Page 53 of Dangerous Temptation
‘What would you like to drink, Miss Elena?’
Leonard took over at that point, ushering them into the breakfast nook.
Elena was still stunned. She looked at the pizza on her plate, unable to fathom that they’d brought it in from the city. New York was an hour away, yet Alex had thought nothing of the extravagance. ‘It’s a bit overwhelming to be you, isn’t it?’
He stopped shaking red pepper on his slice. ‘What do you mean?’
‘All of this.’ She toyed with the napkin in her lap. Somehow, linen didn’t seem right. ‘It’s all so much. The houses and the land, the private gym, a NSA-worthy electronics suite …’
His brow furrowed. ‘That’s twice now that you’ve said something like that. Your father was Randolph Bardot.’
She was well aware of the fact.
‘Even before his crimes, he was a very wealthy man.’
She shrugged. ‘Because he knew where to scrimp and save.’
Alex’s brow furrowed. In the dimmed lighting of the nook, it made him look dark and intimidating. It reminded her of that first time she’d seen him watching her from the balcony, and she fought not to shrink back into her seat.
‘Are you saying that he didn’t support you at all?’
She breathed very slowly. ‘He paid the mandated alimony and child support. The judge also made sure he paid for my undergraduate degree.’
‘But nothing more.’
‘His lawyer was better than Mom’s.’
The air in the tiny room turned downright chilly.
‘It was all right,’ she said quickly. ‘She and I did fine together. We had fun. I … I just missed him.’
A muscle flexed in Alex’s jaw.
She turned her attention back to the pizza. Her appetite had fled, but she folded the slice in half and took another bite. Flavour filled her senses, but it might as well have been cardboard. ‘This is delicious. Thank you for including me.’
‘You’re welcome.’
‘I would have been happy with a slice from the convenience store in Bedford.’
‘Enough.’ That was when he moved in that lightning-fast way of his. Leaning over the table, he speared his hand into her hair and cupped the back of her head. His grey gaze was searching and Elena caught something she hadn’t seen in him before. Caution.
The air in the nook changed. The outrage was still in his eyes, but it was accompanied by surprise. ‘You’re for real, aren’t you?’
The words were quiet and almost reverent, but she flinched and pulled back. ‘I don’t joke about money.’
This might all be a game to him, toying with numbers here and watching results there, but money had value to her. Apparently those who didn’t have it valued it more.
‘Wait. Stop. That’s not what I meant.’
She hesitated, fingers curling into her napkin. His hand still cupped the back of her neck, but it wasn’t controlling. It was almost … protective. She looked at him warily.
‘Why did you come here, Elena? To Wolfe Manor?’
‘You know why. To finish my dissertation.’
‘You could have done that anywhere. Why here?’
‘Leonard offered and the price was right.’
