in the prime of their life, who have brought up children to face the world, and who have stood by their men, supported them while following their own passions, who wield the power."
She tilts her head, then laughs. "Good save." She chuckles, "Call me Rosie." She pulls me in for a hug.
I take it. "Rosie." I nod.
Phew! Guess I passed that test… Whatever that was.
She releases me, and steps back, "You can take him off the leash, dear."
I stare at her.
"Weston, I mean." Her eyes twinkle.
"Ah," I open and shut my mouth.
"Just messing with you," she chuckles, then glances at Max.
Right. Is that where Weston gets his warped sense of humor, not to mention his dominance?
I unhook the leash from Max’s collar. Max bounds off, toward the living space at the far end of the hallway, following the sound of Phoenix’s laughter.
I twist the leash around my palm, wondering what to do with it. Weston places his hand on mine; I look up. One side of his lips kicks up. Is that supposed to be reassuring? The warmth from his touch sinks into my blood. I draw in a breath and my heartbeat slows. How strange. This man... Who I am not sure how to react to… Who I am sure I hate… Who I have definite feelings for… When did his presence become so reassuring?
He twines his fingers with mine and the leash slips from my grasp. He catches it, glances around. A maid wearing a uniform materializes. Huh? Of course, they’d have staff. They are rich and the house… Well, it seems the kind that has been in their family for generations. "Master Weston?" The older woman smiles.
"Mary, how are you?" He hands the leash over to her.
"I'm very good, Sir." Her smile widens. "The luggage has been sent to your suite already," she adds.
"Excellent," he grins at her.
Wow. That’s two smiles in as many minutes. Seems the alphahole can lose the obnoxiousness on occasion... Just not with me.
"How is Veronica?" he asks Mary.
"Grown up and at university. She has her own life now."
"You miss her, huh?"
Mary raises her shoulders, "Always. But I’m also glad to have her out of my hair." She chuckles.
She turns to Rosie, "Dinner is served Ma’am."
Rosie touches my arm, "Shall we?"
30
Weston
"You’re not sleeping on the couch." I growl at her.
Dinner had been mercifully quiet. Kirsten had taken Phe and Skye up to get them ready for bed. Max had mercifully tagged along, not wanting to part from the girls.
Which means we are alone, in my room, and I intend to take full advantage of that.
"Excuse me?" She frowns up at me.
"You heard me," I drawl. "Get your sweet tush into bed." I jerk my thumb over my shoulder, pointing at the massive four-poster that occupies the center of the room.
"We are not together; this is all a farce." She glowers, "Have you forgotten that you wanted me to come here to put on a front with your family? I have done that, and now I want some privacy."
"No." I fold my arms over chest.
She gapes, "What…what do you mean?"
"Exactly that." I glance down my nose at her, "We need to keep up the pretense."
"In here?" She glances around the spacious suite that takes up the entire top floor of the house. It also comes equipped with its own kitchen, a fact I had pointed out to her earlier. Why was that? Why does it matter to me that she feels at home in this space? I shake my head, narrow my gaze on the woman who scowls up at me.
"No-one’s going to come in here," she insists.
"You don’t know that. One slip-up, and this entire charade will amount to nothing."
"That’s all this is—a farce." She juts out a hip, props her hand on it, "So why the hell can’t you allow me to sleep on my own?"
"Because…" You’re mine, is what I want to say, but fuck that. I have no claim to her. I can’t call her mine. I don’t want to have any relationship with her, do I? So why the hell am I being this unreasonable? I crack my neck, draw in a breath, "As long as you are here, under my roof, you do as I say."
"It’s not your roof," she growls.
"It belongs to my family," I retort.
"I don’t care."
"You should, because in one second you are going to be breaking a record, one that you’ll remember for the rest of your life."
She balks, "Wh…what do you mean?"
"Just try