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"What should we do?" While I occasionally asked them for advice on business matters, I never had when it came to anything personal.
"Probably not the best thing, letting her stew." Cormac ran his hand over his beard, his face twisted in concern.
"She was always one to overthink. So I should probably go talk to her." I worked to relax my jaw and uncurl my hands before I returned to Alexis' room. Cormac and Miko were close on my heels, and I wasn't sure if having us all there was the best idea.
"Give me a few minutes alone with her. I don't want to put her back in defense mode."
Miko opened his mouth to argue, but I cut him off with a sharp look. I was already on the edge of my temper and didn't need him setting me off.
Cormac nodded but stood his ground, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall outside her door. He wasn't officially my bodyguard anymore—we had more men to take over that title—but he'd never quite stood down from the role.
With a final exhale, I knocked on the door and waited several seconds before moving inside.
Alexis was sitting on the edge of the bed with her arms wrapped around her middle. She stared off in the opposite direction, her face devoid of emotion.
I remained silent, soaking in her presence and letting her scent fill my nostrils. It had already permeated the penthouse, but being close to her calmed my instincts.
For ten long years, I'd been without her scent. I never wanted to be without it again.
"What do you want?" Alexis whispered without turning to look at me.
"There haven't been any women."
My statement hung in the air, the silence stretching out.
Her brows arched as she finally turned to look at me. "I find that hard to believe."
"No woman was ever you." I shook my head, trying to banish the memories of that first year in Italy without her. "My uncle thought I needed to fuck you out of my system, but the plan backfired in his face when I refused."
Her head cocked to the side as she took me in, assessing me; trying to determine if I was lying or not. She was one of the only ones who could ever read me. She could see through the rough exterior mask I'd erected and see my deepest desires.
"I really don't believe that you've only had the company of your hand for ten years." She scoffed. "You are entirely tooalphafor that to be plausible."
"I didn't say it was only me and my hand. I said there were no women."
Understanding crossed over her face, and she nodded. "Men then."
"Some." I shrugged. "As you said, my appetites are too great to be sustained just by my hand."
The words burned in the back of my mind, and the desire to ask her about her lovers in the last decade plagued me.
"Only one." She shook her head. "I don't know why I'm even bothering to tell you. It's not your business. But only one, and only one time. I found that my toys did the job much better than anyone else."
I found myself standing before her. I brushed a wayward strand of hair away from her face and tilted her chin up so she was looking me in the eye.
"It is my business because you are mine,Tesoro. You always have been." My hand splayed possessively over her throat, squeezing just enough that I reminded her of who was in charge.
"No." Her eyes narrowed with challenge as she stared me down.
"Do you want me to prove to you who owns this beautiful body?" I bent so that our lips were only inches apart. "Why the one man you were with couldn't compare? I promise you, I can still make your body sing. I remember all the right buttons to push to play you like a symphony."
She shuddered, and her eyes fluttered shut. Yes. I was affecting her more than she wanted to let on.
The scent of her arousal filtered through the air, more intense with each passing moment.
She was mine, and I was going to prove it to her.
"Say it,Tesoro." I brushed my lips over hers. "Say it and I'll make you come so hard, you'll see the stars."
