When I'm with You (Because You Are Mine #2)(13)

“I just bring it up because the concept of us having a relationship isn’t all that far-fetched, although what I’m proposing is hardly something our parents would have condoned. No. This is just about you and me and our needs.”

You and me and our needs.

For a moment the silence seemed to press down on her until she felt as if she couldn’t breathe. She’d wanted Lucien for so long, but he’d remained an impossible, elusive fantasy. Was all that about to change?

“Did you know what you were doing when you walked in here today, pretending to be my chef?” he asked quietly.

Her mouth fell open in surprise at his question. “I was fighting for something I want. Very much. I was hoping to convince you.”

“I don’t think that’s what you were doing. Not entirely anyway.”

She laughed at his absolute confidence. “Please, enlighten me then.”

“I think you came here because of what I said last night. You’ve always run like an out-of-control wildfire, Elise. You knew I would give you a limit to your world, a measure of control that you sorely need. You threw down the gauntlet when you walked in here today and pretended to be my new chef. Well, I accept your dare. If you play by my rules.”

His quietly spoken words roared in her ears.

“I’m not sure what you mean.” She meant it, but something about the hard edge to his voice and the dangerous glint in his light eyes caused her skin to prickle with heightened awareness. Was it fear that mingled with her confusion, or was it excitement?

His gaze flickered over her face thoughtfully. “The wild child of the European social circuit, partying with the royals, flitting from one career to another . . . from one man to another. You’ve been the very embodiment of self-indulgence,” he mused.

“That part of my life is over,” she stated with much more confidence than she felt. It was her greatest fear that she wasn’t strong enough, that her lofty goals and aspirations were a façade draped over a hollow center. Ever since her friend Michael had been found dead, she’d vowed to change. But what did she really know about taking control of her life, of making it worthwhile? Precious little.

“It’s very hard to turn over a new leaf. If you are to be successful in this venture, a degree of self-control will be required.”

“I’m perfectly capable of looking out for myself,” she said with regal dismissiveness.

“I look forward to witnessing it.”

“Well you will,” she retorted hotly, realizing too late how defensive she’d sounded in response to his calm manner. She bristled, self-doubt and uncertainty rising in her when he merely studied her. “But what about . . . the other?”

“The other?” he asked, eyebrows going up. Helplessness twined with excitement in her chest. She had never been so confused by a man in her life.

“You were insinuating you wanted us to . . .” She trailed off as she lamely pointed at him, herself, and him again in a joining gesture. Join how, precisely? He wasn’t saying. Her desperation grew when he didn’t rush to assist her. “Do you want me, Lucien?”

“Of course I want you. You’re the most tempting creature I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

Her mouth fell open in shock at that. He was usually so stoic, so understated. Nothing could have taken her more off guard than his bald admission.

“You sent me away. In Paris, that night.” She listened to her heart pounding in the silence that followed.

“I didn’t send you away because I didn’t want you, Elise. I sent you away because you’re dangerous.”

“To your person?” she laughed.

“To my peace of mind. You’re like a thorn in a man’s flesh,” he muttered. “But none of that matters now. You walked in here today, and as I said, I think you were telling me something significant by doing that. Don’t you?”

She found it hard to meet his steady stare. “Maybe,” she conceded breathlessly.

“I’m not asking you to leave. If you go, it’ll be by your choice.”

Something about his honesty helped her find her courage. “You must know I’m attracted to you as well. I have been for as long as I can remember,” she admitted shakily.

His body jerked slightly. He caught himself and remained unmoving. For a split second, she thought he was going to straighten and . . . do something. Hold her?

“I will be the one to set the rules, Elise,” he said instead.

“Why?” she asked, back to being bewildered.

“Because it’s in my nature to be the dominant during sex.”

She just stared at him. A frisson of excitement went through her belly and flickered between her thighs.

“Surely you know about such proclivities?” he prompted.

She swallowed thickly. Yes, she knew. Not by direct experience. Typically, Elise liked to be the one to call the shots. Not in a dominatrix manner. It’s just that she typically got her own way, and that included sexual interaction. What Lucien said had struck her as both alien and exciting at once.

“Of course I do,” she blustered, trying to hide her confusion. She didn’t want him to think she was naïve, but well . . . she was, in many ways. Most of the people who considered her the irrepressible, wild coquine would be shocked to know just how inexperienced she was.