and demand answers yourself.”
Those were the only words that could have gotten her out of the car. Gerrard was right. She did need to demand answers. And she deserved them. She could explain her own deceit easily. What was a name, anyway? Ellie was short for Electra and all of her friends, even her grandmother, calls her Ellie. It had never occurred to her to tell him her real name, or even her last name so the confusion was innocent.
But he"d lied by not telling her about his title, his responsibilities even when she"d asked him about what he did for a living and asked repeatedly about his daily activities. All those things were who he was, what made him the man she….Electra didn"t finish that thought. With steely determination, she rode up the elevator in silence, trying to figure out how things had gone so wrong when everything had looked so perfect when she"d woken this morning.
When the elevator opened up, she looked across the room, memories of their first night together flooding back to her. She"d been standing in this exact spot, the green, strapless dress making her feel daring and beautiful. And just as she had that night, she stood staring out at the view, but this time, she wasn"t really seeing it, the hurt of his betrayal too much to endure at this point.
When she spotted him standing off to the side of the living room, she lashed out at him, her hurt and feelings of betrayal were too deep. “You!” she almost yelled. “I can"t believe I"ve been sleeping with youof all people.”
Dharr"s calm expression didn"t change with her outburst. He turned to Edna and bowed slightly. “If you don"t mind, I believe your granddaughter and I have some things to discuss. They might be better said in private.”
Edna nodded her head politely, hiding her smile from her furious granddaughter. “Absolutely. I"ll be in the kitchen asking your cook for the recipe to the delicious scones,” she said and walked quickly toward what Electra assumed was the kitchen.
When they were alone again, Dharr turned to face her. “You were saying?” he prompted , his eyebrows raised in polite inquiry. He didn"t seem phased by Electra"s anger or embarrassed by her personal outburst.
She persevered despite his patronizing attitude. “Don"t patronize me you egotistical, arrogant bastard!”
He smiled slightly as if amused by her fury which only made her grit her teeth as her anger inched up several notches.
“I can guarantee that my parents were legitimately married at the time of my conception and birth. But feel free to toss any other insults my way if it will make you feel better.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at him from across the room. “I hate you!”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Yes, I can see that. I"m not exactly sure why since I believe you"ve been lying to me about your identity this whole time. Perhaps you could enlighten me on the reason for that?” he asked.
Electra saw the chink in his armor. It was small, but she could see that he was furious at her deception. She didn"t care. “You made my life miserable you jerk!”
One eyebrow lifted at that accusation. “And how, exactly, did I do that?”
Her arms dropped and she walked forward, one hand poking him in the chest to punctuate her anger. “Those guards you sicced on me when I turned twelve. They were there, all through my teen years, never leaving me alone. I had a warped childhood and adolescence because they were always there, intimidating my friends, terrifying any man who worked up the courage to ask me out on a date. I had never even kissed a man until you came around! Isn"t that pathetic?”
Dharr watched the elegant beauty as she lashed out at him. When he"d first seen the article that told him his mystery woman was actually his ward, the woman he"d been duty bound to protect, he"d been livid. Then the realization that he"d slept with the woman he was supposed to be protecting hit him like a razor, shredding his pride and his sense of honor. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. This tiny woman with soft, green eyes and a body any man would kill for had somehow broken through his legendary control and he was angrier than he"d ever been in his life.
When he"d read the words that condemned him and irrevocably changed his future, he"d wanted to throttle