“I want to go with them.”
Rafe turned incredulous eyes on Ari and she felt a deep level of satisfaction. Let him think about that. She was sticking with their agreement, but if she wanted a weekend off once in a while, he’d have to deal with it. Heck, if he didn’t like her plans, he could always replace her.
The thought of him doing just that caused a small lump to form in her throat. Vivid images took over her brain, images of him with another woman on his arm, and of the two of them in private, doing heaven knew what —oh, but she knew what, and it killed her.
“Where are you girls planning to go?” he asked, now wearing his poker face. Oh, yes, he was a master at hiding his emotions. At the moment he looked as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Ari hated it when he acted that way.
“Vegas!” Rachel announced, and began to sing “Viva, viva…”
Rafe’s expression darkened and a shudder passed through Ari.
“Why do you want to go to Vegas?”
“Do you seriously need to ask that? Um, let me see, hot guys, cheap drinks, exotic shows. Do I need to continue?”
“You’ve been on a mission to cause as much trouble as possible lately, Lia. I think a trip to Vegas is a train wreck waiting to happen,” Rafe scolded.
“Well, it’s a good thing I’m over twenty-one then, isn’t it? I can go wherever I want to.”
Rafe and Lia glared at each other for several tense moments before Rafe shrugged. Before Ari could get too excited over his apparent acquiescence, he spoke again.
“Fine. If you insist on going, I can’t stop you. I’ll just have to escort you there. I have business I can take care of in the city.”
“We weren’t inviting you,” Rachel spoke up, her eyes rounding in near panic.
“Tough. I’ll call Shane. We have a new hotel going in and we can check on its progress.”
At the mention of Shane’s name, Lia perked right up and Ari knew she was done for. Her weekend with the girls had just turned into a family affair. She didn’t know whether to be excited or…OK, she’d say it to herself! — pissed off. At the fuming look in Rafe’s eyes, excitement was starting to win out.
“If you insist, I guess you can tag along. There are rules, though,” Lia warned.
At her words, Rafe’s lips quirked, and he lifted an eyebrow and waited. Ari knew he was thinking, This ought to be good.
“This is a girl trip, which means we get time alone. You don’t get to trail us everywhere we go, and you don’t get to rain on our parade for having a good time. That means no bodyguards tagging along, and no telling us we aren’t allowed out of the room unless you’re by our side.”
“And if I don’t agree to your rules?”
“Then we’ll sneak Ari out of here right now and disappear to some unknown location where you’ll never be able to find us,” Rachel piped up with a confident smile.
Rafe couldn’t help himself — he burst out laughing. Ari’s jaw dropped at the sound. The man was handsome when he was brooding, but with a smile on his face and laughter pouring from him, he was breathtaking.
His eyes caught hers; his laughter died and his pupils dilated. Ari knew that look well, and she expected to be feeling very satisfied not too long after Rafe’s sisters left the room.
“I’ll agree to let you go to a show on your own, but you have to keep your cell phones with you in case something happens. You also have to use my driver. I’m not agreeing to your…request for no bodyguards until I assess the situation.”
“Fine. We’ll agree to that…for now. We’ll discuss the bodyguard issue later,” Lia conceded.
“Good. Now, get out. Ari and I have a lot of work to do.”
“I’ll just bet you do,” Rachel snickered as she grabbed her sister’s arm and led her from the room.
Ari swallowed as Rafe steadily walked to the door and casually turned the lock. The sound of it latching seemed like a loud boom to her sensitive ears — her heart picked up speed.
As he turned around with a predator’s gleam in his eyes, she stood on trembling legs and automatically began backing away. She didn’t understand why, because she wanted him to take her. Her body was more than ready.
“You know, Ari, when this all started I was very generous in giving you one day a week to yourself.”
He spoke as he advanced on her slowly but steadily, as if he had all the time in the world. And he did. Ari stopped in the middle of the room, refusing to retreat any further.
“I’ve decided I’ll take whatever time I want for myself,” she answered him bravely.
“That doesn’t work for me. You see, we have an agreement — and the deal we’ve made doesn’t have provisions to change the rules halfway through the game.”
“You don’t own me, Rafe. I’ve played along with you, but I’m still my own person and I can do whatever makes me happy. If I want to take a weeklong vacation, then I will do just that!”
A gleam entered his eyes as if he was hearing exactly what he wanted. Excitement coursed through Ari. She should be furious with him, but their little dance was stirring feelings inside her that rivaled a volcanic explosion.
The closer his steps brought him to her, the stronger her cravings grew.
“I don’t think so. It just might be time for you to be reminded of our agreement.”
“You can’t make me stay,” she called, though she didn’t want to leave. She should want to run screaming, but she was rooted to the spot.
“You’re right. I would never force you to do anything. I will certainly persuade you — I will demand obedience, but the bottom line is that you can walk out the door at any time.”
Ari looked into his eyes as she tried to figure out what he was doing now. Was he releasing her from her duty — calling her debt paid in full? Did she want it to be over or would she be devastated? Confusion coursed through her.
“You don’t want to go. I think you’re very satisfied, but you don’t want to admit to that. You think that admitting to liking our arrangement makes you a bad person. There’s no shame in feeling excitement over what others find taboo. Leave the rest of the world out of this. It’s just you and me — right here — right now.”
“I don’t know what you want!” she said in frustration.
“I want to remind you of who I am — I want to leave no doubt in your mind that I’m the one in charge. I choose to give you choices, but I can take them away when I’m unhappy.”