Penmort Castle (Ghosts and Reincarnation #1)(53)

Before she could announce her intention to go make coffee and politely suggest she’d bring him a cup which she thought would be a nice touch, he pushed up from his elbow.

“Come here,” he said softly as he swung his legs around and got out of bed.

He walked to the armchair by the window, grabbed his suit jacket and when she got close he took her hand, led her back to the bed and seated himself on it, tugging her into his lap.

His lap was definitely not where she wanted to be if she wanted to keep herself distant from him but she also had to keep up the charade.

However, Abby’s brain decided it didn’t like the charade all that much and registered how nice it was to sit in his lap. Her brain also took that opportunity to remind her about other nice things about Cash that she liked.

She absently noted his hands were doing something with his suit jacket but she was deep in thought. She was digging way deep to harden herself against the fact that she liked sitting in his lap and all the other things she liked about him besides.

She came back to the room when he leaned into her and tossed his jacket so it landed back on the chair.

And she felt her eyes grow wide just as she felt her body go still when she saw the long, slim, royal-blue, velvet box in his hand.

An unmistakable kind of box.

The kind of box that held jewellery.

Expensive jewellery.

“Cash,” she whispered as he forced it to click open with his thumb and her breath lodged in her throat at what she saw.

He took out a delicate diamonds-in-platinum bracelet.

Not a tacky, ostentatious one but instead it was subtle and striking, with slim links separated by tasteful, not overly large (but not small by a long shot) diamonds.

He tossed the box carelessly on the bed and his fingers wrapped around her arm below the elbow, slowly drifting down to her wrist. He lifted it and placed the bracelet around her wrist as Abby stared at his hands, concentrating on breathing.

“We were going into the meeting,” he murmured while working the clasp, “I saw this in a window. It made me think of you so I sent Moira in to get it.”

Abby failed at concentrating on her breathing. Her lungs burned their demand for oxygen but she couldn’t for the life of her remember how to give it to them.

Cash finished fastening the bracelet on her wrist but he wasn’t done. He brought her wrist to his mouth and he kissed her gently, his lips brushing the sensitive skin on the inside.

For a moment Abby almost pressed her hand against his face. She almost leaned in to press her lips to his. She almost burst into tears.

His eyes came to her, they travelled over her face and he must have read her intent because his expression got soft before his arms went around her and he whispered, “You can thank me now.”

The breath came back to her lungs and with it came something she didn’t know she had in her.

It was something ugly but useful, if she intended to guard her thoughts, her emotions, and, if she was honest, her heart.

It was something that made her say, “And what form of gratitude does a diamond bracelet buy you?”

She watched his face go blank and his arms seemed to convulse around her.

Then she watched, with no small concern, as his eyes narrowed.

“I’m sorry?” he asked and his voice had an edge, an edge that said quite clearly she should be very careful with her answer.

She wasn’t.

“The bracelet,” she replied, shaking her wrist as if to remind him, “I just want to be certain what I owe you for the bracelet.”

She watched a muscle jump in his jaw and it took everything she had not to jump off his lap.

Or worse, beg him to let her take it back.

“Would you care,” he said, very slowly and equally dangerously, “to tell me what the f**k you’re on about?”

Even sensing he was angrier than she’d ever seen him before, and it was not in doubt that Cash Fraser had a formidable temper, she kept playing her game. “I’m not on about anything. I just don’t want any surprises. I like to know what’s expected of me, you know that.”

He watched her for a moment before he stated, “Something’s changed.”

“Nothing’s changed,” Abby returned.

His arms got tighter on hearing her lie. “Something’s. Fucking. Changed.”

Oh dear Lord, Abby thought. He was saying “f*ck”.

He didn’t shy away from using that word. Except when he was angry he used it a different way.

And he was using it that way now which Abby knew wasn’t good.

She ignored his ominous use of the f-word and repeated her bald-faced lie, “Nothing has changed.”

His eyes were still narrow, his brows were drawn and he watched her mouth while she was speaking as if it was fascinating in its hideousness.

“Yesterday,” he said, his words still slow and dangerous as he went on, “I left you sweet and smiling in my bed and now you’re acting like a common whore.”

That stung but Abby hid it and returned coldly, “I’m not a common whore, Cash. I’m an uncommon one. You know that too because you made it so.”

At that he moved swiftly. So swiftly, her breath flew from her lungs.

She was on her back on the bed, sucking in air and he was on his side looming over her threateningly when he clipped, “You opened your legs for me Abby, you begged me to come inside. I didn’t f**king make you a whore.”