Hunter was silent for a while. Finally he said, “And what happened after he passed?”
“I was mostly on my own.”
“That must’ve been hard. Especially without funds.”
I shrugged again, pulling up in front of a sprawling building with a few golf carts parked haphazardly out front. I parked beside the closest and shut off the engine. “I had a few grants that I used for living expenses and worked a few hours in the library, so I made do. At the time I thought the overpriced education would open doors to fabulous and high-paying jobs…”
“Bad timing. A few years earlier, and it would have.”
“Yeah, that’s what Kimberly says every time she buys me lunch.” I climbed from the seat and grabbed my computer. “Although I did land a high-paying job, regardless of the field, so I have that going for me.”
“Except for the additional requirements asked of you in the name of some rich man’s whim…”
I glanced at Hunter as he opened the door for me. His expression was completely blank. It didn’t match the heavy tone he’d just used.
“I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t want to, Hunter,” I said as we entered the building.
We walked through the plush halls in silence. Decorative sconces lined the walls and a busy pattern confused my eyes underfoot.
We twisted and turned through the corridors until we reached rooms 1022 and 1023. Hunter opened 1023 and once again held the door, following me in after. The room opened up before me in an abundance of hotel elegance. A king-sized bed sat against the far wall, a huge desk squatted in the corner, a chair in the other corner, a couch near the door—the one room was the size of my bedroom in San Francisco and adjoining living room, both. Maybe even the eating area. It was huge!
“Jeez—why would you think I needed this much space?” I wandered in, walking to the right to look in the empty closet before peeking in the adjacent bathroom.
“Your bags should be here any moment.”
I emerged as Hunter was undoing the catch on an interior door on the side. Once opened, another white door barred the way—the one to his room. He faced me from beside the door. “Whenever you want privacy, go ahead and close this.”
“Yes, because it’s a door. It closes…”
He ignored my sarcasm, staring at me with an unreadable expression. “Olivia, I have to ask. How do you feel about Monday?”
Goosebumps spread across my body as I realized what he was talking about. My cheeks heated. “It felt good. I wanted it.”
His eyes delved into mine. “I realize you aren’t like the others. You didn’t accept these conditions for monetary or even professional gain. You’re in a dangerous place, Olivia. I’m not a man who feels. My intimacy is a distant thing, at best. I don’t love, and you have no future with me. I’m not good for you.”
I folded my arms over my chest as uncertainty washed over me. “What are you saying?”
A glimmer of helplessness entered his gaze. “I can’t give you what you’re going to want. But I won’t push you away, either. I’m selfish and I want you, but I’ll just keep taking and taking until I use you up. I need you to understand that. I need you to understand the danger you’re in.”
“So…” I shifted to my right side, confusion and rejection dragging down the corners of my mouth. Heat prickled the back of my eyes, tears at the ready. It felt like a breakup. “Are you firing me, or what?”
“No. This conversation is to absolve me of guilt. I’m sexually attracted to you in a way I haven’t been with anyone in a very long time. Possibly ever. I’d take you every day if I could. And I might. But I’m a soulless, heartless bastard who shuts off once he’s taken what he wants. That’s just the way it is. I won’t lie with you and cuddle all night. I won’t be able to love you, Livy. So if that’s not something you can handle, I’ll respect it if you take a job elsewhere in my company. I’ll set you up with whatever you need.”
Unshed tears coated my eyes. It felt like he was ripping something from inside me that I barely realized he’d planted in the first place. I let my hands fall to my side. Now I knew, for sure, that he would steamroll me by the time this was all through.
The question was, was the journey to love, no matter how it ended, more important than keeping the object of my affection? Because I was absolutely on that road. He knew it too, and I’d gotten a taste of it yesterday when all I could think about was seeing him again. I had to experience more of him, because in my heart, I knew he had so much more to offer.