“I promise to be complimentary,” Reece said with a charming smile.
There was something so easy-going and nice about Reece that she relented with a warning, “It’s a work in progress, so please keep that in mind.”
“No judgment,” he promised with adorable cuteness and she relaxed. Why couldn’t Sutton be more like Reece?
She took him into the spare room where Sutton had set up an art space for her and walked to her canvas.
Just seeing it again gave her goosebumps.
It was her favorite — wonderfully wild and out of character — art piece yet.
To her delight, Reece was immediately drawn. “This is spectacular! I must buy it. I want it now. When will it be finished?”
“It’s not ready,” she laughed. “And I can’t sell it yet. I’m having a gallery showing. You can buy it then.”
“Then I will,” he announced with a grin. “You are a rare talent indeed. Truly wasted on my blockhead brother though. He has no eye for true art.”
Was Reece flirting with her?
She couldn’t quite tell and she was so backward when it came to the social dance between men and women that she didn’t even know how to ascertain if he was flirting or just being nice.
So she just blurted out, “Are you flirting with me?” and Reece laughed as if she were too cute for words. Admitting sheepishly, “I mean, I can’t really tell.”
“And if I were?” Reece asked, his voice dipping into seriously sexy territory but it made her feel weird. Did she owe some kind of loyalty to Sutton after he’d plainly said he didn’t owe her fidelity of any sort?
Elizabeth offered up a small, unsure laugh. “Then I should warn you, I’m not very good at that thing.”
“And if I said, I like that about you?”
“Then…I don’ know what I’d say to that.”
Elizabeth should’ve been affronted his obvious forward nature but to be honest, it felt nice to have someone share a common interest as well as find her attractive.
And Reece was quite good-looking.
Were all the Buchanans insanely handsome? Surely that wasn’t fair in the big scheme of things. Where was the balance in the world?
Reece started to lean forward and she realized with a flutter in her heart that he meant to kiss her!
Oh! What the hell?
But just as their lips were about to touch, a voice at the doorway made her heart alternately leap for joy and freeze at the same time.
“Brother, if you value your fucking face, you’ll get your fucking lips off my woman.”
***
Of all the things he never expected to see…Elizabeth laughing and joking and about to kiss his little fucking brother!
The rage coursing through his veins was hard to contain. It took everything in him to remain calm on the surface when he wanted to punch Reece in the throat.
Elizabeth was his.
Although sharing had never bothered him before, it made Sutton see red to think that someone else might want to enjoy his sweet peach.
Particularly his fucking little brother.
The little sneaky prick.
“Sutton,” Elizabeth’s surprised gasp kept him from tossing Reece out on his ear. Instead he lounged against the doorjamb as if cool as a cucumber. “When did you get here?”
“Apparently just in time,” he retorted, shooting Reece a cool look but the little shit never took anything seriously and just laughed off Sutton’s ire.
“Is it my fault you leave your toys unattended?” Reece said with a shrug. “Besides, you know I can’t abide a mystery.”
“And I can’t abide anyone pissing on my territory.”
Sutton caught the indignation on Elizabeth’s beautiful face and he knew she wanted to say a few words but wisely remained silent.
She didn’t want to reveal the nature of their relationship, which was just as well, it was bad enough that Emma knew.
“You never did appreciate what was right in front of you, why start now?” Reece said with a smirk. He turned to Elizabeth, kissing her hand. “Until we meet again…”
Elizabeth seemed uncertain as to how to react, which was exactly what Reece wanted. The man loved to keep people guessing. It was his particular little game, a childish one at that.
Sutton practically shoved Reece out the door and said, “Don’t ever fucking try that again. She’s mine.”
Reece laughed and rubbed at his shoulder where Sutton had pushed him.
“All right, you made your point. When you’re done with her, send her my way. Unlike you, I can actually appreciate her talents outside of the bedroom.”
Sutton slammed the door in Reece’s face then stalked to Elizabeth, trying not to drink in the sight of her like a man dying of thirst.
She seemed to blossom more each day.
That tube top was barely holding in her tits, which made him want to pull it down and suck on each pale, pink nipple until she was panting and writhing in his arms but judging by the look on her face — that wasn’t going to happen organically.
He could order her to her knees and command her to suck him off but that wouldn’t make things better between them. If anything, it would make them worse.
His gaze flicked to her art easel and saw the half-finished painting.
He instantly recognized where she’d gotten her inspiration and his gaze returned to her with an ironic grin that sent the color climbing her cheeks.
“An artist never knows when the muse is going to strike,” she said defensively as she stalked past him, leaving him behind.
Sutton followed. “Do you prefer my brother over me?” he asked, deceptively calm.
“Maybe. He’s very sweet and it was a nice change to talk with someone with a common interest,” she answered over her shoulder. “Does that bother you?”
“Of course not,” he lied, trying not to clench his fists. “You’re free to pursue whomever you like once your contract is up.”
“Which is when?” she asked, turning to face him.
NEVER. “When I tire of you.”
She blinked and her eyes brightened with tears. “You’re a jerk.”
“I know.”
Emma’s advice was ringing in his head like a fucking gong but he couldn’t get his mouth to stop spewing bullshit long enough to put some of it into play.
Agitated beyond belief, he stalked to the bar. He needed to think, to figure things out. For good measure, Sutton poured a drink for Elizabeth, too.
“I don’t want a drink,” she said as he put it into her hand.
“Yes, you do. We both need to take a moment and just chill out,” he said, taking a restorative drink of his scotch.
He motioned for Elizabeth to do the same and she reluctantly took a tiny sip.
“Oh!” Her face flushed. “That’s…yuck. How do you drink this stuff?”
Sutton forgot that scotch was an acquired taste.
He chuckled. “Down the hatch and you’re done.”
Elizabeth huffed an annoyed sigh but downed the scotch, gasping at the end.
“Don’t ever make me drink that again.”
“Deal.” No sense in wasting good scotch. “Sit with me.”
She eyed him warily. “And if I say no?”
“Please?”
Elizabeth, surprised by his uncharacteristic plea, slowly joined him on the sofa.
Pleased —and relieved — he tried not to screw up the moment. “I want to know more about you.”
Surprised and a bit wary, she didn’t immediately start spilling her guts. Not that he expected her to, but they had to start somewhere and he was flailing about like a drowning child.
“Favorite color? Favorite food? Pet peeves?” he prompted, almost desperately.
But she wasn’t interested in playing this game.
“Why?” she asked, shaking her head, confused. “I don’t understand why you suddenly want to know those things about me when…you plainly don’t care about me and you
were honest about that from the start.”
Frustration welled inside him. Why was she making this so difficult? He wanted to know more about her because…it pleased him to know!
If only it were that simple. He bit his tongue from spilling something he regretted.
“Just because we have an unorthodox relationship doesn’t mean it has to be adversarial, does it?”
“So your questions are based on creating a pleasant work environment?”
The faint touch of bitterness in her tone cut at him in a way he was unprepared.
“If that’s the way you’d like to frame it in your mind,” he replied stiffly. “I’m just trying to ease the tension between us.”
She popped from the sofa, her eyes wet.
“The reason there’s tension is because you…” her mouth seamed shut but she looked ready to burst with emotion. Finally, she gave a short, frustrated cry and bounded from the room, saying, “You’re an asshole!”
The sound of a slamming door was his reward for trying to smooth things over.
With a sigh, he rose and poured himself another drink.
Things were not going to plan.
Not at all.
Something told him, it was going to be a while before he got anything sweet from his little pissed-off peach.
Bookmark: 17
-17-
The nerve! The unmitigated gall!
To act as if having a little chit-chat about nothing stuff was going to erase the horrible thing he’d done.
Elizabeth paced the bedroom, her rage and anguish almost indistinguishable.
Sutton was accustomed to walking all over people but she wouldn’t allow him to walk on her.
He may have bought her body but he’d never get her heart because she wasn’t that stupid.
Sure. Good idea.
Except…she had a terrible feeling…that Sutton already had his hooks into her tender flesh and she couldn’t quite understand why!
He’d bought her flesh. Taken her virginity.
And now, he was putting her heart into a blender so he could drink it at his leisure like a protein shake!
Fuck. That.
No, she wasn’t going to swallow her rage, her hurt. He was going to hear it and if he dumped her and threatened to toss her on the street as well as demand a refund (could he do that?) then so be it.
Flinging the door open, she stalked from the bedroom to stare Sutton down.
Well, he was much taller than her, so she was actually looking up at him, but the point was made.
She was pissed and he was going to hear about it.
“You hurt me,” she said, point blank. When he started to speak, she overrode him. “Yes, you own my body. You never promised fidelity, blah, blah, blah, but the point is, you never said that you’d hurt me like that. If you don’t have the common decency inherent to most people then I don’t think I can do this anymore and you can threaten me all you want but it’s not going to change who I am deep inside. I can’t give you my body without giving you something else, even if I don’t want to and trust me, I wish I could because giving you anything of value, such as my heart, is practically suicide and I know it.”
“What kind of relationship did you think you were signing up for?” he shot back, downing his scotch. “Did you think I was going to fall head over heels for you and pledge my undying love just because you’re fun to fuck around with?”
“No! But I didn’t expect you to demand EVERYTHING from me and give so little of yourself in return!”
“Well, that’s your fault for not reading the fine print,” he said with a tone so cold she shivered. He slammed his glass down, startling her with the sharp motion. “The fact is, I do own you and if you don’t like the terms, you should’ve thought of that before you signed on the dotted line. And before you even think of reneging on your contract, know this…Buchanans never lose. I will crush you, my sweet girl. So think twice before you make a decision that you can’t take back.”
Her eyes welled with tears.
“So that’s your solution? More threats? What the fuck is wrong with you that you think you can treat human beings like this?”
“What the fuck is wrong with you that you can’t fucking understand what you agreed to?” He shouted as he grabbed her hard by both arms. “You belong to me and as such, your feelings on how I conduct my business, are not my concern! If I want to fuck other women, I can! And I don’t need your permission!”
“I hate you,” Elizabeth sobbed, her heart breaking into a million pieces at the obvious lack of concern for her feelings. He truly didn’t care. He only wanted her body. It was her own fault for having any feelings at all for him. “I fucking hate you!”
He released her. “Good. Makes things easier that way, doesn’t it?”
And then he pushed her toward the bedroom, already unbuckling his trousers and she stared in disbelief. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Exactly what I want to. On your knees.”
Her lip trembled. “No.”
“Elizabeth…” he warned but she held her ground.
“If you make me, I’ll hate you forever.”
“I thought I’d already achieved that,” he mocked.
“Don’t.” Tears tracked down her cheeks but she didn’t waver. He’d never forced her before. If he crossed that line, she’d leave no matter what the consequence. She and Gretchen would live in her car if need be, but she wouldn’t stomach his touch another minute if he forced her.
There was a line and Sutton was dangerously close to crossing it.
A long moment, heavy with tension, squatted between them, filling the space until it was thick enough to touch.
Something flitted through Sutton’s expression that was almost too shocking to admit — it looked a lot like pain — but it was gone in an instant.
And so was Sutton.
“You’re fucking more work than you’re worth,” he muttered as he grabbed his keys and bailed from the apartment, slamming the door behind him.
Elizabeth released a shaky breath, so relieved he was gone.
Thank you, lord.
The ugly truth was she could possibly forgive him for “cheating” on her but she could never forgive him forcing her sexually.
And the fact that she wasn’t packing her bags this very instance told her she was far more invested in Sutton than she wanted to let on.
The fact that Sutton ran out before doing something he couldn’t take back — said far more.
***
Fuck! What the hell just happened?
His intentions had been twisted into junk like a car dropped into a giant trash compactor.
Hadn’t he planned to be nice?
To actually woo her like a decent human being?
Yes. But then he’d seen her laughing and flirting — and almost KISSING — his little brother and something had snapped inside him. He’d wanted to hurt her because seeing her with Reece like that had hurt him!
How had things gotten so bad, so fast?
So much for following Emma’s advice. Maybe he wasn’t cut out for things like…true human connections.
Emma had said he and Vince were alike and yet Vince had found a good woman and somehow convinced her to be his wife.
Whoa. Apples to oranges.
He didn’t want a wife. He wanted an obedient, sweet, sex slave.
Right?
Hell, he didn’t know anymore.
Frustration welled up inside him.
Yes, he wanted that but he wanted so much more.
He wanted Elizabeth eager and willing to suck his cock, to prance around in a slutty costume for his pleasure, to smile sweetly and present her luscious ass when he wanted to stick his cock in it!
He wanted to have intelligent conversations with her about current events, the fucking weather, even her damn art!
Sutton felt trapped in a box of his own making.
Was it too much to ask to expect Elizabeth to want the
same?
The part that made him sick to his stomach was the sinking feeling that he might’ve had that with Elizabeth if he hadn’t been a total ass.
Fresh anger pounded away the inexplicable pain that seemed to dog him whenever he thought of Elizabeth’s tears and how he’d hurt her.
To prove the point to himself, he thought of finding Gemini to let off some steam but when the idea made him physically ill, he wanted to punch something.
What had that woman done to him? Elizabeth had wormed her way into his every thought and he didn’t know what to do about it.
He wanted Elizabeth to smile at him the way she’d smiled at Reece — freely, without reservation — the way she laughed at his stupid little jokes.
Her eyes had lit up as they’d talked about art.
The art that’d been inspired by their visit to Malvagio.
Sutton wanted that light to shine his way.
That inspiration belonged to him!
It’d been HIS hand on her pussy as she’d watched that couple fuck. It’d been HIS finger inside her as she’d writhed against him. It’d been HIS name she’d cried out as she came.
He wanted HIS Elizabeth back.
Scrubbing at his face, he realized just how royally he’d fucked everything up.
The way to getting Elizabeth back wasn’t with threats or coercion.
He had to do something he’d never done before.
He had to allow himself to care about someone more than he cared about himself.
Okay, great.
And, exactly how does one do that?
He doubted there was a manual on how to become less of an asshole.
So ask Vince.
Oh, hell no. He’d figure things out on his own. His cousin wasn’t the love guru. Besides, if Vince could figure it out, he certainly could.
Sutton drew a deep breath and blew it out.
So the first step seemed the hardest.
Apologize.
Even the word made him shudder.
But he supposed that was a good start.
Yeah, but what was he apologizing for, exactly?
That was a loaded question.
A part of him wasn’t ready to acknowledge that he’d done anything wrong.
He hadn’t promised—
Hell, he could ride that useless train all day and it would still take him to nowhere.
Coerced (Billionaire romance): Blackmailed by the Billionaire (Buchanan Romance Book 1) Page 12