Page 35 of Richard

He left the office early, much to the surprise of his assistant and the rest of his staff. But he wanted to go home and prepare for her arrival.

He had issued her an ultimatum and had been high-handed and ruthless, leaving her with no choice, and he meant every word. Desperation had driven him to her place of work, and anger had propelled him into her office.

At the sight of her, it had been very difficult for him to remain aloof and just stand there. The plum-colored sweater dress molded her figure and highlighted the shape of her full breasts. His mouth had started to water at the sight of her nipples straining against the fabric.

It had taken some acute willpower for him not to march behindher desk and haul her into his arms. He had spent eight days in feverish, unfulfilled lust and was unable to sleep. No more, he vowed. He was not going to give her any more time. When he realized she was not returning his calls, he decided to go and confront her.

Now inside his loft, he examined the table he had instructed his housekeeper to set. He had not eaten anything aside from a club sandwich left on his desk by his assistant, and that had been in the early afternoon.

He wanted to just hustle her off to bed, but he would give her some time to replenish herself before. He had taken a shower and changed into casual sweats and a thin blue sweater.

He was also gearing up for her residual anger. She did not know it yet, but she was going to be spending the night, even if he had to tie her to the bed.

He smiled grimly as he walked over to the cabinet and poured himself a stiff drink of scotch. He had fifteen minutes left to wait and see if she was going to come to him without him having to go and find her.

He would prefer her compliance. He had told her he would come after her, but he also had his pride, even though it had been taking a beating since he met her. He had never had to chase a woman the way he was chasing her. But then again, he had never had this many emotions or feelings for one either, and that made a big difference.

He was standing by his window, staring moodily into the glass, when he heard the bell pealing. At first, he stood rooted to the spot, his heart hammering over time inside his chest. It took a second time for the doorbell to sound for him to put the glass away and rush over to disengage the alarm.

Making sure it was her, he pressed the button to release the door and watched as she walked toward the elevator that would take her straight up.

He was waiting for her at the door, and he was right in believing that she would have an attitude. Without a word, she brushed past him and stood in the marble foyer, waiting until he had shut the door.

He could also see that she was trying not to be impressed by her surroundings. His loft was one big open space becausehe despised enclosures of any kind. From where they were standing, one could see the large and sterile living room with the big fireplace where a fire was burning.

To the left, there was the kitchen and dining room. Quickly averting her eyes from the upstairs area where his bedroom doors were thrown wide open, she turned to look at him, her gaze frosty.

“I am here. Now what?”

“I’ll take your jacket.” Moving behind her, he slid it from her shoulders and took the key fob from her, depositing them both on an entrance table. “Hungry?”

“I am not staying.”

“I asked my housekeeper to prepare something. I am, in fact, starving.” Taking her arm, he propelled her toward the dining area. The first thing she noticed as soon as she stepped inside was how sterile everything was.

The place was breathtakingly lovely of course, but it was not much of a home as if he spent as little time as possible here. The furnishings were of the highest quality and there was even a grand piano in the living room, causing her to wonder if he even played.

She stopped at the chair and stared at the place settings, her mind veering crazily to another scene, the one in his office.

“We should get it over and done with.”

“Get what over and done with?”

Lifting her chin, she squared her shoulders and turned toward him. “I am assuming we are here to have sex.”

“We are here to spend some time with each other, and yes, eventually you will end up in my bed.” He was trying his best to be patient with her. “You don’t have to look like a lamb to the slaughter.”

“You threatened me! Forced me to come here under duress.”

“I might have done that, yes, but you were denying your feelings.”

“You know nothing about my feelings.”

“The meal is getting cold.”

“Does it matter if I am hungry or not?”

“Or we could skip the meal and go straight to my bedroom.” His expression warned her that she was trying his patience.

---