Dirty Aristocrat(12)

'Please. It would make me feel better,' I insisted, too humiliated to look him in the eye.

'Do as you wish,' he said, as if he was already bored with the conversation and would prefer to be somewhere else.

'Thank you.' I bit my bottom lip. 'Ah ... where is the other man?'

He narrowed his eyes. 'What other man?'

'From last night. The big guy.'

'There was only me and the doctor last night.'

'Oh,' I said in a small voice.

The night before seemed blurred and fuzzy in my mind. I was sure there  had been another man. A kind man who held me close to his heart and  rocked me for hours. Was he another hallucination? But he had felt so  real. Could Ivan be that man? I looked up at him. He looked back distant  and cold. No way. It must have been another hallucination.

'Do you feel like some food? Soup? Toast?' he asked.

Even the thought of food made me feel horribly queasy, and I shook my  head. 'Thank you, but no. I'd like to have a shower though, before I go  home.'

He looked down at me expressionlessly. 'I'm afraid you won't be able to go home for a while.'         

     



 

'Why not?'

'Because whoever drugged you yesterday wanted to frighten you. Wanted  you to know that you are not safe, and whoever it was, is either living  in the house with you, or more probably has one of your staff working  for them.'

I closed my eyes for a second and tried to think. In my weakened state  the problem seemed insurmountable. I opened my eyes. 'Never mind. I'll  sort it out. Tomorrow. When I feel better.'

'I've already warned James that you will not be back for a bit.'

'Thank you. Yes, I think it would be a good idea for me to stay in  London for a few days. After I have had my shower I'll get a taxi to  Robert's.' I paused. Of course it was all mine now. 'I meant, to my  apartment in South Kensington.'

'No, I don't think that's a good idea.' His voice was flat and  unyielding. 'You would be vulnerable on your own there. Besides, the  doctor said you could have flashbacks for the next forty-eight hours and  you shouldn't be out on your own. The most practical solution is for  you to stay here for a few days until we come up with a workable plan  for you.'

'Wouldn't I be in your way?' I asked cautiously.

'I wouldn't have thought so. I'm hardly ever here anyway.'

'Well, I'll go as soon as I can.'

'Yeah, whatever.'

'I feel grimy and my head feels like it's full of cottage cheese. I  should have a shower first,' I said, and sitting up pushed the bedcover  away from my body.

His eyes strayed to my breasts and then moved away quickly. 'You'll find  the bathroom through that door. I'll get you some towels.

'Er  …  have I got anything to wear?'

'Your clothes must be dry by now. I'll go get them.'

'Thank you, Ivan,' I said, a small smile curving my lips.

'Think nothing of it,' he said and left.

I slipped out of bed. My legs felt weak and the ground was like a  waterbed as I slowly dragged my feet to the bathroom. In the mirror I  looked like something out of a horror movie. My plait had come undone  and my hair was all over the place. My eyes were bloodshot and my pupils  were popping. There were dark circles under my eyes and my skin looked  unnaturally white and sickly.

Ugh. I shivered and turned away, but too fast. It made me feel dizzy. I  gripped the sink and waited until my head felt normal again. Then I ran  the shower and stood under it; the water felt like heaven. I stood in  the hot stream and tried to think straight.

But all I could think of was: Oh, damn! I pissed myself in his bed. The  shame of it. Of all the people I wouldn't have wanted to see me in such a  humiliating situation, he was at the top of the list.

Still, the hot shower made me feel more human and I consoled myself that  I was drugged and not of sound mind. I came out of the shower, wrapped  myself in a large towel, and went back into the bedroom. I'll just have  to take it in my stride. I found my clothes on the bed and, once  dressed, ventured outside into the corridor.





CHAPTER 12


Tawny Maxwell

I padded down a corridor with oversized modern art on the walls, not  sure where I was going, but utterly unafraid of what I would find. I  knew where I was and whom I was with.

The corridor opened out to a large living room with a high ceiling and  light pouring in from tall windows. The décor was minimalistic with a  spare color palette of white stone with black accents, and a mixture of  modern and mid-century pieces. It was a perfect man cave. It even had  the black bear rug.

How strange though? I did not have even the faintest memory of any of  this. Whatever drug they had administered to me, it was certainly  powerful. I should ask Ivan what the doctor said, if there would be any  long-lasting side effects.

I walked through that space and found Ivan in a large, spotless, black  and white kitchen, beating eggs. The radio was playing How Long Will I  Love You and the air was scented with the aroma of the brewing coffee.

He turned to look at me with a puckered brow. 'Could you not find your shoes?'

'I know where they are, but I'm a Southern girl. We like being barefoot.  I used to walk to the store in my bare feet all summer long.'

He looked at me as if he didn't quite know how to respond to that bit of  unsolicited information. 'Right.' He paused and scratched his chin.  'Well, there's a hairdryer in the second drawer to the left of the door  in the bathroom.'

'Thanks, but I usually just let my hair dry naturally.'

'Fine.' Again he seemed at a loss. He looked down at the bowl of eggs he  had been beating when I came in. 'I'm having eggs. You should have some  too. You haven't eaten anything since breakfast yesterday, have you?'         

     



 

I ran my tongue along the inside of my right cheek and winced. 'I don't  think I'll eat anything. I have sores on the inside of my mouth and my  jaw hurts.'

He frowned. 'Yes, you were grinding your teeth in your sleep. Want me to  heat up some soup instead? I think there might be some cans somewhere  around.'

'No, I'll just have coffee first and see how I feel after.'

He walked to the coffee machine and facing me asked, 'Cappuccino, espresso, filter, latte?'

'Filter, please.'

He put a mug into the slot and hit a button. Coffee splashed into the mug. 'Milk, sugar?'

'Milk and two sugars, please.'

I lifted myself onto one of the tall stools around the island and he  placed a steaming mug in front of me. I smiled my thanks and, grasping  the mug with both my hands, brought it to my lips. I blew at the surface  before taking a small sip. The fragrant heat travelled down my gullet,  warming me.

'Mmmm,' I said.

He glanced at me, but did not say anything.

Quietly, I watched his strong, sure hands pour the beaten eggs into a  pan greased with butter and scramble them slightly before scraping them  onto two plates. He then buttered four slices of toast, placed them on  the sides of the plates and put one plate in front of me and one at the  opposite side of the island.

'Bon appétit,' he said.

'Same to you.'

Sitting down he began to dig into his food.

I picked up the fork and put a small piece of egg in my mouth. I didn't  think I could eat, but the coffee had stirred my appetite and the eggs  were surprisingly tasty. The sores only hurt if I let food scrape  against them. I took a bite of toast. Our eyes met. His were level.

I carefully chewed on my good side, swallowed, and said, 'Thank you for my breakfast.'

'I would have done the same for anyone,' he said expressionlessly.

This was exactly why I hated this man. He could drive a preacher to drink. I put the fork down. 'Why did you do that?'

'Do what?' he asked forking more egg into his mouth and chewing unconcernedly.

'Throw my gratitude back in my face and try and turn every encounter into an argument,' I said fiercely.

'I don't want you to be grateful to me and neither am I picking an  argument with you. We argue because you insist on having a conversation  when none is necessary.'

'Wow! You sure know how to deflate a girl.'

He stopped chewing. 'I'm not trying to deflate you. We are two people  who have nothing in common. However, we seem to have been thrown into  each other's company for the time being. Until I find a workable  scenario, I guess we'll just have to tolerate each other, but I'm not  going to pretend to be excited about the prospect, and I don't expect  you to be either.'

I jumped out of my seat. 'Well don't bother. I can take care of myself,' I said furiously.

'I made a promise to Robert and I'm keeping it,' he said quietly.

That stopped me in my tracks. 'You made a promise to Robert?'

He nodded.

I climbed back into the seat that I had vacated in a daze. 'When?'

'I used to go and visit him when you were in London.'

'What?'

'Yeah. He knew how I felt about you so he used to invite me around when you were gone.'

I shook my head in disbelief. 'Oh my God. He never breathed a word about it. Not once.'

He shrugged and bit into his toast.

God, he had really good teeth. I mean like really white and really  straight. I shook my head to get my thoughts back on track. 'What did he  make you promise?'

He sighed. 'I suppose it's not a secret. He made me promise that I would  make sure his children did not hurt you. He wanted me to watch over you  until you reach twenty-one. After that he said you would be able to  take care of yourself.'