He’d orchestrated that lunch to give her a taste of what it would be like to be with a man of his caliber. Though his money and power had no effect on her when her research hung in the balance, he’d thought when she was made their beneficiary on a personal level, it would be different.
But the more he immersed her in its benefits, the more repulsed she was by the evidence of his status. She’d made sideway remarks through the past hours, but now she’d come right out and said it. Being in such surroundings, getting the treatment only limitless wealth bought, disturbed, not dazzled, her.
Taking another sip of cappuccino, she shrugged. “To each his own, of course, but I don’t see why you need to exercise your power in such ways.”
He gritted his teeth on another unknown sensation. Chagrin. “Maybe I was trying to impress you.”
A not-too-delicate snort made her put down her cup before she spilled its contents. “You thought this would impress me? Have you met me?” She sat forward, her eyes wide and earnest. “You know what really impresses me? It’s that if you were stripped of all your financial assets right this second, with that brain of yours, filled with all your knowledge and experience, with those hands that perform miracles on a regular basis, your worth wouldn’t be affected. Anything you lost, you’d re-create, bigger and better, because luck and circumstances played no role when you first created it. So no, this—” she swept a hand around “—doesn’t impress me. If anything, all this glitter and bustle doesn’t become you, actually taints your true value. Without any of those trappings, it’s you on your own, your gifts and abilities, that’s invaluable.”
Something swelled inside his chest until he couldn’t breathe. So he didn’t, let himself succumb to those whiskey eyes as they penetrated him to his core with their absolute truthfulness.
No one besides his brothers had ever treated him without artifice. But their candor had been nothing like this. It was indescribable being exposed to hers. Her ruthless bluntness at once slapped him for being a pathetic show-off and bestowed on him the most validating evaluation of his life.
He got adulation wherever he went, but no one had ever told him anything like that. That his intrinsic value remained unchanged without everything he’d achieved or acquired. It was what he’d told himself since he’d escaped The Organization. That his abilities would bring him success, would amass fortune and power, would re-create them if he ever lost them. But only Liliana had ever expressed that exact same belief in him.
And she did so when she still considered him an antagonist. She was fair enough that she’d give even an enemy his full due.
She raised her cup to her lips. “Though I commented because you dragged me to this creepily empty seven-star establishment, I hope you don’t always feel the need to flaunt your wealth and impose your worth on the world. I assure you you’re the last man on earth who needs to do that.”
He finally exhaled his pent-up breath. “I’ll be sure to make a note of that.”
So not only had he failed to impress her, she’d ended up counseling him.
To make things worse, he’d totally lost track of time. Six hours had passed, when he’d intended to tantalize her for only a couple of hours and leave her wanting more, so next time she’d be more eager, or at least, less resistant.
But he’d been incapable of ending the most enchanting day he’d ever had, the most exhilarating duel he’d ever waged. He’d been swept on the tide of their affinity, the hunger that had been building inside him demanding more of her. It now craved all of her. Now, not later.
She pushed her cappuccino cup away. “Was that leisurely enough for you?”
“Not quite.”
“C’mon, you said lunch, and it’s now time for dinner.”
“Then we have dinner. At a place of your choosing.”
“You think it’s possible for me to eat anything else? I can barely breathe. But you’re a big boy who needs his nutrition, so you go ahead. I’ll walk back home.” She tapped her slightly curved belly through that dress whose color made her skin glow and her hair and eyes sparkle with red and gold fires. “I can sure use a long, hard walk.”
“So we’ll walk together. Then I’ll drive you home.” She started to object and he cut her off. “You don’t think I’d let you go back home on your own, do you?”
“Why not? I’ve been doing it since I was a kid.”
“You’re not doing it on my watch.” Before she could say anything else, he was on his feet, his hand extended to her.