Page 37 of Vengeful in Love
She threw the present at him, slammed the door shut and drove off, leaving him behind.
Oh, the nerve of the man! As if he’d done nothing wrong. He’d known he was going away for weeks but never said a word. Why not? If she’d learned about his plans, maybe it would’ve been harder for him to seduce her.
She might have been able to forgive him for going to Hong Kong. After all, he had responsibilities to his company and shareholders. But that stupid choker. And that stupid message.
I thought of you when I saw this.
Yeah, right. Had he expected her to throw herself at him for bringing another present? If so, he wasn’t as intelligent or perceptive as she’d thought.
It didn’t take much time to reach her condo, mainly because she sped most of the way home. She parked and started gathering her things. The Lamborghini pulled into the empty spot next to hers, its headlights dying immediately.
Alex got out of his car, the package in his hand. “Don’t you drive off like that when I’m talking to you. And don’t you dare throw my present back at me!”
“If you’ll wait a minute, I’ve got another present to throw at you!” She spun and marched to her condo.
* * *
Alex was so furious, he couldn’t think straight. He’d worked like a demon to wrap everything up in Hong Kong so he could see her again, and this was the welcome?
Women. The hotter they were, the crazier they acted.
He followed Natalie to her unit. He didn’t want to create a scene. What he was about to tell Natalie wasn’t any of her neighbors’ business.
Throw his ruby choker back at him… Ha! The damned thing cost a fortune, probably more than she made in a year.
The gift you couldn’t bother to buy for her yourself.
He stomped on the bit of guilty conscience. He’d brought her another gift, hadn’t he?
She unlocked the door and went inside. He followed her in, his big hand flat against the door when she tried to shut it on him.
“You are not invited,” she said coldly.
He ignored her and threw the robe on the couch, the package spinning like a crimson and gold pinwheel.
“Pick that up,” she said. “And before you go, take this.”
She stalked to the shelf where Matto was sitting on a velvety box. She pulled it out from under her cat, who hissed in outrage, and tossed it at Alex.
He caught it by reflex.
“Next time you decide to try to make things right, give it a little more thought. And don’t look so shocked. I know what you’re doing. My family’s been doing it for decades, and throwing money at me isn’t going to win you any points.”
“I’m not your family, and I’m not throwing money at you!”
“Then what do you call that?” She gestured at the box. “One afternoon of sex and suddenly I’m worth tens of thousands of dollars in jewelry?”
Put that way, it did sound bad. But no woman before Natalie had ever complained about his lavish gifts. The fact that she had to be the exception made him angry. And absurdly pleased.
“If I’d considered you a whore”—she stiffened, but he didn’t care what he said at this point—“it’d have been a lot cheaper and easier for me to deal with you. I’ve gotten less than twenty hours of sleep in the past five days so I could come see you, and this is how you greet me? Accusing me of throwing money at you? If I wanted to throw money at you, I’d do this!” He grabbed his wallet and took out a fistful of bills, then hurled them at her. They separated in the air and barely made a noise as they hit her face.
Her eyes widened, then narrowed to a hard glint. “Of all the—”
“And I don’t want to hear about how you thought I should’ve called before I left. I didn’t have your cell phone number, and you made it clear you wanted me to leave you alone!”
“But not leave the continent!”
“Does it matter? I left you a message.”
