her hands as the realization came that she was just another in a long line of women. “I"m just the next one, aren"t I?” She looked around. “I"m not anything more than your next whore! How long was it between women?”
Dharr started to say something, not even venturing to tell her the truth but ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “That"s not the point. And don"t ever call yourself a whore again!”
“It"s exactly the point,” she countered angrily. “And let"s just call things by their appropriate name and not beat around the bush. You"re offering to put me up in this apartment, give me an allowance and in return, all you expect of me is sex. Am I missing something?” she demanded angrily.“If that"s not the definition of a whore, I"m not sure what it would be!”
“You"re being ridiculous,” he countered, turning back to pull on a pair of jeans. “A whore works off the street and sells her body.”
Electra wiped a tear angrily from her cheek before she replied, “You"re just discussing geography.”
“You"re being overly sensitive. I don"t think of you in that way and I never have. So don"t put labels on something that isn"t there.”
Electra looked around the room again, noting the romantic slant to the decorating, the extra big bed and all the lovely skin lotions that had been in the bathroom when she"d arrived for the first time six weeks ago. “I can"t believe this! I"m just your next mistress,” she said. It was no longer a question but a statement. Her eyes were vulnerable when she turned to face him once again. “In my mind, you"ve shown me everything, given me so much pleasure I actually ache duringthe nights we"re not together. But to you I"m not even important enough in your life to warrant anything more than…” She stopped the words, afraid of what she"d say. She turned to look at him, the hurt and humiliation shining through in her eyes. But instead of arguing any longer, she turned and walked into the bathroom, ignoring him when he called her to stop.
“Ellie, this is ridiculous. You"re completely misinterpreting my offer.”
In response, she walked faster into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind her. She showered quickly and took the robe down from the back of the door, wrapping it around her from neck to almost her ankles. She didn"t know if he would still be out in the bedroom, but right now, all she wanted to do was get as far away from him as possible.
When she walked back in, she didn"t see him anywhere and ignored the stab of disappointment. She dressed in a pair of jeans and light sweater, pulling on tennis shoes and simply tying her hair back in a pony tail, uncaring how messy she looked. All she wanted to do was leave here and get back home, lick her wounds and start to forget this horrible weekend. With his words and his assumption that she would be grateful for the exalted position as his mistress, hehad tarnished what they shared, all that she"d thought of himand everything she"d thought about their relationship.
As she stuffed clothes into her suitcase, she laughed harshly and had to wipe the tears away from her cheek. Relationship? What relationship, she asked herself. To him, she wasn"t a woman with feelings and intelligence who had something to offer him. She was a body, a convenience. She was a plaything, she thought with horror.
“Why are you crying?” he asked, fully dressed in yet another immaculately tailored suit. Gone were the casual slacks and open neck shirts and back in place was the business man.
Electra reached up and wiped her cheeks, surprised to find her fingers come away with wetness. “Because you hurt me,” she said, uncaring what he thought about her now.
“I don"t see how my wish for you to be with me when it is possible would be painful to you,” he grated out, anger flaring for the first time since she"d known him.
Electra shook her head, wishing she could just walk out. But the past few days had been too wonderful and her feet would not take her out of the apartment. Her bag was packed, her tickets and passport in her hand but something held her back. She glanced at him over her shoulder, seeing him casually leaning against the door frame. He had no idea what he"d done to her pride. No one had ever asked him to….
Her