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He wanted her to be with him. He needed her to do it willingly.
Doubt flooded him for the first time, and the foreign emotion caused near panic to fill him. He didn’t like any of the weak emotions to penetrate his thick skin. He was too strong for weakness – he was too good for that.
Rafe turned down the hall and walked into his room, quietly shutting the door, not allowing his anger control over him. He wouldn’t slam the door; he wouldn’t smash his fists into walls. He’d have a drink and figure out what his next move was.
He would get what he wanted – always – it was just a matter of time.
Chapter Twenty-One
Guilt consumed Ari as she slowly opened her mother’s hospital room door. She hadn’t been to see her in two weeks. She’d gotten a cold that wouldn’t end, not enough to keep her from work, but bad enough that the hospital staff said she shouldn’t visit her mother – that her immune system was still too weak from her last surgery for her to be exposed.
The girls had wanted her to go to dinner with them since it was Friday and she had to turn them down, because seeing her mother was much more important.
She’d rushed from work, straight to the hospital, not even calling. She’d spoken to her mom enough on the phone over the past two weeks, but she just wanted to be with her in person.
Spending time with her mother was another reason why she couldn’t even think of signing any contract with Rafe. He’d made it clear that being with him was the only priority she was allowed to have.
If she was his mistress she couldn’t see her mother when she wanted to. That would never work out for her. On top of all of that, the man had her tied in so many knots that she didn’t know what was up or down anymore.
Two weeks ago when she’d awoken on the ship and found them at the docks, she hadn’t thought about anything other than escape. She’d made it from the ship without running into Rafe or any of his family members, and counted her blessings. She’d gotten as far from there as possible, and hadn’t looked back.
She was angry with herself for being disappointed at not hearing from him. It was what she wanted. She’d known he’d grow bored with the game of chasing her, and she should be shouting from the rooftops at her joy of being free. She didn’t have to worry about her weakness around him if she didn’t have to see him. It was a win-win situation.
“Ari! It’s so great to see you, darling. ”
Ari jumped at the sound of her mother’s voice. She’d been so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn’t even realized she’d pushed the door open all the way.
“I’m so sorry I haven’t come sooner, Mom, I feel terrible, but the doctors said I could cause you an infection,” she replied as she rushed to her mother’s bedside.
“Oh, posh. You have a life, dear, or I certainly hope you do. Young women have much more important things to do than to hang around an old woman’s bedside day and night, whether you’re sick or not. ”
“There is nothing in my life that’s more important than you, Mom. Dr. Morgan said there were some complications from the surgery. He said it was an infection that turned septic, and they have to keep a very close eye on you or you could have organ failure. Why does one bad thing keep happening after another?” Ari sobbed.
She wanted to take her mother home, though she still hadn’t told her that she’d had to sell the house. She didn’t know how she was going to put her mother through that when she’d been through so much already. It was going to be a very bad day, indeed.
“I told the doctor not to tell you any of that,” Sandra said sternly.
“I’m not stupid, Mom. You should’ve been out of here weeks ago. I knew something was going on. What was he supposed to do – tell me he had a big crush on you and refused to let you leave?”
“Mmm, he is quite handsome, isn’t he?”
“Mom, this is serious!” Ari scolded.
“Oh, Ari, you mustn’t worry so much. There’s nothing we can do about any of this so I tire of constantly discussing it. Please, please tell me anything to get my mind off it. I would even be happy if you start discussing the weather, or your last meal. ”
Ari looked at her mom for several seconds, how pale she looked, how much weight she’d lost. She was beyond worried about her, but her mom was right – talking about it over and over again wouldn’t help her mother heal. All she could do was give her mom what she asked for.
“I met these three wonderful women at work. They are a lot pushy, but make me smile when I think I have nothing left to smile about. They are a little crazy and I think you will adore them. Shelly, Amber and Miley are completely your type of women and like to try and find me brainless men, but they also make me laugh. I didn’t think that was something I’d ever do again after your accident. ”