Claimed by the Sicilian Tycoon (Criminal Seduction #3)(49)

The meaning of his words hit, and Lyra shook her head even as her heart squeezed. It all made sense now, perfect f*cking sense. Her temper caught. She narrowed her eyes. “You want to put me in the apartment and keep me there for as and when you feel like coming to see me?” she hissed.

He nodded, that satisfied look still in place, seemingly unaware how thin the ice was. “Precisely.”

Lyra bolted upwards, walked forward, and stabbed a finger into his rock hard chest. “Jesus Christ, Andros, you have f*cking cheek.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m not a toy you can pick up whenever you like and then throw away the moment you tire of it.”

He started, the satisfaction replaced with shock. “I did not say you were.”

“How dare you?” she hissed.

Confusion chased across his features as he spoke. “I am giving you what you wanted. You said you expected our relationship to last longer. Well now it will.”

“How much longer?” Lyra challenged.

“Pardon?”

“A month,” she asked. “A year, five years?”

Andros frowned. “I do not know the answer to that.”

“And what about when the time comes for you to marry?” she asked, the words almost lodging themselves in her throat. Over the past months she’d had plenty of time to think about Andros with other women. Fucking them, stroking them, then one day, marrying them. Her chest ached at the thought, her head hurt. She didn’t want any other women with him. She wanted the Sicilian all to herself, and yet, not once had Lyra thought that was even a remote possibility.

He was never hers in any other way than the obvious, and that reality hurt her unbearably. His words were merely confirming it.

“I have no intentions of marrying in the near future,” Andros said.

She clenched her fists. “But you will eventually, Andros, you know that you will. Are you planning to keep me here, your perfect, convenient toy, without your wife’s knowledge?”

“You are asking me for answers to hypothetical questions,” he said, throwing up his hands.

“So stretch yourself.”

“I do not have any answers!”

“Then tell me why you want me here so much,” she demanded. “Tell me that at least, give me that one little bit of honesty and perhaps I will consider doing as you have asked.”

“You know why I want you here,” he said, stepping forward and smoothing her hair back from her face. The action was so tender, brought back so many memories, that Lyra had to grit her teeth tight to stop from giving him a resounding yes to everything he wanted. But you have more guts than that, her mind whispered, you always have had.

“To f*ck me,” she hissed. “What’s the matter? The women in Sicily, or wherever the hell you’ve been, not quite up to the job? Did they not do it how you wanted, not f*ck you quite right?”

He scowled. “There have been no other women.”

Her heart soared, even as her mind denied it. “Sure.”

“Do not question my honor.”

“They why?”

“Why what?” he demanded.

“Why have there been no other women?” Lyra asked.

He shrugged. “I have not had time.”

Soared and dropped. “So nothing to do with me then. Jesus, why did I even imagine it would be?”

Andros frowned and gestured to her, confusion writ across his face. “Lyra, I do not understand why you are being so hostile. I am giving you exactly what you wanted.”

“You have no idea what it is I want.”

“You want me.”

She nodded slowly, crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay, fine, I’ll give you that. I do. I can be the grown up and admit it. I want you. Now tell me the same. Tell me why you want me here so bad.”


“Because you are f*cking perfect,” he growled. “I want to be inside of you constantly. It is all I can think about. All those months I was away, I thought of you all the time. Here we are, the moment I arrive back in the country, and already I am inside of you.”

“Because you happened to see me in the street.”

“I would have come to find you,” he said. “A week, maybe two, but this would have happened regardless.

“You’re flying back out of the country.”

“I intend to return at some point.”

Lyra ran a hand across her face, trying to get her head around his words. He was too close to her, his presence too much. She couldn’t think straight. The scent of his body, the heat coming from him, it made her feel weak. She was a mere second from telling him that yes, she would do as he asked, anything to have him in her life again, if only for a short time. But then…

“And what about when it becomes too much again, like last time?” she asked carefully. “Will you just dump me all over again?”

He bristled. “I have already explained how I plan to handle that.”

“And you have no idea how insulting that is,” she cried. “Pick me up and put me down when the whim takes you. To stay away from me when it feels like you might want to see me so you can keep your f*cking emotions in check.”

“It is not a question of emotions.”

“So you feel nothing for me?”