The Naughty King(31)

I shake my head. “That’s only because of my father. Alexander’s afraid that I’m here to try to mess up the deal the two of you have going for parts of my Buchanan Industries.”

“That’s not it. Trust me. Alexander knows that nothing you could do would pull my loyalty away from him.”

That hurts, knowing there’s nothing I can do to make Yamada change his mind about my father’s company. I guess it’s time to face the facts. Alexander has won this war. It’s not fair and it’s wrong in so many ways, but there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do to stop Yamada’s company from making a deal with Alexander.

I sigh and drop my head. “I’m such an idiot. I’m a project to him—nothing more—and I’m stupid for letting him in my pants. I’m usually a lot smarter and don’t allow myself to lose control. He said he was going to torture me until I quit. I guess fucking me and then showing me that I mean nothing to him is his tactic to get me to do that.”

Yamada tips my chin back up with his bent index finger. “Don’t discount yourself like that. The last girl King warned Yamada to stay away from was Jess, and he was madly in love with her. The guy turned into a jealous maniac whenever another man even thought about breathing in her direction. I haven’t seen him act that way—all possessive and shit—toward another woman since then—not until this weekend with you, that is.”

I furrow my brow. “What are you saying?”

Yamada sighs, and his eyes soften a bit. “He’s different with you. King can be an asshole—everyone knows that—but you have to be able to see past all that to see the real him.”

I glance over at Alexander, who is watching Yamada and me intently. His words about seeing the real Alexander waft through my head as I remember how happy Alexander looked when I first spotted him tonight. Is it possible for me to even get to know that guy? Would he ever be like that with me?

The short answer to that is no. It’s never going to happen. Alexander sees me as the enemy and nothing is ever going to change that. For some reason knowing that fact causes my stomach to twist.

I take a deep breath. Being in this room while I break down can’t happen. I won’t allow Alexander King to see me cry. That implies weakness and I need to maintain a strong front when it comes to him.

“I’ll be back,” I tell Yamada before I take off in search of a restroom.

My eyes burn and I have no idea why in the hell I’m allowing the situation with Alexander to get to me at this very moment. Must be the damn liquor that’s flowing through my veins. It’s causing my emotions to surface at the most inopportune time.

When I finally find the bathroom, I rush through the door and place my hands on the counter. I close my eyes as I count down from ten to calm myself. Mother taught me as a little girl to do this when I felt my emotions getting out of check. It has always helped me to regain control and refocus on the situation with a level head.

“Three . . . Two . . . One . . .” I count aloud but the sound of the bathroom door opening causes my eyes to snap open. “Someone is in here.”

“I know that.” Alexander’s deep voice cuts through the room as he closes the door and locks it, closing us in the tiny space together. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I sigh as I stare at him through the mirror when he walks up behind me. “What are you doing in here?”

He raises one eyebrow. “Is it wrong that I came in to check on you? You’ve had a lot to drink. I wanted to make sure you weren’t in here puking your guts out.”

I turn to face him and fold my arms over my chest. “So what if I was. It’s not like you care.”

He flinches. “Do you really think that I’m that big of an asshole that I wouldn’t come to check on you? While we’re out here, you’re my responsibility to keep safe.”

“No. I’m not. I can take care of myself,” I fire back.

“I’m aware that you’re fully capable of handling yourself, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t . . .”

“Don’t what?” I prod.

“Care, all right? I’d care if you were all alone in here sick. ” He pinches the bridge of his nose and shuts his eyes for a brief second. “I’m not a dick all of the time.”

“Just most of the time, then?” His omission causes me to smile. Maybe I need to give Yamada some credit. He might not be so far off the mark, after all.

Alexander shakes his head as he closes the distance between us and backs me up against the counter. He drags his teeth slowly over his bottom lip as he reaches up and cups my face. “Why can’t I leave you alone?”