Page 126 of The Chase
We climbed into the backseat and I snuggled against Tobias’s warmth.
He reached for his Burberry woolen coat lying on the backseat and wrapped it around my shoulders. “We need to buy you a coat,” he said. “You’ll catch a cold.”
“Oh no, look—” I pointed.
About fifty feet away, beneath a veil of rain, stood a young Buddhist monk with a shaven head who was clad in traditional orange robes. His expression was serene and he was seemingly unaffected by the downpour.
His eerie stance as he stared our way was trancelike.
“He’s getting drenched,” I said. “What’s he doing all the way out here?”
Tobias leaned forward. “Coops, give him the umbrella and money for a cab.”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s a great idea,” I said. “He must be freezing.” Cooper opened his door.
“Oh, and Coops...” Tobias narrowed his gaze.
“Got it, boss,” said Cooper, registering the message. He opened the umbrella and splashed his way over to him.
The monk’s expression was painfully soulful. He acted thrown when Cooper offered the opened umbrella, but after some persuasion he accepted it.
I crooked my neck to see better. “He looks lost.”
Tobias turned to face me and reached out. “Give me your hands.” He rubbed them between his. “We need to warm you up.”
Anguish coursed through me that I was being so spoiled as my gaze fell back on the monk. Cooper had hailed a cab for him and was leaning through the widow and speaking with the driver.
“Oh, look,” I said, “Cooper’s making sure he gets home. I wonder where he lives.” I watched Coops open his wallet and pay for the taxi.
He returned his attention to the monk, who was now safely tucked away in the backseat.
Coops handed him cash.
Tobias gave a nod of approval.
I felt a pang of guilt at suspecting Tobias for stealing my paintings, I couldn’t have been more wrong. This wonderful man came through every single time. I couldn’t get over how wonderful he was and, right now, as I snuggled into his chest, I knew how lucky I was to have found him.
“Could you be any more wonderful,” I said.
Tobias gave a smile. “We do what we can.”
23
Standing in the middle of this luxury hotel suite, while wearing nothing but Coco de Mer bra and panties, I posed for Tobias.
Just as he’d told me to do.
The lavish decor was beyond exquisite with soft silver tones, which were the minimalist theme Tobias seemed to favor, and I wondered if that was why he liked this hotel, The Dorchester, on Park Lane. Everything was well thought out to provide lush surroundings that were also comfortable. That vase of lilies in the corner, that opulent seating area of high-back chairs and a long plush couch, that door leading to the bedroom and its four-poster bed where we’d made love all night long...
I’d been seduced into the very center of Wilder’s world.
Half an hour ago he’d played Guns N’ Roses and it had blared through the hidden speakers. This was my punishment for changing the music while he was shaving in the bathroom. Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams”blared in every room. Yes, I was being punished but my music continued to flow...
One tall chilled glass of champagne and I was up for this game; a siren glinting with happiness and almost naked before him. Tobias sat a few feet away in a large leather armchair. He looked so dashing in that tailored tuxedo with one long leg crossed over the other, his fierce green gaze reflecting a man admiring his prey.
We were heading out soon for a private party but there was still time to play. I’d grown fond of his frequent flashes of dominance that still made me feel safe.
