Arrogant Bastard - Julie Capulet Page 0,58
it but I think about all the things he just confessed, and being honest with him is … the only way I can be. So I say it quietly. “The most eligible bachelor in Chicago’s glitterati dating scene.” But don’t expect him to stick around until morning, ladies. I don’t bother saying that last part out loud, but he already knows.
His eyes narrow. “You googled me.”
“And you googled me.” I grew up in a house where my mother cried all the time and my father barely ever came home. He broke her heart, not just once but all the time. They all did. All her husbands, or at least most of them. “Have you ever been faithful, Gage?”
“I’ve never tried to be faithful. I never had anyone to be faithful to.”
“What if you can’t do it?”
He moves closer, climbing over me, crouching above me like a big cat, holding his weight so he’s pinning me in place but not crushing me. Entirely. The power in the hard planes of his body is dizzying.
“What if you can’t do it?” he asks. “What if we never try and never know? The thing is, Luna, I’ve never promised anything to anyone. Ever. So I’ve never had a promise to break. Until now. And I’m promising you this, sweet girl: I won’t hurt you. I don’t want anyone else. I’ve been waiting my whole life for you to walk into it and slay me with one glance. I was too cynical to believe you ever would, for a long time. But now that you have I’m afraid you’re stuck with me, sweetheart. Go ahead and try to run from me. I’ll chase after you. I’m going to have to prove myself to you, I know that. And I will. I’ll convince you, baby, kiss by kiss. Where should I start, I wonder.” Roguishly. A detail of him that’s never far from the surface. His eyes are startlingly bright. His hair is wild, his sumptuous mouth beyond tempting.
He leans closer. But I remember, again. The bet.
I place my hand on his chest to stop him. “I’m not kissing you, Gage. I can’t.” Because if I do, I’ll never be able to stop.
He spears me with a look. Then it dawns on him. “Did you open the envelope I sent you?”
“No. Josie opened hers but I—”
He climbs off me with the ease of an athlete and lifts me into his arms like I weigh no more than a child. He carries me into the living room.
“Gage—”
“I’ll take you to New Orleans this weekend. I own a hotel in the French Quarter.”
“You do?”
“Yes. We’ll take my jet. I’ll book us dinner on a Mississippi riverboat and we’ll catch some live music. My favorite jazz club is open all night. But first, you need to open these presents.”
He places me on the couch, still wrapped in my comforter. The entire apartment is infused with the heady perfume of the topiary-sized bouquets of roses. Their blooms are the largest I’ve ever seen. Gage gathers the wrapped packages and the large envelope and puts them on the coffee table. Then he sits next to me, with his arms folded across his brawny chest and a pissed-off scowl on his face. “Start with that one. And no arguing. These are things we’ll need for the renovations. I need you as involved as possible. The right equipment is crucial.”
“Yes, boss.”
Another lusty, turquoise glare. “I’ll boss you, honey. Don’t even get me started.”
I feel the heat rise to my face but … I can’t help it. I want to push him, because I know why he’s so grumpy. He’s big and male and gorgeous … and very, very hard. The ridge inside his jeans is so enormous it looks like someone stuffed a giant kielbasa down there.
Yikes.
It’s intimidating but at the same time … I want to tease him. There’s something empowering and fun about having him entirely at my mercy. Because I’m not scared of him. I believe him. I believe all the things he said to me. My question comes out breathily, “How?”
He cocks his head, challenging me with his devil-blue eyes. “You want to know how.” His muscles are clenched and he looks almost dangerous. In a good way.
I shrug, sort of coyly. Which isn’t like me at all. But … I love him. And I want him. He’s so damn sexy. I don’t care about the bet anymore. Didn’t he say something about it being one-sided?
His voice has a