The Billionaire's Elusive Lover (16 page)

Helen nodded, feeling her cheek brush against the hair against his chest and liking it, loving the way he smelled and the strong arms that held her, soothing her, one hand rubbing up and down her spine and slightly massaging her tense neck muscles. “Yes. He always said that he wanted me to be the kind of woman that men respected.”

“I respect you, Helen. And we’re getting married.” His tone would brook no argument, but that wasn’t unusual. He was used to setting down commands and having people following them instantly and without question.

All the tension was instantly back and her spine stiffened as her mind absorbed his words. When she finally understood, her brain shifting into high gear and comprehension filled in, she struggled against him, wanting to get away, to shove him farther from her and out of her reality. “No!” she said with a vengeance.

“Excuse me?” he asked, his voice calm and deadly. “We’re getting married, Helen. Just accept it.”

She sputtered at his audacity and shook her head, pulling down the first pair of jeans she encountered from a hanger. “I won’t! And there’s really nothing you can say that will make me marry you. The idea is ridiculous,” she snapped and stomped out of the closet, grabbing a white tee-shirt as she went.

Standing in the middle of the masculine bedroom, she was now stumped. She had outer clothes but Helen had no idea where his household staff had stored her underwear. She thought about putting on her jeans without underwear, but she just couldn’t do it.

Alec walked out, buttoning a pair of soft jeans himself, leaving the top button undone while he searched for a shirt. “That’s not fair,” she gasped, her eyes watching him as he casually walked out of the closet.

“I’m sorry?” he asked, stopping right in front of her and looking down into her troubled eyes. “I’m getting dressed, just as you are. What, in this particular instance is not fair except for the fact that you’re denying me my rights to marry you.”

Helen’s mouth fell open. “You’re rights?!” She couldn’t fathom what he was talking about. “What rights am I denying you?”

“You had sex with me two nights ago. That was implicit agreement that you would marry me,” he explained as if that were the most logical comment anyone had ever made.

“There were no assumptions made. Anything you assumed, you did on your own and I won’t be responsible for the warped way your mind works.”

He walked up to her and, with one hand, he snapped the towel out of her hands. “What…?” she gasped and tried to take a step back but he captured her with his strong hands. “You can’t…” she started to say but he stopped her completely by covering her mouth with his own, his tongue invading and forcing her to kiss him back. She resisted for maybe half a second before giving in to the desire to touch and feel and kiss and taste. There was no getting out of it, she wanted this man desperately.

When he felt her melt in his arms, he pulled away and looked down into her desire drugged eyes. “You’ll marry me, Helen. Or I’ll tell your father what we’ve done and he’ll force you to marry me.”

Without another word, he walked away from her, grabbing a shirt from a drawer as he headed towards the doorway. “Breakfast is on the terrace. Be ready in five minutes so we can eat quickly and tell your father the happy news.”

Helen stared at the now closed doorway, her confusion and anger so strong, she couldn’t form a coherent thought. He was demanding that she marry him? How odd, and very….traditional.

Chapter 11

Helen rushed through the hospital doors, both trying to get to her father’s bedside but also needing to escape from Alex’s presence. Since seeing him naked this morning, experiencing his kiss and being left wanting…she couldn’t get the image out of her mind. She wanted him and felt as if she were betraying her father by those feelings. She’d found her underwear and pulled on her clothes roughly, applied a smattering of makeup and then rushed out to find the terrace so she could confront him about his demands. But when she’d finally found the terrace, he was on the phone, speaking in German and Helen simply poured herself some coffee and grabbed a pastry before settling down to glare at him.

He got off the phone moments after she arrived but didn’t give her a chance to discuss the marriage issue. Instead, he gave her an update on her father, quickly transferring her energy away from an argument with him and changing to fear for her father despite Alec’s reassurance that her father had improved significantly overnight.

“Good morning, papa!” she said, with a bright, cheerful voice that she definitely wasn’t feeling inside. “How are you feeling?” she asked, bending over and kissing his cheek, noting that he really did look much better today. At least his lips weren’t blue and his face didn’t appear as gray. There was even a slight tinge of color in his upper cheeks.

“Wonderful,” he said, smiling weakly as he accepted her kiss, patting her on the hand in return. “You look refreshed,” he said, his stern eyes taking in the high color of her face and the sparkle in her eyes.

Helen turned away from his too-knowing look and pulled the uncomfortable looking hospital chair closer to the bed so she could sit next to him and still hold his hand. “I am,” she agreed with a falsely cheerful voice. “What’s the news? Have the doctor’s been by to visit yet this morning?”

Before he could answer, her mother stepped into the room, carrying three cups of coffee. While she was handing them out to Helen and Alex, she smiled down at Edward, a great deal of love shining through her eyes with that look. “He’s being moved to a regular room today. His progress has been great over the last twelve hours.”

Helen was so relieved, she slouched down on the plastic chair, blowing out a sigh. She took a bracing sip of the coffee and didn’t cringe at how awful the brew was. She was only comparing it to the delicious, rich coffee she’d had less than an hour ago with Alex and this stuff was borderline toxic, she thought. “So when might you be released from the hospital?” she asked, putting the cup of coffee off to the side.

“Helen, I need to speak with your father alone,” Alex interrupted, his eyes hard and absolute, challenging her to defy him.

Helen had been ignoring him since they’d arrived at the hospital, not wanting to even acknowledge his presence. But with his words, she looked over at him, knowing what he wanted to discuss and not liking it one little bit. Her fears escalating with the understanding that he was going to tell her father the exact opposite of what she wanted. “No, Alex. There’s nothing you need to say to my father.”

Elisia looked from her daughter to the man standing firmly at the end of the bed. She must have understood that something momentous was about to happen and stepped into the fray. “Helen, I need some help with something. Come along, dear.”

Helen shook her head. “No! Alex has nothing to say to papa,” she said firmly, her mouth set in grim lines while her arms were crossed over her chest, defiantly denying Alex his time alone with her father.

Alex didn’t reply, but simply stared at her, glaring right back at her. Helen tried to hold his gaze but couldn’t. She looked away first but was still shaking her head. “No, Alex. This is a family matter. Thank you for being here initially, but we’re fine,” she said, praying he’d take the hint and leave them all alone.

Without taking his eyes off of Helen, he said, “Elisia, would you mind taking Helen down to the waiting room? I have business to discuss with Edward.”

Helen shook her head, but when her mother took her arm, she pulled against leaving the room. “Don’t do it, Alex,” she pleaded. “This isn’t right and you and I need to talk more. This isn’t the solution.”

“You’ve already said all there is to say about the subject this morning. I have your answer,” Alex said with a grim expression.

She had no alternative but to allow herself to follow her mother. Looking down at her father, Helen noted his confusion and concern, and she just prayed that Alex wouldn’t say anything that would cause her father to regress.

Helen paced in the waiting room for five minutes before she couldn’t take it any longer. “He can’t do this,” she said to her mother and slipped out of the door. Getting back into the hospital room was easy since they were moving her father down the hallway to a private room.

Alec watched her from the doorway. “It’s done,” he said before she could provide any other comments to her father. “We’re getting married, Helen.”

“No!” she exclaimed, gripping the doorway to the waiting room. She felt the world sway and instantly, Alex was at her side, holding her steady. “Why?” she asked weakly. “Why did you do that?”

“It’s done,” he replied firmly, pulling her out of the way. “You’re father has already agreed to my suit.”

Helen caught her father’s eye and shook her head. “Why not?” he asked patiently.

“Because…” she started to say but Alex crossed his arms over his chest, daring her to counter his claim.

“I….we…just don’t….do well together,” she finished lamely.

“We ‘did well’ enough on Wednesday,” he countered.

Helen gasped at the reminder. “Don’t!”

“I will,” he challenged.

“You won’t!’

His smile showed no mercy. “Don’t challenge me on this Helen. You won’t like the consequences.”

She glared at him. “You wouldn’t!”

“I will. Set a date!”

“No.”

“Edward, the reason…”

“Fine!” Helen yelled. Pushing her fingers through her hair, she frantically tried to find an alternative. “But not until my father is out of the hospital.”

Alex smiled as if he’d won a huge point. “Good enough. The day your father is released will be our wedding day. Make a list of anyone you want to invite,” and handed her a note pad and pen from the nurse’s station.

Helen grabbed the note pad and stormed out of the room, furious with him for putting her into a corner like this. How could he! This was intolerable. She couldn’t marry a man that was so completely opposite everything she believed in. It wouldn’t work. It hadn’t worked with her mother and father so why did she think she could make it work with Alec? He was worse than her father! He was more powerful for starters. And power was bad. She didn’t like people with a lot of power. They tended to walk all over everyone. This morning was a case in point, she thought angrily.

She didn’t want to be a society wife, she thought, writing that down underneath “Controlling”. “Irritating, obnoxious, inconsiderate” all made it to the list. She didn’t have time to make a list of the people she wanted at her wedding because she was too busy making a list of all the reasons why they shouldn’t get married. And that list encompassed all of Alex’s personality flaws. She really didn’t like the man right now. She wrote “manipulative” at the top and underlined it.

“Oooh!” she marched around the waiting room, thinking of other traits she hated in the man.

After several minutes of pacing, her fury dropped to a slow simmer. She was still going to get out of this wedding but at least now, she could think and make plans. She had to get her mother on her side as well. Once she understood, then her father would definitely back her. She’d have to keep Alex away from her father though. Maybe there was some way she could limit the visitors in the hospital to only family members. Wasn’t it supposed to be that way anyway?

She slipped into the hallway, about to question one of the nurses about that policy but saw Alex talking to one of the nurses and a doctor. Well, he wasn’t actually talking. It was more of a commanding conversation. He seemed to be commanding and they were nodding their heads, almost pathetically eager to please him.

Well, that certainly put a damper on keeping him out. How was she going to tell the hospital staff that he wasn’t allowed in her father’s room when he was telling them what to do?

What a crazy situation she thought as she slouched down into yet another uncomfortable hospital chair, this one a teal blue that didn’t match anything else in the waiting room.

This situation was all her fault so she only had herself to blame for her current predicament. If only she’d kept away from him. If only she’d had more self-discipline. If only… why couldn’t she have fallen for some guy that was nice and artistic? More like her? They wouldn’t get into fights. They wouldn’t try to control each other but would respect each person’s boundaries.

“What are you thinking about?” Alec asked, pulling her to her feet and directly into his arms while at the same time, taking the note pad away from her and tossing it onto the chair she’d just vacated.

He chuckled as he read through her list of grievances over her head. “This isn’t exactly the best list for a wedding party.”

“You manipulated me!” she grumbled against his chest, leaning her forehead against his shoulder and refusing to look up at him.

“Of course I did. You wouldn’t agree to marry me this morning. I had to take things into my own hands.”

Helen sighed and tried to pull out of his arms. “That’s not a good start for a relationship, Alex.”

“You’re right. So tell me what kind of a wedding dress you’d like and I’ll have it delivered. You’re father is convinced he’s going to be out of the hospital in two weeks and will be walking you down the aisle.”

She pulled out of his arms, grateful that he gave her the little bit of space. “Alex, this is crazy. Our personalities simply won’t work in a marriage,” she tried to explain. “Look at my mother and father,” she said, waving her hands in the direction of the elevator where her father was being wheeled to the private wing of the hospital.