Claimed by the Sicilian Tycoon (22 page)

She
gaped, the words not making sense. “The apartment…my cards…?”

“I
do not know when I will be returning.” He shrugged. “A week? Maybe two?”

“I
don’t understand,” she said.

“I
have decided to go back to the original agreement.”

“I
don’t—”

“You
will be my mistress again. I see where I went wrong last time,” he added when
she made to speak. “We spent too much time together, it was too intense. This
time round we will see each other when I have some spare time. I will not
create that spare time specifically to see you.”

“What
does that even mean?” Lyra demanded, her head spinning.

“It
means I will see you when I can. Once a week, once a month? I do not know. But
you will be well looked after here, comfortable, and there will be no need to
seek another protector, certainly not Dominic fucking Rimeria.”

The
meaning of his words hit, and Lyra shook her head even as her heart squeezed.
It all made sense now, perfect fucking sense. Her temper caught. She narrowed
her eyes. “You want to put me in the apartment and keep me there for as and
when you feel like coming to see me?” she hissed.

He
nodded, that satisfied look still in place, seemingly unaware how thin the ice
was. “Precisely.”

Lyra
bolted upwards, walked forward, and stabbed a finger into his rock hard chest.
“Jesus Christ, Andros, you have fucking cheek.”

“Excuse
me?”

“I’m
not a toy you can pick up whenever you like and then throw away the moment you
tire of it.”

He
started, the satisfaction replaced with shock. “I did not say you were.”

“How
dare you?” she hissed.

Confusion
chased across his features as he spoke. “I am giving you what you wanted. You
said you expected our relationship to last longer. Well now it will.”

“How
much longer?” Lyra challenged.

“Pardon?”

“A
month,” she asked.
 
“A year, five years?”

Andros
frowned. “I do not know the answer to that.”

“And
what about when the time comes for you to marry?” she asked, the words almost
lodging themselves in her throat. Over the past months she’d had plenty of time
to think about Andros with other women. Fucking them, stroking them, then one
day, marrying them. Her chest ached at the thought, her head hurt. She didn’t
want any other women with him. She wanted the Sicilian all to herself, and yet,
not once had Lyra thought that was even a remote possibility.

He
was never hers in any other way than the obvious, and that reality hurt her
unbearably. His words were merely confirming it.

“I
have no intentions of marrying in the near future,” Andros said.

She
clenched her fists. “But you will eventually, Andros, you know that you will.
Are you planning to keep me here, your perfect, convenient toy, without your
wife’s knowledge?”

“You
are asking me for answers to hypothetical questions,” he said, throwing up his
hands.

“So
stretch yourself.”

“I
do not have any answers!”

“Then
tell me why you want me here so much,” she demanded. “Tell me that at least,
give me that one little bit of honesty and perhaps I will consider doing as you
have asked.”

“You
know why I want you here,” he said, stepping forward and smoothing her hair
back from her face. The action was so tender, brought back so many memories,
that Lyra had to grit her teeth tight to stop from giving him a resounding yes
to everything he wanted.
But you have
more guts than that,
her mind whispered,
you always have had.

“To
fuck me,” she hissed. “What’s the matter? The women in Sicily, or wherever the
hell you’ve been, not quite up to the job? Did they not do it how you wanted, not
fuck you quite right?”

He
scowled. “There have been no other women.”

Her
heart soared, even as her mind denied it. “Sure.”

“Do
not question my honor.”

“They
why?”

“Why
what?” he demanded.

“Why
have there been no other women?” Lyra asked.

He
shrugged. “I have not had time.”

Soared
and dropped. “So nothing to do with me then. Jesus, why did I even imagine it
would be?”

Andros
frowned and gestured to her, confusion writ across his face. “Lyra, I do not
understand why you are being so hostile. I am giving you exactly what you
wanted.”

“You
have no idea what it is I want.”

“You
want me.”

She
nodded slowly, crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay, fine, I’ll give you
that. I do. I can be the grown up and admit it. I want you. Now tell me the
same. Tell me why you want me here so bad.”

“Because
you are fucking perfect,” he growled. “I want to be inside of you constantly.
It is all I can think about. All those months I was away, I thought of you all
the time. Here we are, the moment I arrive back in the country, and already I
am inside of you.”

“Because
you happened to see me in the street.”

“I
would have come to find you,” he said. “A week, maybe two, but this would have
happened regardless.
 

“You’re
flying back out of the country.”

“I
intend to return at some point.”

Lyra
ran a hand across her face, trying to get her head around his words. He was too
close to her, his presence too much. She couldn’t think straight. The scent of
his body, the heat coming from him, it made her feel weak. She was a mere
second from telling him that yes, she would do as he asked, anything to have
him in her life again, if only for a short time. But then…

“And
what about when it becomes too much again, like last time?” she asked
carefully. “Will you just dump me all over again?”

He
bristled. “I have already explained how I plan to handle that.”

“And
you have no idea how insulting that is,” she cried. “Pick me up and put me down
when the whim takes you. To stay away from me when it feels like you might want
to see me so you can keep your fucking emotions in check.”

“It
is not a question of emotions.”

“So
you feel nothing for me?”

“I
have already told you what I feel,” he roared. “What more do you want from me?”

“Outside
of the desire, the lust, all of that,” Lyra demanded. “What do you feel for me,
Andros? Is there anything else?”

“I…”

He
shook his head, making Lyra’s heart dropped to her knees, realization hitting
like a sucker punch. The possessiveness, the anger, the hard, dirty sex, always
it had been about that. She had been so stupid to think otherwise.
Confusing your own feelings for his,
she
thought, and gasped, as the reality of those feelings made themselves known.

How
could she have missed it? How could she have not realized sooner? It had been
there from the very beginning, and because it
was
there, Lyra knew she had no choice but to say the next words.

“Exactly.
This is over, Andros. So over.”

He
shook his head, almost automatically, she thought, surprise darkening his
features. “You are ending us?”

“I
have no choice,” she said, and the words were wrenched from her.

“You
do not want to do this, Lyra,” he said, stepping forward, closing the distance
between them, and gripping her arms.

“Then
give me a reason not to,” she said.

His
grip tightened. “I have given you my reasons.”

“One
that doesn’t involve sex.”

“I
cannot.”

“No.
Of course you can’t. I don’t even know why I expected any different. Too many
happy ever afters going on around me, clearly.” She shook her head and laughed
bitterly. “Why else would I be such an idiot?”

“Lyra,
you are not making sense. What is it you are trying to say?”

“Nothing
you’ll ever want to hear.” Because it wasn’t, Lyra realized. Not in a million
years.

“Try
me,” he demanded, but she shook her head harder, as if the action might make it
all go away. Because there was no way in hell she was going to tell him the
truth. The truth that she herself had only just realized. No fucking way.
I love you, Andros, love you
… She
shivered, imagining the horror that would fill his eyes, the panic as
realization hit. That she’d fallen for him, desperately, irrevocably.

No
fucking way! And so there was only one thing left to do now. Only one way out,
and Lyra’s heart squeezed as she realized the truth of it all.

Checkmate
at last.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“I
need to leave.”

Andros
held Lyra tighter as she spoke the words, wondering as he did so how the fuck
the situation had gotten so out of control. He had not expected this at all.
After the amazing sex in the car, and the realization that he could not stay
away from her again, he’d thought to tell Lyra how much he wanted her, how much
he needed her, and of course she would comply. The fact that she
wasn’t
complying? It baffled him,
angered him, and he had to make her see sense.

“You
need to stop being so hysterical,” he said.

She
tugged her arms, but he held fast. “I’m not being hysterical. I’m stating a
fact. I am leaving. Now.”

Andros
pulled her closer so that the length of her body was flush with his. He looked
down, letting his gaze travel from her kiss sore lips, to her flushed chest.
Her nipples were hard, bulleting through the thin cotton of her dress. Christ,
it was the dead of winter, why wasn’t she dressed more warmly?
Because you weren’t here to make sure of it.
He nodded inwardly at that thought. Whether she knew it or not Lyra needed him
to take care of her.

“You’re
going nowhere,” he said. “Nowhere.”

She
wiggled against him. The action only made his cock thicken. “You can’t keep me
here.”

“I
can and I will.”

“How
dare you?” she demanded.

“Just
stay still and think this through,” he said, ignoring her words. “Think about
how you feel next to me like this.”

“I
have thought it through,” she hissed. “How I feel standing next to you is the
entire problem!”

“What
do you mean?” he asked, unable to comprehend her words.

“You’re
so fucking dumb,” she replied. “You just don’t get it.”

“Get
what?” he demanded. “What the hell are you trying to say?”

“I’m
not
trying
to say anything,” she
hissed. “Just leave it. Let me go. Jesus, Andros, just let me go.”

Her
voice broke on the last word, her lip wobbling, and, looking down at her, out
of nowhere, it was like a light switched on. Andros realized exactly what she
was trying to say, exactly what she meant.
Fuck.

Silence
fell and held. Andros let go of her arms without even realizing that he had.
“Are you saying—”

“I’m
saying nothing.” She stepped around him, her hair falling to cover her flushed
face. “My decision remains the same. We are done, Andros. So fucking done.”

Shock
turned into anger the moment she uttered her dismissive words. His chest
felt…weird…and Andros shook his head against it all. His feelings, Lyra’s
words, everything. Nothing was as he imagined. Everything was going wrong. Why
couldn’t she just do as he wanted? Be the Lyra she had been before? Where
everything worked. Where she expected only what he gave?

“So
now it all becomes clear,” he said slowly, his accent marked.

“Clear?”
she asked. “Clear? You know nothing. I’m leaving.”

 
The anger intensified. The image of her
leaving made him want to hit something. “You will walk away from me because I
refuse to give you what you want?” he grated,
 
“Something you said you did not want!”

“And
that is?” Lyra whispered.

“Flowers
and fucking hearts,” he growled. “This is what it is all about, no?”

“When
did I ever say I wanted that?”

“It
is quite obvious,” he said. “Despite your hard girl exterior, when it comes
right down to it you are like all the rest.”

“The
rest?” She tossed her hair and glared, the light of battle sparking in her
eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself. I don’t want your hearts or your flowers or any
of that. I just don’t want you.”

“And
you will do what?” he demanded, her words making the anger throb. “Find someone
else. You want someone else?”

She
closed her eyes and pursed her lips. “What if I do? It’s no concern of yours.”

“You
bitch,” he breathed.