chapter Fifteen
A smiled flitted across Rafe’s face as Ari snuggled deeper against his side. His arm flexed as he pulled her closer against his body, feeling the strong beat of her heart against his ribs, and the soft cushion of her full breasts pressing into his skin.
A soft orange sunset cast its colors across the walls of the room and for a single moment, Rafe felt nothing but contentment.
As his sleeping mind fully woke, he tensed. What was he doing? He didn’t allow himself to get comfortable with women. He was acting like a fool, and this road led to nothing more than heartache.
He looked toward his window, shocked that he’d fallen asleep with Ari after their intense afternoon – not only fallen asleep beside her, but he had to have slept for about four hours if the sun was going down. He hadn’t slept beside a woman since he’d been married, not even for a short nap. It was one of his rules that he never broke.
Intimacy was strictly out when it came to relationships. He wanted nothing but sex – pure pleasure. No feelings, no emotion – a controlled environment.
With a firm resolve, he started pulling away from the warmth of Ari’s sated body. He barely stopped the frustrated groan from escaping his closing throat when her grip around him tightened as her unguarded sleeping body sought his.
Digging deep within to find his iron strength, he pulled her hand away from his side and slid out from beneath her. She softly cried out in her sleep as she squirmed on the bed, seeking out his warmth. His eyes were glued to her half-covered figure as she stirred and began to awaken.
His pants were pulled up and buttoned before her eyes opened and she looked around her in confusion as the sleepy smile fell from her lips. Before he locked away the emotion, desire began to climb, returning once again inside him.
The sheet slipped down her smooth curves, exposing her perfect breasts to his view. Evidence of their love-making – no – sex, just sex, was covering her body. Small red marks were easy to see on her alabaster skin, and her pink nipples were partially peaked as if she were ready for him to run his tongue across their delicate surface again. Such femininity, such perfection.
He turned away as he gathered the rest of his clothes. He heard her sitting up in the bed, and when he turned back around, his fingers methodically buttoning his shirt, she was gazing at him in surprise, gripping the blankets tightly across her body.
“Don’t act like a prude, Ari. I’ve touched and tasted just about every inch of you,” he said with a mocking tone, then smirking at the narrowing of her eyes.
“Get out,” she said, her voice controlled, surprising him and oddly raising his opinion of her at the same time. He’d expected hysterics or crying. He hadn't expected her cool detachment. He should feel a smidgeon of insult, but he knew he could make her body go up in flames with a single touch of his hand. He had nothing to prove.
“Meet me in the dining room in twenty minutes… unless you want me to come up here and find you again.” He waited until he left the room to smile. He nearly laughed when he heard the thud against the door, wondering what she’d thrown at it.
Since meeting Arianna Harlow, his life hadn’t been boring. She was constantly surprising him, not only by her reactions, but by his to her, as well. She caused a stir in him that had lain dormant for so many years he hadn’t thought it capable of stirring to life again.
She would be his for as long as he desired her to be so. Until she did submit to him, he was sure enjoying the journey the two of them were taking. He almost dreaded the day he grew bored of her. He couldn’t imagine another woman stirring his damaged soul so much.
As Rafe sat at the table, watching the clock, he almost hoped she tried to defy him again. He wouldn’t mind hunting her down and teaching her the first real lesson in what happened to those who displeased him.
When nineteen minutes hit, his feet twitched. At exactly twenty, he was going to stand and begin his lesson.
“I’m here, master.”
“Master?”
“I figure you think you’re the lord of all, so you’d want to be called by an appropriate dictator name,” she snapped as she sat across from him.
“Sir is just fine,” he mocked.
“How about ass?” she asked with innocence.
“Careful, Ari. I’ll only be pushed so far,” he threatened.
“Do you honestly think that you frighten me, Mr. Palazzo? I’m actually curious. If you so much as lay one finger on me, I won’t hesitate to have you thrown in jail. You may get back out really fast with your vast fortune, and what I’m sure is just about everyone in your back pocket, but still, I’d get the satisfaction of seeing you cuffed and taken in,” she said while looking him square in the eyes.
“I laid more than a finger on you earlier, Ari, and you were screaming – but not in displeasure. Should I demonstrate again how much you like my… fingers on and in you?” he called her bluff.
“That wasn’t the most unpleasant way I’ve spent a boring afternoon, but you know that’s not what I mean. I read your stupid contract, and though I may not be the most knowledgeable person on this planet when it comes to sex, I can read between the lines. You get control of me? You get to choose what I do, who I see, where I go. You’re a control freak and I want no part of it. I would never allow a man to hit me!”
“Is that what you think of me? Honestly? You think that I need to beat my women into submission?” he thundered as he stood up with his hands on the table and his body leaning toward her. He was furious.
“I’m just repeating what I read,” she fired back.
“There was nothing in those papers that said I get off on hurting a woman!”
“Then, please tell, how you exert your control!”
Rafe sat back down, his temper at an all-time high. He took in several deep breaths as he once again thought about the sanity of dealing with this woman. She’d made a lot of assumptions and he owed her no explanations. He was furious that he even wanted to have the conversation.
Instead of saying anything, he pressed a buzzer, letting the staff know he was ready for their first course. Two people moved into the room, silent as they set down plates and filled glasses with wine and water.
Rafe lifted the cup to his lips and took a sip of the sweet beverage as he waited for them to exit. His eyes didn’t leave Ari’s face. She glanced at him, then looked away, muttering a quiet thank you as her salad was placed before her. Nervously, she picked up her own glass and gulped down a large swallow, then drank half the glass before setting it back down.
His staff went quietly to the back of the room, ready to refill glasses, and bring out new courses. They were loyal and he didn’t have to worry about his words in front of them. He wouldn’t hire anyone he couldn’t be himself around without their absolute discretion.
“Why don’t you sign the contract and work for me so you can find out,” Rafe finally spoke after ten awkward minutes of silence.
Ari jerked her gaze up, seemingly surprised that he was still in the room. Rafe didn’t know if he should be offended or not, to be forgotten so easily. Ari wasn’t great for his ego.
“I do appreciate you saving me from the club and having a doctor look after me, but no matter how much you rescue me, or swoop in on your white horse, I won’t be a part of your chosen lifestyle. My mother raised me to expect more out of life than to be some man’s mistress. This entire seduction scene is pointless. I won’t be yours.”
For a moment her eyes were pleading as if she were begging him to let her go. If he had an ounce of humanity left in him, he might have done just that, but when it came to women, he chose not to be humane. He chose to seek out pleasure.
“You say you’re appreciative, but you haven’t shown me any gratitude. I can think of at least a dozen ways you can repay me, Ari,” he countered with a smirk. “You know how this will end – you have to have figured it out by now. Why must you insist on fighting the inevitable?” Her eyes widened before they narrowed.
“I don’t know how many times, or in how many ways I can say no to you, Mr. Palazzo. I will never be your employee, mistress or whore,” she responded before spearing a piece of vinaigrette covered lettuce and forcing it into her mouth.
“Ah, Ari, you’d make a good whore,” he mocked, knowing his comment would set her off.
Her face turned red as she glared at him and bit into a piece of cucumber, crunching down on the vegetable like he was sure she’d like to be clamping down on his skin – and not in a pleasant way.
Then, her lips turned up in a smile, once again surprising him as she slowed her vicious chewing, looking at him thoughtfully. He couldn’t wait to hear what came from her plump pink lips next.
“You know what, Mr. Palazzo, I think you’re right. I could enjoy being a whore. Sex isn’t nearly as horrible as I remember it being,” she said as she looked thoughtfully at him, starting to send his heartbeat up. Then she continued. “I’ll just never be yours,” she finished as if she were talking about nothing more significant than the weather.
Rafe knew she was only trying to bait him, and it was working. The thought of her with another man sent fire pulsing through him. She was free to whore around all she wanted once he was done with her – but no man would touch what was his and right now she was, indeed, his.
“You do like to push buttons, don’t you, Ari?” he asked as he signaled his staff to bring in the next course. “And don’t you think it’s time you called me Rafe? After all, I’ve had my tongue circling your nipples while you begged me for more.”
He smiled as her face flamed red while soup was being place in front of her. She looked down at her plate in horror, too embarrassed to meet his employees eyes. She needed to learn she couldn’t win in a battle against him. He wouldn’t allow it.
“What’s the matter, Ari? You don’t have any more witty come-backs?”
“Oh, I have plenty, Mr. Palazzo. I’m just not such a brash bastard like you,” she answered between clenched teeth.
He was suddenly moving around the table and lifting her from her chair before she even had time to blink. She looked at him with startled eyes as he felt her pulse quicken beneath his touch.
“I’ve warned you to be careful, Ari. I mean it. Do not call me names. I don’t act so vulgar with you, and I expect the same courtesy,” he threatened as his fingers gripped her hair and he held her head back, forcing her to look into his eyes.
“You don’t act so vulgar? Ha! You just announced in front of your staff that you were upstairs with your mouth all over my body. That’s as vulgar as it gets! Now, get your hands off of me. I thought you said you didn’t hurt women,” she said, her bravado in place, but he could sense the fear just beneath.
“I don’t hurt women, Ari. Am I causing you pain?”
He looked into her eyes as she struggled against him. He had her held securely against him with her head incapable of moving, but he knew he wasn’t hurting her. She couldn’t honestly answer that he was.
“You’re holding me against my will,” she finally answered as she moved her hips against his.
“All you’re doing in your struggles is rubbing that delectable body against mine, making me want to throw you over my shoulder and take you back to that nice comfortable bed. Is that what you want?”
“If you enjoy rape!”
“I’ve never had to force a woman, Ari, and I never will,” he hummed as his mouth descended and he sucked on her neck, feeling her pulse. He felt her internal battle as she stiffened against him.
Knowing he could make her submit was enough of a victory that he released her. Slowly, he walked back to his seat, watching with satisfaction as she dropped back into her chair as if her knees were incapable of holding her up.
“You think you’ve won some small victory, but you haven’t won anything. Obviously, you can cause a strange reaction in my body, but you have zero of my respect,” she said with a determination he was impressed with.
“I never asked for your respect, Ari. All I want is your body,” he quickly responded, fascinated by the fire leaping to life in her eyes.
“Well, you can’t have either,” she muttered as she picked up her spoon and swirled it around her soup bowl.
The rest of the meal was fairly quiet as he polished off most of his dinner, having a ravenous appetite all of a sudden, and she simply picked at hers. He watched as she continuously glanced at the clock, knowing she wanted nothing more than to run away from him. He simply drew out the time, making her squirm in her seat.
After an hour, they sipped coffee and he debated seducing her again. He wouldn’t mind taking her once more that night. He just didn’t know if it was the smartest move for him to make in their little game.
“Mr. Palazzo, your mother is on line two.”
Well, that ended his debate. His family always came before any woman he was with or his own pleasure.
“Thank you. Take Ms. Harlow back to her room, please.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“I don’t need taken back to my room. I’m ready to go home,” Ari said as she stood.
“I’ve grown tired of arguing with you for the night. You’ll stay here as the doctor ordered. Don’t worry. I won’t bother you any further this evening,” he said, letting her know the matter was closed to further discussion.
As he walked from the room, he heard her frustrated sigh, but he knew his staff would ensure she went upstairs and didn’t make any escape attempts.
*****
Ari woke the next morning to find a note on the nightstand. Relief flooded her when she read the words, releasing her from her luxurious prison. Rafe was allowing his driver to take her home.
She didn’t dare use his bathing facilities again, not wanting to get too used to the deluxe bath or shower. She knew she needed to get as far from Rafe as she possibly could before she did something stupid like agree to be his mistress.
With the feelings he inspired in her, she was afraid it would be entirely too easy to say yes to him. That would be suicide for her. She had a feeling women were never the same after being with Rafe for any amount of time.
The man inspired too much emotion – whether it was lust or hate. She couldn’t imagine how a woman felt who was stupid enough to fall in love with him. One thing she realized, though, was the fact that sex wasn’t a horrible thing.
Rafe had made her feel things she definitely wanted to feel again and again. She would have to allow herself some time to date, because now that those doors had been opened, she didn’t know if it was possible to shut them again. She really didn’t think she wanted to shut them.
She gathered her purse and walked down the stairs, taking her time to look around his home on her way out. The curiosity irritated her, but she couldn’t seem to stem it. Rafe had good taste in decorations and furniture, using bright colors and deep, rich-toned wood.
Not wanting to learn anything else about the man, Ari forced herself to head straight for the front door where she was pleased to find a car waiting.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better, Ms. Harlow.”
“Thank you, Mr. Kinsor. I appreciate all the staff taking such good care of me. I’ve never felt so pampered,” she replied. She genuinely liked Rafe’s right hand man, even if the guy knew exactly what Rafe had wanted to hire her for and hadn’t warned her. She wouldn’t expect him to sell out his employer.
“Do you need to make any stops before going home?”
Ari thought for a moment as he held open her door. She wouldn’t feel up to leaving her house the rest of the day and her head was already starting to throb a little. Why not take advantage of having a driver for a little while?
“If you’re not in a huge hurry and wouldn’t mind, could we stop by a drug store?”
“Of course. I’m yours for as long as you need me. Mr. Palazzo was explicit to give you whatever you needed today,” he answered happily as he shut the door and quickly went around to the driver’s side.
Ari’s confusion grew at Mr. Kinsor’s words. Why did Rafe have to be so accommodating and kind one minute and then such a brute the next? Why couldn’t he have been just a regular guy she’d met on her college campus? She hated to have any thoughts of Rafe, wanting to wipe him from her mind, but the more she ran into him, the more she wanted to know about this mysterious man who offered so much, but demanded more than she could bear to give.
“Just the drug store will be fine. I need to get home and take care of things so I can be well enough to go to work tomorrow,” she said when she realized she’d never responded to his last comment.
“Okay. If you do change your mind, just let me know. Would you like to listen to music?”
“No thank you. I’ve got a headache. I’ll just rest my eyes while we’re driving. I’ll feel better after taking a couple Advil’s.”
Mr. Kinsor was silent as they pulled onto the road. At least they were in a comfortable car that cruised along quietly and without many bumps. It didn’t take them long to stop by the drug store and then reach her home. Ari would miss the presence of other people around her. As she stepped into her apartment she realized how truly alone she was most of the time now.