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Eva
I must have gone through a dozen outfits that morning alone, tearing nearly everything out of my suitcase in a frantic bid to figure out what message I wanted to send to him. What was stupid was that I shouldn’t have been thinking about sending a message at all. What I should have been thinking about was what in God’s name I thought I was up to.
I finally found something that I thought would work, and then found myself pacing the floor of the suite, sipping on my second or third cup—I’d lost track—of over-brewed coffee, the sugar and cream only partially smoothing over the bitter note of the hot liquid.
It was rainy outside, a thick mist settling over the landscape, the park across the street totally deserted. I loved the way the trees looked shrouded in the white, diaphanous fog, rendering them into almost ghostly shapes hinting at what might be beyond. Perhaps it was the last chill before summer really dug her claws in, the sunshine and heat just around the corner.
There was a knock at the door, my heart seizing in my chest for a moment. Even though I knew it was time for him to be here, it still surprised me. I glanced at the clock and my phone—right on time. Once again, it was somethingsounlike how Nick usually was.
The knock sounded again, louder this time, insistent.
“I’m coming, I’m coming!” I rushed through the suite to the door, cranking the handle and yanking it open. “You don’t have to be so impatient, you know.”
He didn’t say anything, though, just slipping past me, his shoulder brushing against mine, perhaps lingering a heartbeat longer than it needed to in order for him to get by. What he was wearing surprised me again. The navy blazer, the tasteful jet and hunter green paisley-patterned vest, and the dark slacks made him appear every bit the dapper businessman or the handsome, wealthy bachelor out on the town.
His hair was styled, dark and shiny with pomade or gel, the black stubble at his chin and jaw darker and thicker now. I didn’t want to notice it, but I couldn’t help it—the man smelled divine.
Fuck, that cologne is so unfair.
But as I was about to find out, Nick was going to continue to keep me off balance today. Although I had chosen a knit sweater and snug blue jeans, I suddenly felt very cold, exposed. There was something about him and the way he moved, the way he said almost nothing…it was so unlike him.
What was going on here?
He shrugged off his blazer revealing a dark gray button-down shirt under the very attractive vest—which he left on—and slung the suit coat over the back of the office chair at the desk in my hotel room. Then he turned to me, his hands in his pockets, the pose pure confidence, a pretty natural ease in his affect that both had me completely on my heels, and a little bit intrigued at the same time. But I’d be damned if I made it this easy for Nick to get me on the defensive.
I held up my phone, the one-hour timer showing, and then I started it. I set it down on the desk, face up. Crossing my arms under my breasts, I inclined my head, slightly narrowing my eyes as I said the words. “Now, I don’t really know what you think you were doing yesterday, but I need to tell you right now, up front, that I’m not going to play this game with you. Just because of some stupid…rule. So, I want you to—”
“I wantyouto shut your mouth for a minute and listen to me,” he said, his voice a rumble so low that it was almost a vibration in my chest rather than a sound. He was utterly still as he said it. His dark, intense gaze fixed upon me, with a power that suddenly seemed able to pin me exactly where I stood.
My lips literally smacked audibly as I closed my mouth, the shock of what he said taking me completely by surprise. “I mean…whyshouldI do that?” It was a stupid thing to say, of course, but I couldn’t think of anything else.
“You should dothatbecause I told you to. Just like the rule says, remember? For this hour you have to do as I tell you to do.” His eyebrow arched ever so slightly, as if he was evaluating if I might still continue with my defiance.
What defiance, Eva? This is fucking stupid. It’s time to stop this.
“Look, Nick, let’s cut the bullshit, okay? You don’t own me, and you sure ashelldon’t get to tell me what to do. I’m a grown woman, and no one is going to tell me to close my—”
Nick was upon me in two steps, his big hand wrapped around my throat in less than the blink of an eye. I couldn’t help but take a sharp, frantic breath as his fingers tightened slightly about me. “For this one hour, you’re goddamnrightI’m going to tell you what to do. Unless you say the words.”
I grabbed his arm where he held my throat, but my pulling against it was feeble, almost a reflex—and we both knew I wasn’t really trying to pull him away. But I couldn’t help it—needing to show him that I was strong, that I wasn’t going to put up with this, seemed to be more important at that moment than rational thought.
“Calm down.” His voice was unexpectedly soft, but his grip about my throat was anything but. “Just relax. Now, I want you to look at me.”
Blinking frantically, I was able to fix my gaze upon his, and he brought himself even closer to me. I could feel the heat of his body now, sense the coiling strength, and the undercurrent of danger in this situation that both frightened me and—though it pained me to admit it—excited me too.
“Nick… Nick, I don’t want this.”
He shook his head slowly, though his eyes stayed on me. “Then say the words, Eva, and I’ll walk right back out that door right now.”
But I couldn’t.
I didn’t really knowwhyI couldn’t, but something stopped me. Something about the way he held me tight, the confidence, the steel in his voice, it made me want to know more. I needed to understand what had happened to him.
And what that might mean for what was about to happen.
“Since you haven’t said the words, Eva, that’s enough of an answer for now. I want you to listen to me and pay close attention to what I’m saying to you. Are you listening?”
I nodded slightly, as much as his grip upon me would allow. I took a deep breath, my nostrils flaring, trying to calm myself, as much as a girlcouldcalm herself with a man’s hand around her throat.
