Page 40 of What Alex Wants…He Gets

Chapter Thirteen

Harper

Alex had agreedto meet me at a coffee shop near Central Park. Not exactly my side of town but still one of my favorite places to enjoy a walk when I needed to clear my head. I’d explored the area a lot so I knew it well.

He’d said nine p.m. sharp and it was already fifteen minutes past that. The fear of being stood up enveloped me. Although why he’d go to all this trouble to not speak to me made no sense. I had no other plans for my evening so it wouldn’t hurt to wait.

I stirred another packet of sugar into the hot black coffee I’d ordered while I waited, observing every person that stepped through the door. Zia had tried to talk her way into coming along, but I’d flatly denied the need for a chaperone. We were a little beyond that now. Besides, it would be hard enough to open myself up to Alex alone, I certainly didn’t need an audience to make me even more nervous.

My stomach rumbled with hunger. I’d been too nervous to eat dinner and now my body demanded food. I eyed the pastries in the case and decided a cookie or cake probably made days ago by some factory and then warmed in a microwave wasn’t going to cut it. I’d get through this meeting and then grab something on the way home.

Instead I thought about the last two weeks. Alex had gotten under my skin from the moment I’d opened my gift to discover a riding crop with a beautifully crafted rose on the end. I’d thought it quite clever to change up a simple whipping tool into a device that almost looked romantic.

The night of the yacht party, when we’d returned to my apartment I’d only gotten a small taste of how it felt to have it strike sharply across my backside. But that tease had me aching for more. Heat built in my core now from imagining it.

My pulse picked up speed. I wanted Alex.

“Waiting patiently, kitten?”

I nearly jumped out of my seat at the sound of his voice behind me. His big hand landed on my shoulder, a warm touch I wanted to sink into after days of nothing.

“I do enjoy people watching,” I answered, a smile ghosting across my face.

He bent behind me and brushed my ear with his lips. “I know you do, but you’ll have to do it another night. Right now I want you to gather your belongings and walk out the front door. No questions. No hesitation. I expect you to obey. My car is waiting outside at the curb. Go now.”

I swallowed, a rush of doubt consuming me. I really wanted to do as he asked, God did I ever. But… If I couldn’t be his for more than a night or two, what was the point? I’d been unable to stay unaffected for one night, let alone two. What would a third do to me?

“Alex—”

“The car, Harper. Now.”

His demanding tone heated my body to boiling in seconds flat. Fuck it. I’d deal with the consequences tomorrow. I gathered my purse and the white box holding the present I’d planned to return and headed for the front door. I didn’t even take the time to look behind to see if he followed me or if anyone noticed what had happened. Nothing seemed to matter at the moment other than the man who wanted my submission.

Brisk winter air blew in my face when I pushed through the front door and out onto the sidewalk. A glance at the street indeed showed a sleek black limo parked at the curb waiting invitingly. His I presumed.

If I got in, there would be no saying no to this man. I craved his touch more than air at the moment and I had the slickness between my thighs to prove it.

“You still have a safeword you can use anytime you want.”

I jumped this time. How he kept sneaking up on me I didn’t know.

“It’s not that.”

“Then what?”

I bit my lip before answering. “I don’t know how to be what you want.”

He brushed my hair at my nape. “That’s ridiculous. You did remarkable the other night. In fact, I couldn’t have asked for more.”

Pride at his words suffused me, making what I had to do all the harder. I hated having doubts.

“Do as I asked,” he spoke low, a dark tone that allowed for no more argument.

Frustrated I couldn’t get my words out, I stood silent as Gerard opened the passenger side door and I slid inside and across the butter soft leather seat.

Alex followed me inside although in my nervous state, I chose to avert my eyes and face forward. The partition between the driver’s seat and our section of the car had already been raised, leaving me and Alex in complete privacy.

In such a small, confined space it became all about Alex. His sleek scent permeated my senses, a wonderful mixture of spice and cologne I would forever associate with this man. I closed my eyes and inhaled deep.

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