Betrayal (Infidelity Book 1) - Aleatha Romig Page 0,20

sofa near the windows while Mrs. Witt set our dinner on a dining room table.

His blue eyes swirled with gray and navy, like the clouds to his rumbling voice. “What happened?”

I lowered my chin, unable to answer, not because I couldn’t speak, but because I didn’t know.

His grin returned, if only tentatively. “Your coloring is better. How do you feel?”

I nodded. “Better. I really don’t know what happened. I-I don’t want to admit that I’m nervous.”

Nox’s confident tone was back. “Nervous? Surely, Charli, you’re accustomed to the attentions of men.”

I shrugged. “I-I’m not.” I looked up at his scrutinizing stare. “I mean, it’s not like this is my first either. It’s that I’ve been busy with school and, well, I haven’t dated in awhile.”

“School?”

“Yes, I recently graduated.”

“Tell me that you mean from college,” he demanded.

I couldn’t help the smile. Did I look that young? “Yes. I promise I’m of legal consent.”

“I didn’t doubt that.” His tone rose and he squeezed my knee. “Now, what it is that you’re willing to consent to… that’s what has piqued my interest.”

“Nox, this week is supposed to be my—well, our, my and Chelsea’s—discover life week. Discover and enjoy but take no souvenirs. I have a lot happening in the future.”

“Charli, I may have called you my wife at the pool, but rest assured, that’s not what I’m looking for. Simply put, I find you attractive—striking really. You’re well-spoken and witty. I like that. Believe me, when I decide a woman is mine, I hold on tight. But if we set the ground rules of going into this next week with no expectations for more, I can do that.”

I thought about his proposal as we moved to the table. Though the seared shrimp smelled delicious, I moved it around my plate more than I ate.

“Again with the rules?”

His forehead wrinkled. “Do you have a problem with following rules?”

“As long as they’re plainly stated, I suppose not.” Truthfully, I was too good at it. That was one of the things Chelsea has tried over the years to rectify. Live, be spontaneous, she’d say. “Take college for example…” I tried to steer the conversation away from the obvious.

We talked about my major. At first I told him it was quantum physics. After all, he’d said I was well-spoken. However, it didn’t take long before I admitted the truth. I’d majored in English with a dual minor in business and political science.

“Those future plans don’t include law school, do they?”

“Nox, I-I…”

“Yes, Charli, seeing as I still don’t know your last name, I’m going to assume that discovering life means some questions are off-limits. I can follow rules too, but I prefer to make them.”

I smiled. “Do you have a last name?”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

“Touché.”

With our meals as done as they were to be, Nox lifted up a new bottle of wine. “Shall we toast to a week of first names?”

I offered my glass. “I’d like that.”

His brow twitched. “I’ll add to that, a week of finding out what else you like and the boundaries to your limits.”

I almost choked on my wine as he added that final statement, but it was too late. As the crisp liquid flowed, I drank to his exploration of my limits.

“Are you up for going back outside? The view is why I stay here.”

I shifted to stand. The lighting within the suite was much brighter than what we’d had on the patio. With his drink in his right hand, he offered me his left, and I saw it—my limit.

Suddenly the handsome, powerful man in front of me was no better than every other man, no better than Alton Fitzgerald and all of his business trips.

My neck straightened. “I’ve changed my mind.”

“What?” Nox asked, visibly surprised.

I pulled my eyes from his left hand. “I forgot. I promised Chelsea that I’d be back to our room tonight. This week is about us. It really isn’t fair of me to leave her alone.”

“I saw your sister. I doubt she’s alone.”

Though Nox tried again for my hand, I pulled it away, busy with removing his jacket from my shoulders. Shoving what undoubtedly was a very expensive suit coat his direction, I reached for my handbag.

“Goodbye, Nox. It was nice to meet you. I’m sorry, but I do know my limits and I’ve already, albeit unknowingly, broken a hard one.” I hurried toward the elevator. “Please don’t attempt to contact me.”

As the elevator doors opened, I turned to see not only Nox’s puzzled expression but also Mrs. Witt’s. With my