I felt devastated. Exposed. Vulnerable.
He didn't seem to notice as he pulled his clothes on regretfully. His eyes were on my body. I turned around so I didn't have to see the smug look of satisfaction on his handsome face. He'd bested me again. And I'd let him. I could not continue this way. He was dangerous to me. Dangerous to my fragile sense of hard won independence.
He stood behind me and untangled my hair gently. His lips found my neck and I leaned back against him like a stable cat, eager for a good scratch. But inside, my mind was reeling.
One thing was clear.
I had to get away from Daniel Delancey.
Chapter Thirteen
Daniel
"I need to get cleaned up."
I grinned at the gorgeous pink of Francesca's cheeks. She was embarrassed. Damn if that wasn't adorable.
My feisty Italian Heiress was embarrassed by the off the charts sex we'd just had. Twice.
She better get used to it, and fast. This was just the beginning. I had plans for her. Dirty, filthy plans.
"I'll join you."
She shook that beautiful head of hers, biting her lower lip.
"No, Daniel I... I need to go into the city for lunch. For business."
I followed her out of the stall.
"I won't distract you. Much."
She tossed her hair and gave me an imperious look. She really did act like royalty sometimes. Not when I was on top of her though.
"Another time, Daniel."
I frowned, watching her round ass and long legs stride away from me. Something was wrong. She was still angry with me.
I just had no idea why.
I ran my hand through my hair and went to shower. I felt good, drained and relaxed. I couldn't complain about that.
But I wanted more.
Much, much more.
I walked into the dining room where lunch was set up buffet style. Usually I just went into the kitchen and asked Suzy for a sandwich, but when clients were around Jackson made sure the estate was full service. And then some.
I piled my plate high. Francesca was keeping me busy and I was sure I would need my energy later on. I planned to spend the night in her bed. And on the floor. And in the shower.
Maybe bent over that chair again...
Hell, I’d fuck her on the ceiling if I could.
I stared out the window and froze. For a second I could not believe my eyes. Francesca was outside, dressed in a cream colored suit. She held her briefcase as she climbed into a limo. The chauffeur was loading her luggage into the back. I was about to run outside and grab her but the driver took off before I could even react.
"Where the hell is she going?"
Jackson chose that moment to appear behind me.
"She said she had to check in to a hotel for a few days. Something about a business meeting."
Anger sliced through me.
I had a strong suspicion she wasn't going to a meeting.
She wanted to get away from me.
Or she wanted to replace me.
That was even worse.
I didn’t believe it though. Not with the fireworks that had gone off between us. I knew I wasn’t the only one to have felt them. I couldn’t be.
A woman didn’t make those kind of noises if she was faking it. Not even the best actress in the world could have been that convincing. She was running for a different reason.
I had to know why.
"Which hotel?"
"She didn't say."
"Fuck."
Jackson gave me a look.
"Something going on I should know about, Daniel?"
"Something is going on. But it's none of your damn business!"
He raised his hands. He knew better than to tangle with me. I was known as the nice brother, but on the rare occasion that I lost my temper, I was way, way more dangerous than both of them put together.
They knew it too. Growing up they called me the sleeping giant. Or big, mean and green.
I felt that anger rising in me, along with the disbelief. I picked up my phone to peck out a text.
You better get your ass back here Francesca.
I paced back and forth as I waited to hear back. Nothing. Finally, I sat down and tried to eat. My mind was racing to come up with an answer but there was only one.
She was running from me.
From this.
Fuck that. She'd started it. And she was going to finish it. She hadn't even said goodbye. That just wasn't going to cut it. I stared at my phone as I forced down my food. Still no response.
You aren't going to like what happens when I find you. And I will find you.
Maybe not the most subtle of messages but there it was. I was pissed. And I was going to track her ass down. I just needed a little help to do it.
It was just a matter of time until I did. Unfortunately, that meant I had to wait. I wasn’t good at waiting, especially under the circumstances.