hers once more and she was quivering with need all over again.
‘But I’m really going to love hearing the way you say it when I show you your surprise.’
‘A surprise?’
He nodded and pulled his trousers on, and draped his white shirt over her, fastening the buttons before placing a small kiss on her lips.
They went up the glass staircase and down a corridor she hadn’t seen before. There were beautiful works of art lining the walls. From emotive photographs that captured a moment in breathtaking ways, to contemporary works in a myriad of colours. Emma looked at Alex, marvelling at the many sides of him and just how much of them he kept hidden.
‘You ready?’ he asked with a bright smile once they reached a closed door.
She nodded, her expression mirroring his. He held open the door and stood back to let her enter the cavernous room.
‘Oh, Alexander!’ she exclaimed on a breath.
It was a private library. There were shelves lining all the walls except for the one glass wall that during the day would bathe the room in light. Now, at night, it made the space feel cosier somehow.
Almost every shelf was filled to capacity with various books of different sizes and colours. Emma was drawn in. Stepping up to one of the bookshelves, she saw that some of the books looked extremely old. Probably first editions, she thought. She looked to her right and saw a ladder attached to a rail that would allow her to get a book from the very top shelf. She glanced behind her with barely contained excitement and saw Alex leaning against the back of a very comfortable-looking couch. There were so many places to sit. Lounge... Relax and forget reality.
‘How—? You haven’t even been in Melbourne all that long.’
Alex shrugged. ‘I hope you didn’t think that I’m just a pretty face.’
He pushed off the couch and moved to stand before her. Holding her shoulders, he spun her around and pressed his body against hers, making her step forward until she was right in front of the shelf. He held her hand in his and ran her fingers over several of the books’ spines.
‘While we’re together,’ he purred, his teeth grazing her ear, ‘whenever you want a little escape, you can come here and take what you need.’
Her heart was thrumming, chest heaving. How could he affect her so deeply? She turned around and crushed her lips against his. He didn’t falter for a second, catching her instantly and kissing her back.
