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“I’m ready,” she finally said as she got up, grateful he’d undone her ties.
Neither of them said a word as she found her clothes from the night before lying on the foot of the bed. She didn’t bother concealing herself as she dressed. What was the point? He’d seen her, gotten what he wanted, and was done for the night.
She needed to get out of there before she cried.
“I have the contract if you’re ready to sign. ”
Ari didn’t allow her body to tense, didn’t allow herself to show any emotion to his words. Rage and hurt were dancing around for dominancy inside her, but she made sure her face remained blank as she slipped on her shoes.
She said nothing else as she made her way from his room. She heard the sound of his feet moving behind her, probably to make sure she left for the night – that she didn’t try to hide somewhere and then sneak up and stab him through the heart.
It was actually a very real threat.
“Think about it,” were his parting words as she stepped out his front door and climbed in the backseat of his car. Humiliation was present as Ari refused to meet Mario’s eyes. How many times had he taken Rafe’s mistresses home? How many had he given the very last ride to? Ari was just one more in a long line of women.
There was no reason for her to feel the melancholy that had settled over her, but she couldn’t seem to shake it. Rafe’s torture had been affective. If she was in a relationship with him, she wouldn’t want to defy him – wouldn’t want that build-up of pleasure to be for nothing.
As Mario pulled onto the street, Ari fought her tears. She wouldn’t cry in front of Rafe’s employee. Mario was obviously loyal to him and would report back that Ari had fallen apart. She would be home soon and then she could cry, though she didn’t see what good it would do her.
Thankfully, Mario kept quiet, even gave her enough respect not to look at her in the rearview mirror. She like Rafe’s driver and normally would’ve tried to break the silence, ask him how his day was, but Ari couldn’t speak. If one word slipped from her mouth she knew she’d become a blubbering mess.
She managed to make it all the way home without a breakdown, then dealt with the insistence of Mario walking her to the door. She got inside without the key giving her too much trouble, then calmly walked to her bed. Only when she knew it was safe to do so, did she allow her knees to buckle and her heart to break.
Somewhere along this journey, she’d developed feelings for Rafe. She wouldn’t say she was in love with him, but she’d grown to anticipate his arrival, look forward to their sparring matches, and desire his touch. She’d been stupid enough to begin falling for a man who made it more than clear he wasn’t available for anything but what he wanted.
It wasn’t enough for her. She would lose herself in him if she kept seeing him. She would give herself this one morning to cry over Raffaello Palazzo, then she’d make sure to avoid him no matter what it took. If she slept with him again, she wouldn’t recover. If she kept seeing him, she’d end up ha**ng s*x with him.
Sleep finally removed her from her misery, and when Ari woke up in the late afternoon she had a firm resolve to listen to herself. She’d just have to take it one step, and one day, at a time for now.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Rafe slammed down the phone as he stood. She’d disconnected her phone. He’d given her a week to cool off before he’d began calling again. She ignored his calls, messages, and emails.
He was finished giving her time. She could do this the easy way or the hard way, but the bottom line was that she would be his by tomorrow. He was finished waiting.
“Cancel my meetings,” Rafe announced to his stunned assistant as he walked past her and straight through the offices to the elevators.
He was supposed to meet with a congressman in an hour. He didn’t care. There was nothing more important on his agenda than getting his life back in order. He knew he had a problem – he was just choosing to ignore it. For some strange reason, Arianna Harlow had gotten under his skin. He refused to acknowledge the feelings for her growing increasingly fast within his heart – still trying to delude himself that it was about sex and only sex.
He wanted her all the time, night and day, but what angered him was he missed their daily interactions. His time with her in the hospital had been… surprisingly pleasant. He’d looked forward to hearing the sound of her laughter, seeing her victorious smile when she bested him at a game of poker, and the way she always had a kind word to say to the staff treating her.