“Why?”
“Low tolerance.One glass and I’ll start dancing topless, or worse.”
He laughed, imagining her dancing around the room, stripping.“I don’t mind.”Then it occurred to him that she might be talking from experience.Someone else shared that memory with her.He stopped smiling.“What could be worse than going topless?”
She ducked her head and shook it.“So you and your friends are terribly wealthy, party hard, and…?”
He wasn’t ready to shareInfinitus Agendumwith her yet.“We go on wild adventures.I’ve skied K2.”Her jaw dropped.She scooted closer when he talked about diving the Blue Holes in the Bahamas and swimming with great white sharks in South Africa.
“Can I come with you next time?Please?”
Lex groaned.He should have known better than to mention extreme adventure to her.The stunts she’d pulled as a teen flashed in his head.“Girlfriends are never allowed.Too dangerous.”
Jillian gave an unladylike snort.“What do you guys date?Pearl-wearing debutants?”
His ex-girlfriend had loved pearls, and she never wanted to know where he disappeared to with his friends.“I’m not sure where our next trip will take us, so we’ll see.Maybe we’ll kayak in the Bashkaus River again or Vanuatu.”
Jillian’s eyes narrowed.“SiberiaandMarum Volcano in South Pacific?Now you’re just bragging.”
He loved that she understood him.“Dom is making us heatproof suits.We might beat Mackley’s record.”
“I hate you.”She got up.
“Leave them,” he said when she picked up the bowls.“Douglas can take care of them tomorrow.”
“You don’t leave dirty dishes on the table, Alexander.”
“Says who?”
“My mother.She was stickler for rules.Didn’t matter where we lived.The rules were the same.Then there’s the leftover stew.Leftovers must be put away.”She cocked her eyebrows.
“Woman, you drive me crazy.”He took the bowls from her hands.He imagined her and her mother living in some murky backroom.He’d build her a mansion in every goddamn town his company had a holding.“I’ll do it.”
She grinned.“I was hoping you’d say that.You need to learn to take care of yourself.”
“If you must know, I took care of myself in college.”
“Yeah, in a frat house.Didn’t you have someone cooking and cleaning for you?”
“Nope.We did it all.”He carried the plates and placed them in the sink.“When do you need to be at the studio tomorrow?”
“Ten.”She tucked hair behind her ear, a gesture he now associated with nervousness.“I’ll, uh, finish putting my clothes away.”She looked at her watch and frowned.“Wow.It’s only eight.”
He wasn’t sure why she was acting nervous all of a sudden.“We’ll find something to do to pass time,” Lex said and winked, grinning when her cheeks grew pink.
“How about chess.I’d like to beat you fair and square instead of you letting me win.”She gave him another tiny smile and left the room.
There were far more fun games they could indulge in, and they didn’t include a board or small wooden pieces.Maybe moving into his home had changed the dynamics of their relationship.It was up to him to make sure she was comfortable.She wanted board games?They would play board games.As long as he got to sleep with her in his arms.
Lex dumped everything in the garbage disposal.He had no bowls for leftovers or any intention to reheat the beef stew tomorrow.He placed the utensils in the sink.Turning off the lights, he stopped by the living room, grabbed his handcrafted wood and leather case of chessboard and pieces, and headed for his bedroom.
Theirbedroom.
Jillian wasn’t there.Her suitcases and the shopping bags he and Douglas had hauled upstairs were missing.Panic slammed into him.He threw the chess set on the bed, left the room, and once again followed sounds to the only guestroom in the penthouse.
The empty suitcases and shopping bags littered the bed.Shoes and boots were on the floor.Sounds came from the walk-in closet.
He knocked and entered.
