Page 47 of The Arrogant's Redemption

"Do you plan to be?"

"That’s two questions."

"Then the second one is next."

"Wait for your turn. Now tell me—where’s your mother?"

She slips off her sandals and tosses them aside, a little nervous.

A more sensitive man might feel moved. The subject clearly unsettles her. Too bad sensitivity isn’t my strong suit.

"Do you plan to get married?" she presses.

"Yes."

"But you said you don’t do long-term relationships."

"That’s true. However, I have plans."

I see the confusion flash across her face, but she says nothing.

"Where’s your mother?" I repeat.

Her hands reach behind her back to unzip the dress, and it falls to her feet.

She’s even more beautiful in her simple lingerie than I imagined—but right now, it’s not her breathtaking body that holds my attention. It’s the fact that all her playful confidence has vanished. The fire is back in her eyes, chin raised as if preparing for battle.

At the same time, she wraps her arms around herself.

"Alexis."

"I won’t talk about it. I can promise you my mother is the best person in the world—but I’m not going to discuss her with you."

Alexis

I know he could easily find out everything about me. It’s not shame that makes me keep it from him—it’s the need to protect her from any judgment.

Who is LJ to me, really, but a stranger? Maybe next week he won’t even remember my name when he’s back in his world of luxury and sophistication in New York.

Suddenly, insecurity hits me like a hurricane, and I bend to pick up my dress.

"No."

I freeze at his voice and slowly stand again. "This thing between us is a mistake. I don’t belong in your world, and you don’t belong in mine. Let me go."

"I can’t. You haunted me all week, and I have no doubt that if I don’t have you, it’ll be like that for the rest of my life. I’ll never stop thinking about what could’ve been."

"That’s just lust," I say—but even as the words leave my mouth, I know they strike something deep inside me. It feels like our emotions are in sync.

"It’s beyond lust. It’s madness and fever. Nothing like I’ve ever felt. I’ll never force you—but I don’t want you to leave."

"You have enough experience to seduce me."

"I do. But I want you to give yourself to me willingly."

I look at him and see the abyss, the unknown, the uncertainty. None of those things have ever appealed to me before.

But I also see passion. A deep connection. Home. Something I now realize I’ve been looking for and never even came close to finding.

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