“I don’t care about those things.”
“I know you don’t,” Cynthia continued. “But he’s also smart, and determined, and from what you’ve said, funny, and he makes you happy. Yet for some reason you won’t let yourself try to be with him. What’s happening is both of your egos are getting in the way.”
“I don’t have an ego.”
“You’re the most stubborn person I know, Belle.”
“Cyn, I don’t…” Belle decided to be honest, both with her friends and herself. “I don’t want to get hurt; I can’t take the chance. He isn’t the type of person who does long-term. He’s so much as told me that himself. It’s a losing battle.”
The girls were all silent for a brief moment until Belle continued. “I can’t believe he treated me the way he did. I can’t believe I treated him like that, either. It just proves how we wouldn’t work.”
Sirena jumped in, “No, it proves how passionate you are about each other. If that passion was facing the right direction, you two could be forever. He needs someone like you. And he could make you happy. I know he can … once he gets his head out of his ass.”
Belle laughed at her comment. “I’m not ready to forgive him yet.”
“Don’t. Make him sweat. But I promise you Belle, he’s upset. He knows he was wrong. He’s beating himself up about everything. He’s scared you’ll never forgive him.”
“He’s scared?” Belle felt relieved.
“Yeah, he said so himself. I’m telling you, he’s got it bad for you, honey.”
Cynthia laughed. “I should have tried harder at the bar. It could be me living it up in that castle of his. Trust me, we would have gotten it on already, too. You’ve waited far too long. Maybe I should come up there and show you how it’s done.”
Belle appreciated Cynthia’s familiar sense of humor. “You two aren’t allowed to come up, remember? I’m a prisoner.”
“Please,” Sirena responded, “I can do whatever I want. But you don’t need us; you two need to figure it out on your own. Don’t hate me, but I think being held captive is the best thing for you. Besides, tell me it’s not like a scene straight out of some historical romance novel. Brute barbarian sex god holds the woman of his dreams captive to convince her to fall in love with him.”
Both Belle and Cynthia laughed at this.
“Doesn’t it make me seem a bit … pathetic? Allowing myself to forgive someone who is trying to control me?” Belle asked, her tone more serious.
“No,” Cynthia said, “You allowing yourself to see where this goes is the smartest thing you can do. You deserve to be happy.”
Belle thanked the girls and after a few more moments got off the phone. She wanted to be angry with Aleks, but she was in too deep with her emotions. Hearing he felt the same only confused her more. She needed time to figure out what to do. And thanks to him, she had just that.
Later in the evening Aleks knocked at her door, asking her to join him for dinner. Belle didn’t respond. Oh, no. It’s not going to be that easy. Let him stew. Serves him right.
A short while later, another knock sounded. “Miss Lahela, it’s Lucien. I’ve brought you something to eat.”
Not wanting to be rude, she opened the door and allowed him in. “Thank you, Luc, but I’m not very hungry.”
He looked at her with concern. “Miss, you haven’t eaten all day.”
She tilted her head as she looked at him. “I know. Thank you for your concern, but I lost my appetite. I had a … rough morning.” She didn’t know how else to explain.
“Trust me miss, we all did.” He smiled, his comment acknowledging the staff was aware of the argument and perhaps even been privy to some of Aleks’ wrath.
“Tell you what. I’ll be back in a few moments with something you’ll want to eat.”
She watched him leave and waited at the door for him to return, convinced there was nothing he could bring that would whet her appetite.
He returned a few minutes later, pushing a cart down the hallway.
“Luc, what did you do?” She laughed. He pushed the cart into the room and lifted the lid off of several covered dishes. He’d brought several different flavors of ice creams and all the toppings.
“A sundae bar?” She didn’t hide the excitement in her voice.
“Yes, miss. I find even when one isn’t hungry, there’s room for ice cream. Especially after a rough day.” His smile lit up the room.
Grateful for his concern, she asked him to eat with her.
“Miss, I’m not sure I should.” He gave her a look of reserved disappointment.
Belle wondered if Aleks had been serious this morning regarding his staff, and hoped he hadn’t told them to ignore her completely while she was here. “Whatever reason you think you shouldn’t, I want you to forget it. You and I are eating together.”
“Well, if you insist. I live to serve,” he joked. “I guess I have no choice.”
The two dug into the smorgasbord of sugar. Belle scooped up several flavors, decorating each with a myriad of toppings and syrups. She waited for Luc as he made his own bowl. She watched as he spooned a healthy serving of some kind of mousse onto a plate. He handed it to her. “Try this, it’s delicious,” he remarked, pointing to the plate.
They sat in the pair of armchairs that flanked the window. She took a bite of the creamy concoction on the plate.
“Yum! What is this? Cookies and cream pudding?” She had never had anything like it.
“Kitchen secret. You’ll have to stay here if you want more,” he smiled at her, but his remark seemed to hit a nerve. Belle frowned.
“Miss, if I may, might I inquire as to what happened this morning?” he asked cautiously.
“Call me Belle, please.” She looked at him, sitting across from her, concern apparent on his face, and she opened up. “We had a pretty bad argument. No offense, but your boss can be quite an asshole.”
He stilled for a moment before bursting out in a full belly laugh. “You are a breath of fresh air, Belle.”
She smiled at his reaction, unsure what he meant with his comment. He continued before she was able to clarify.
“As difficult as he can be, there is an undercurrent to him which not many get to witness.” He seemed solemn, and Belle kept quiet, hoping he would continue.
“I’ve worked for his family for over thirty years. I’d witnessed many happy moments. When Mrs. Wolfe passed away, Master Aleksandr changed. Her death was very difficult on him, and I witnessed him turn from a joyful, vibrant boy, to the somber, terse man he is today. His father’s death only worsened his attitude.”
Belle nodded, taking in what Luc was saying.
“I believe underneath his exterior, Master Aleksandr is quite sensitive, and scared of losing another person whom he loves. He doesn’t open up to people; wants to keep them at a distance. I believe the persona he displays is a direct reflection of working hard to keep others out.”
He put a spoonful of his ice cream in his mouth. “Then you came along.”
“What do you mean?” Belle asked unable to hide her curiosity.
“I believe you are just what Master Aleksandr needs. I think he’s slowly coming to this conclusion, and if I may be so bold, it scares the shit out of him.”
Belle swallowed. “He told you this?”
“I can sense it. I believe if he allows himself to let you in, you’ll break the curse.”
“Curse?” She was even more confused.
“His broken heart. I’ll warn you, miss, letting you in isn’t going to be easy on either of you. A fact, it appears, you discovered today. He needs to learn how, and you need to allow him to make mistakes while he figures it out.”
Belle sat, dumbfounded.
“I fear I have spoken out of line tonight. I trust this conversation will stay between us, lest I’ll endure the wrath of ‘the asshole’.”
She laughed. “Yes, of course. Thank you, Luc. You were right. All I really needed was some ice cream.”
He smiled and cleaned up.
After he’d gone, Belle was alone again with her thoughts. As upset and angry as she was with Aleks, each person who knew him well wanted her to realize he was changing for her. Why can they all see something I can’t?
If those close to him wanted her to make things work, maybe she needed to trust them. Still, she refused to talk to him right away. She needed time away from him to think. And there was a small amount of satisfaction in, as Sirena had put it, “letting him sweat”.
Chapter Seventeen
Aleks sat in the dining room, alone, for the third day. He’d asked Belle to join him each night, but she refused to answer the door. Sirena would have spoken with her by now, he decided. She must have failed as Belle still wanted nothing to do with him.
He played with his food as he berated himself for his temper. He wondered if writing her a letter and slipping it under the door might do the trick, but it would be all too easy for her to just rip it up. He thought of taking the skeleton key and forcing her to talk to him, but knew it would backfire.
As he was about to give in and head upstairs, she appeared in the doorway, dressed in jeans and a loose white t-shirt. Her soft curls fell down around her shoulders. His throat dried up as nervousness crept in. He tried to swallow but found it hard to do; he sat, silently watching as she walked forward.
She’s breathtaking. He had almost forgotten the effect she had on him. Seeing her again, it was like his entire body awoke. His skin prickled, his stomach turned with apprehension, hell, even his hair felt on edge. Realizing he was staring at her, Aleks tried his hardest to regain his composure.
“Good evening, Belle.” His voice came out shakier than he had intended as he stood to pull out her chair. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes, actually. I didn’t realize my jail time didn’t include meals.”
He looked up in surprise, his hand knocking over a wine glass. He reached to try to save it, but missed, accidentally slamming his hand down on the glass and into the table, breaking it. A sharp edge sliced into his palm.
“My God, Aleks, what did you do? You’re bleeding.” Belle grabbed his napkin to wrap around the wound. She put pressure on the bleeding as she asked where to find the first aid kit. When she returned, she removed the napkin and to both of their surprise, an inordinate amount of blood gushed from the wound.
“I was just kidding, no need to get all dramatic.” She looked up at him and gave a small smile which helped ease him. Smiling is a good sign.
“I couldn’t help it. I’m a drama queen,” he hissed while pulling away as she tried to clean the wound with a damp towel. “That hurts.”
“Hold still.” She grabbed for his hand again to complete the cleaning process.
They were quiet for a moment as she took care of him. He found himself enamored at how tenderly she touched him.
“If you had just agreed to dinner with me earlier, this wouldn’t have happened,” he joked.
She removed the lid to a bottle of antiseptic wash and cradled his hand in a clean napkin. Smiling, she looked directly at him as she countered, “If you hadn’t been an asshole, I would have continued having dinner with you.” While she spoke the words, she poured the contents of the bottle on to his cut.
He grimaced, the muscles in his back and chest tightening. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Why yes. Yes, I am.”
As she picked up a bandage to cover the wound, he grabbed her hand. She turned to look at him with wide eyes. He couldn’t speak for a moment as he thought of how she cared for him even after he had said horrible things about her. His heart thumped and he resisted the urge to kiss her. “I’m sorry for everything I said to you. Everything I did.”
She swallowed, looking down briefly before answering. “I’m sorry too. You’re right — it was wrong of me to compare you to him.”
They looked at each other, not saying anything. Belle finished wrapping his wound, and when she was done, Aleks turned his palm and took her hand in his. He brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed them gently.
“You don’t owe me any apology. I was … I am … an arrogant bastard and I deserved everything you said to me.”
Her pupils dilated as he trailed his thumb along her fingers. Still something there.
“Almost everything.” She sighed, “You’re nothing like Gabriel. You saved me from him. I owe you more than a comparison.” She paused, as if debating before finishing. “You really hurt me.”
Aleks flinched at her admission. She moved to the other end of the table and sat down.
An awkward moment passed between them. Aleks feared the moment was gone. Already, he missed the closeness of her body.
“So, are you keeping me hostage forever or am I allowed one night of freedom?” Belle asked, staring at him from across the table.
Aleks was taken aback. He didn’t want her to leave but couldn’t keep her at the house; not if she were ever going to totally forgive him.
“I guess one night couldn’t hurt. Where did you want to go?” he asked, downtrodden.
“I would like you to take me out somewhere. We haven’t been out since I’ve gotten here, you know.”
“I would love to take you out. Where do you want to go? Dinner? A show?”
“How about dancing?” She smiled brightly.
Aleks imagined her long legs intertwined with his on a dance floor. He knew it would be an excuse to be close to her, bodies rubbing together, and he couldn’t say no. “I know a great place. We can go Thursday night.”
“Perfect. I’ll need to go home for something to wear, though. I don’t have anything to go out in.”
Aleks’ face dropped. He wanted her nowhere near her home. Not when Gabriel would be there waiting.
“No, not home,” he said absentmindedly.
“You’re not going to let me go home?”
Aleks ignored the tone of her voice, a mix of despair and anger. “Not right now. But I’ll make it up to you. I’ll give you my credit card and a car, and you can go shopping and pick something out.”
“Really? Your card? A girl can do a lot of damage, you know.”
“Clothes, shoes, hair, whatever you want. As long as you don’t go home and as long as you come back. Deal?” It was a risk letting her out of his sight; she could easily leave him, yet he trusted there was something between them.
Belle looked on for a moment, not saying anything.
When she nodded, agreeing, they sat and finished dinner together. It was quiet, yet she was there, and it was all that mattered in the moment. After she finished eating, she excused herself to go take a bath and go to sleep. He thanked her for fixing his hand, and kissed hers one more time before she walked away.
The ride to the club was tense. Belle had decided to see where their relationship went, but she still questioned if she had made the right decision. Things between them were still strained. They ate dinner together the night before, yet the conversation seemed … off. Unsure what to think, she made a point to sit on the side seat of the limo rather than next to him, yet she couldn’t stop herself from thinking of how great Aleks looked in his dark jeans, white t-shirt, and black blazer.
The smell of him wafted through the car; the delicious, musky scent she had grown accustomed to. A few times he caught her looking and she quickly shifted her glace out the window. Finally, he broke the silence.
“You look beautiful tonight, Belle.”
A flush came to her cheeks as she looked down nervously to adjust her skirt, which kept riding higher with each bump of the road. Belle had used his generosity to the fullest. She’d spent an entire day at the spa: a full body wax, followed by a massage and facial, manicure, pedicure, and hair and makeup.
She also bought a few outfits. In case he takes me out again. The one she chose for tonight was on the risqué side; a blue long-sleeved mini dress with a deep v cut to the belly button. Without the lace overlay, a large portion of her breas
ts would be visible. The hem ended far above her knees. The dress fit perfectly and outlined her body, without being skin tight.
“Thank you.”
Aleks opened a bottle of champagne to pour her a drink. “Here’s to your ‘night of freedom’.” He half-smiled.
Belle downed the glass in an attempt to slow her beating heart. Why am I always slightly, okay — considerably — aroused around him? It shouldn’t be possible to always be this turned on.
She licked her lips to catch a few drops of champagne which fell from the glass and caught him watching her with a dark gleam in his eye. She bit her bottom lip trying to distract herself. He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat to look out the window.
The spark between them was intense. Belle’s skin jolted when his hand touched hers as he refilled her drink, before the limo pulled up to the club.
Aleks got out first and took Belle’s hand as he helped her out, placing his other hand on the small of her back to guide her inside. His touch sent a heat-wave through her. As they walked up to the front, the bouncer acknowledged them. “Good evening, Mr. Wolfe,” he greeted as he moved aside to allow them entrance.
The club was larger than she imagined it would be from outside. To the right, a bar extended the length of the wall. A number of white booths lined the side and back walls, each fitted with large curtains that could be pulled around the booth for privacy. A large dance floor took up the center space with the DJ stationed on a small raised stage in the back corner.
Belle noticed quite a few male heads turned as she walked through. Aleks must have taken note as well, as his hand shifted from her back around to her hip, pulling her closer to him.
She took a deep breath and tried to keep up with his long strides. He led her up to a section above the main dance floor, housing a white velvet booth centered in the balcony; a half circle with a small table affixed in the center. Belle looked around at two other identical sections, one on each side of the dance floor, each with the same double staircase leading into it. As Belle sat, she realized if sitting in the booth you could see out, but below, couldn’t see in. A person would have to lean against the handrail in order to be seen. I’m literally in the shadows.
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