The Playboy's Princess (32 page)

She eventually found herself back at Drew’s house. She looked up at the door, and despite the fact she’d lived there for over three months, it suddenly felt alien to her.

The brass knocker shaped like a fleur de lis glinted in the sunlight, but she couldn’t bring herself to reach forward and open the door. She felt like she needed a little time before she faced Drew. She was about to turn and walk down the street to find something to do, anything that could occupy another hour of her time, when the door opened.

“Oh, there you are,” Drew said, looking relieved. “I couldn’t find you anywhere, and your room was empty.”

“I just went to get a muffin.” Jade was surprised at how steady her voice was.

Inside, her stomach rolled and her heart clenched in a vice. So much for that comforting numbness. She’d been so stupid. Seeing him now, with his messy bed hair and his I’m-happy-to-see-you smile was all too much for her. She loved him. She couldn’t lie to herself any longer. She fucking loved him.

He glanced down at her empty hands and frowned. “You didn’t bring me one?”

“No, sorry.”

She pushed past him into the house and made an escape attempt for the staircase. Maybe if she locked herself in her bedroom for the rest of the day, she could sort through her feelings and work out how to move forward. The only thing she could think of was to get away from him, but she knew that was just the hurt and panic talking. When she calmed down, she was sure that she could be more rational.

“Hey, what’s up with you?” he called, following her to the stairs.

“Nothing.”

“Jade.” He grabbed her arm and spun her to face him. “Seriously, what’s up?”

The metal of his wedding ring burned against her arm. She jerked free of his grasp, and he gave her a stunned look.

“I just want to go to my room, okay?”

She turned to go back up the stairs, but he raced ahead of her and blocked her path. He folded his arms across his chest and stared her down, moving from side to side to block her attempts to get past him.

“Get out of my way,” she seethed.

“I will as soon as you tell me what the hell’s wrong with you this morning.”

“You want to know what’s wrong?” There was anger in her voice, a lot of anger. She’d been trying her best to keep her emotions under control until she’d gotten to her room, but his pushing had made them explode. “I don’t appreciate being woken up at two in the fucking morning by Tully screaming.”

His eyes went wide, and he leaned back a bit, dropping his arms to his sides. She took advantage of his stunned silence and physically pushed him to the side of the staircase so she could get past. She heard him scrambling up the stairs behind her, and when she reached the landing, he caught up and held her arm tightly.

“I’m sorry if we woke you up, but I get the feeling that a little lost sleep isn’t really why you’re upset.”

“Of course it’s why I’m upset.”

“Is it really? Or are you upset about
why
you were woken?”

Jade sputtered, not able to form words. She hated that her emotions were obviously so plain on her face that Drew could see straight through her.

“Because,” he said, not waiting for her to answer, “you’ve made your feelings about me perfectly clear. All we have is a business arrangement. You’ve told me that over and over again.”

“I know that,” she snapped.

“So, which is it, then? This seems like a bit of an overreaction to just losing an hour of sleep.”

His eyes were boring into hers, looking for some meaning that she didn’t want him to discover. She couldn’t tell him that it hadn’t just been an hour of sleep, that she hadn’t been able to close her eyes without imagining the visual to go along with the audio she’d heard. She couldn’t tell him that she felt sick to her stomach just looking at his face because she knew he’d been kissing someone else just a few hours ago, or that the sexy bed hair he was sporting was the effect of another woman running her fingers through it.

No, she couldn’t tell him any of that. Instead, she turned and ran back down the stairs, heading for the front door.

“Jade!” he cried in frustration, catching her just has she put her hand on the door knob.

He turned her to face him, and he was closer than she’d been expecting. His face was only inches from hers, and she hated that he smelled so good, like coffee and cinnamon. He pulled her out of the entryway and into the formal living room. They never used the room, and it added to her feeling of alienation in her own home.

“Sit,” he commanded.

She sat and folded her arms over her chest, looking determinedly at the ground. He sat next to her, annoyance radiating off him, but there was something else as well…Concern, perhaps?

“Jade, please. What’s wrong?” His voice was softer than it had been on the staircase, and when she looked at his face, his eyes were big and full of worry.

“Nothing. I’m sorry. I’m just tired and—”

“Don’t give me that bullshit. You’re upset, and I want to know
why
. I’m your husband, damn it, and I deserve to know.”

“Oh,” she laughed. “You’re my
husband?
Is that why there was another woman in your bed last night?”

“I knew it!” he said, shooting to his feet and beginning to pace in front of the sofa where she was still seated. “You’ve never shown any interest in having a physical relationship with me since…well, since the honeymoon.”

“I know,” she said miserably, feeling like a hypocrite.

“So, do you?”

“What?”

“Do you have a physical interest in me? You have to know that if I thought having
you
was an option, then Tully wouldn’t have been here.”

“I…I don’t know.”

He glared at her, frustration and lust pouring out of his features. Suddenly he was on his knees in front of her, breathing heavily.

“Is it an option?”

“Drew, don’t.” She leaned back in the chair, away from him.

“Is it an option?” he asked again with a bit more force.

“Is what an option?” she whispered, trying to buy herself some time.

He let out a low growl and pressed himself against her. “You. Me. Together. Is it an option?”

Jade bit her lip. A part of her wanted to scream that of course it was. That it had been an option since their first meeting in the café. But even as she thought how to compose the words, the sound of Tully begging him to fuck her harder echoed in her ears.

Drew didn’t wait for an answer. He leaned forward and claimed her lips. She resisted at first, leaning back into the couch until she had nowhere else to go. He moved with her, pinning her below him, and too easily, they were horizontal.

“Tell me to stop,” he breathed into her mouth.

She hummed wordlessly, but she couldn’t bring herself to push him away.

“Tell me you don’t want this,” he tried again.

She opened her eyes, and they stared at each other for a long moment. His burned with an intensity that helped melt away some of her hesitation. How much pain would it cause her to go along with this? She knew he didn’t love her, that he was just fulfilling a physical need. She knew she would be discarded just as Tully and every other girl on his very long list of conquests had been. How would she face him for the next few months until they were free of each other?

“We shouldn’t.”

He stopped his advance, his head falling onto her shoulder, and he took a few deep breaths. After a moment, he stood up. Cool air made her shiver when his body moved away.

“I really don’t understand you, Ariel. Are you jealous? Because that would mean that someone else had something you wanted for yourself, but when that thing is given to you freely, you turn it down. You turn
me
down.”

“You’re so conceited,” she spat, sitting up and smoothing her hair that had been smooshed into the cushions.

“Excuse me?”

“You are! You think that every woman should want you just because you’re rich. And, yes, I’ve helped that perception along by marrying you for payment, but that doesn’t mean I belong to you or that I’m at your beck and call.”

“I’ve
never
treated you that way,” he protested. “I
care
about you, Jade. I’ve tried to show it to you but you always push me away. I just don’t understand what it is you want.”

“What do
you
want?” she yelled, turning the question back on him.

“I want
you!”
he yelled back.

She stared at him, trying to work out if he was telling the truth. Something changed inside her, a decision being made, a guard being released.

“If you want me, then take me,” she whispered.

It came out as a dare, a dare that Drew appeared very willing to accept.

He practically launched himself at her, crushing himself against her. She was only wearing a summer dress, and his body heat was welcoming as it melted through the thin cotton.

It felt so good to have him pressed against her. His touch was urgent, holding her against him.

“I want you, Jade.” His voice was barely audible as he murmured against her throat.

She wanted him too, and she wished she could tell him, but with every touch of his hand, she thought of him touching Tully. Every kiss to her throat was a reminder that he’d kissed someone else just hours ago.

When she’d built up enough strength to push him away, she did, shoving him hard in the chest and running up the stairs.

“Jade?” he called after her.

“Just leave me alone, Drew. I mean it.”

She slammed her bedroom door and frantically started throwing her clothes into a suitcase. All she could think about was getting away from this house, away from Drew. She didn’t care about the money. He could keep his second payment. She didn’t want anything from him.

He knocked on the door repeatedly. “What the hell just happened?”

“Leave me alone.”

She heard him swear loudly, and then his own bedroom door slammed. Once she had the suitcase full of clothes, she chanced opening the door. She could just make out the sound of the TV on his bedroom so she snuck as quietly as she could down the stairs.

In the kitchen, she wrote Drew a note on a scrap of paper and left it by the coffee maker, knowing he’d find it there.

Drew,

I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore. I shouldn't have agreed to do this in the first place. Thank you for showing me the reef, I'll never forget it. Do what you need to do with the contract. I'll sign the divorce papers whenever you want me to. Keep the final payment, I don't deserve it. I wish you all the best.

Jade

There was so much more she wanted to say, but she just couldn’t. She heard movement upstairs and panicked, grabbing her handbag and running out of the house with her suitcase. She’d come back for the rest of her things when she knew he wouldn’t be home.

She backed her car out of the driveway and refused to look in the rearview mirror as she drove away. She had to put Drew and that life out of her mind. She was moving forward with the life she should’ve had. She couldn’t help that she’d bought the car, and in all honesty, she needed it.

But any money that she hadn’t spent, after she’d set up a new apartment, she’d send back to him. She didn’t want to owe him anything.

She drove to Clare and Stuart’s house. She didn’t know where else to go. She knocked on the door, suitcase resting against her leg, and waited. Clare opened the door and smiled, then gave the suitcase a confused look.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Jade burst into tears. Clare pulled her inside and sat her down on the couch.

“What did that bastard do? He cheated, didn’t he? I knew he would, you know. Once a playboy, always a playboy. So much for being a Dream Guy. More like
Nightmare
Guy! I’m going to kill him!”

Jade didn’t have to speak. Clare knew she just needed a friend. They watched cartoons because that was the only thing that didn’t make Jade cry harder, and ate ice cream straight out of the container.

Jade slept on the couch that night. Well, she lay on the couch while sleep evaded her. She wondered if Drew had noticed the note she’d left, or if he even cared. It probably made his life easier not to have to sneak Tully in and out of the house in the middle of the night.

Torturing herself, she pulled out her phone. Clare had refused to let her look at it all night, but she was curious to see if he’d even bothered to call her. He had. There were six missed calls, all from Drew, and a voice message.

She called her voice mail and listened.

“Where are you? Why aren’t you answering your phone? You’re scaring me, Ariel. I have no idea what happened earlier, and then I went to talk to you and your room was empty. You didn’t even say good-bye. Call me back. I’m worried.”