THE BILLIONAIRE'S LOVER

12 | IN WHICH THERE'S MIXED FEELINGS (M)

She stiffened a little. He really did read minds, didn't he?

'Seems like the world expects you to have to do everything these days: care for yourselves, your families, your children, your jobs. . .Who takes care of you, Malora?'

I do, she thought. Just me.

But being tied up couldn't be considered being taken care of, could it?

She frowned, remembering his knowledgeable hands, the way he watched her so closely, how he seemed to know exactly how to push her limits. Was that not being taken care of?

She managed to lift her head up to look at him, only to find his dark eyes studying her.

And then he tangled his hands in her hair and took her mouth so sweetly, so thoroughly, it was as if she'd never been kissed before.

Then he seemed to remember where he was and stiffened. His eyes turned as cold as ice, his lips pursed in only what could be considered as bitterness. Malora watched him change before her eyes. It was pulling off a mask to reveal what was really underneath. Her breath got caught in her throat as the cold demeanor.

The shocking thing was how he gently extracted himself from her, placed her on the bed. It was a contract to his unwelcoming expression. He'd riveted to the Titan she knew and not Master T. There seemed to be a clear difference between the two.

Malora watched him dress from her place on the bed. After he's collected his thing from the nightstand, he pulled a sheet over her naked skin, and then he left her.

The door shut with its thick click.

*

The next day, Malora woke up early to use the swimming pool, glad that she didn't meet anyone on her way to and from the pool.  While the swimming cleared her head, it didn't stop her from thinking about Titan's sudden change in feelings.

It was honestly giving her a whiplash.

It made her think that, perhaps, she was merely here for what he'd really said; sex alone. At least until he'd exorcised her from his soul.

Shaking her head to rid herself of the thought of Titan, Malora went back to the apartment to bathe. Dressing in dark sweats and white tank top, she went into the kitchen to prepare her breakfast which consisted of a cup of piping hot,  black coffee and Rum-soaked Nutella French toasts, and a bowl of freshly sliced apples and pineapples. She'd just settled down to eat the food when her phone—the iPhone, aka drug dealer phone—flashed with an incoming text.

Wear nothing.

Malora looked at the screen again. Wear nothing. And felt a stirring of excitement deep in her core. Her body came alive with the thought of last night's shenanigans with Titan. Despite the encounter ending on a sour note, she enjoyed it.

Settling her phone on the marbled breakfast table, she quickly dug into her food with gusto and enthusiasm. By the time she finished eating, it was a little past 11.  After tucking the plate in the dishwasher, Malora went into the bathroom, taking her makeup kit with her and set to work. After applying the makeup, she paused to admire her handiwork.

In the bathroom mirror her eyes seem almost smoky. She undressed quickly and pulled on the bathrobe hanging behind the door. Malora still hadn't gotten used to her hairless body. It seemed too girlish, somehow, but she thought she knew why he wanted it so. Everything in his life was neat and tidy. Not a pubic hair out of place.

When she heard him in the corridor she froze.

Wear nothing.

Malora took the bathrobe off, slipped into the bedroom—not the one they played in last night, but her own—and stood inside the door. He was already there dressed in dark gray trousers and white shirt. His tie was loosened and his shirtsleeves had been haphazardly folded up his muscular arms. His watch glinted against his tan. He came to her and led her to the big red armchair by the large mirror. Malora saw herself in the mirror. Nude.