Page 45 of Merciless Sinner

I reached up to rub my eyes and take a moment to focus. “What are you saying, Alex?” Was he inviting me to live with him officially? Was he crazy?

“I’m saying I take your safety seriously and you should too.”

I shook my head slightly. “Not that. The other. You said our home. What is that supposed to mean?”

He brushed his hand across the five o’clock shadow of his jaw and shook his head. I could see the frustration building in his eyes and I imagined a mirror image in my own.

“Jesus, Harper are you even listening? I’m trying to explain the safety protocols.”

I sat up. “I got that part just fine and we’ll get there in a minute. But first you need to explain the other. I don’t live here. I have my own apartment.”

“Not as long as you wear that necklace you don’t.”

“Excuse me?” I could feel my blood beginning to boil.

He leaned down onto the couch and touched his fingers to the small lock resting at my throat. “This right here means something, Harper. You know that. I’d even go so far as to call it an implied contract. As long as you wear it, you’re mine. That means I set the rules and you follow them. When we’re together and when we’re not. And a big part of that is your safety. In my world, there are dangers you aren’t used to. I don’t take unnecessary precautions or unnecessary risks. As for the rest of it, it’s pretty simple. I need you here. With me. We both have insanely busy schedules so we need to make it as simple as possible to grab some time together as we can. How can that happen if we have to coordinate our locations every night?”

I took a breath trying to keep some semblance of calm. What exactly was he trying to say? I didn’t have the full capacity to understand if this was just his control freak talking or if there was something more at play.

“So you expect me to live here?” I asked.

A slow smile crossed his face as he leaned in closer. “It’s not so much an expectation as a desire.”

“Are you going to try and stop my going to work too?”

He leaned back and gave me a harder look. “No. That’s ridiculous.”

“Well, how am I supposed to know that?” I cried, my voice raising higher than I’d intended. “All of a sudden you’re making demands like it’s your right.”

He sighed, rubbing his chin. “Let me finish.”

This wasn’t how I imagined our night going. I’d gotten tipsy and somehow instead of making that more fun it had put me on edge. “Maybe now isn’t the best time to be talking about this. I may have drank a little too much wine.”

Another smile broke over his face giving me that reminder of just how beautiful he was. We were still fairly new at this and arguing over where we spent our night seemed frivolous. He had the equivalent of a mansion. I had a third floor walk up that would fit in one of his bathrooms. Why was I arguing about this?

“Come here, kitten.” He grabbed my waist and pulled me against him. “Either I’m not saying this right or you’re taking it the wrong way. Either way we don’t have to argue about it. I’m not trying to take over your life if that’s what you’re worrying about. I just want to maximize our time together when we’re not working. The idea of stifling either one of us into a situation that isn’t perfect for both of us holds no appeal what so ever.”

I sagged against him, relief washing over me. “I’m sorry I got so touchy. I’ve known from the beginning how you feel about control and I enjoy giving it to you. But I have to have my own life too. I can’t just be someone’s play toy.”

He grabbed my shoulders and pulled us apart. “Look at me,” he demanded.

I did. Of course I did. Whatever he had to say I wanted to listen because I truly needed to understand what he wanted from me.

“Don’t call yourself a toy. Jesus, Harper. I don’t ever want to hear something like that again. The last thing I want to do is stifle who you are. All the pieces of you are what makes up the woman I can’t get enough of.” His voice went low, near to a growl. “I never want to change it,” he leaned closer and nipped at my neck. “I plan to enjoy it. But first…”

He pulled back down on the sofa and tucked me against his big, warm body. He was still dressed in a dress shirt and slacks, but had lost his jacket sometime before now.

He always looked so perfectly put together. Expensive suits, killer shoes, gleaming cuff links. And the cologne he wore… I loved that scent and I loved it even more that I could smell it everywhere in his apartment when he wasn’t here. God, I was so addicted to everything about this man.

“Are we done fighting?” I asked.

“Yeah, we’re done.” His voice sounded heavy and that worried me.

“Long day?”

“Long day,” he repeated.

“We both work too hard I think.”

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