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CHAPTER 4
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2021-07-06 06:06:49The expression of uncertainty deepened in her eyes.
“Um…” she said. “I… I don’t know. I… don’t think so…”
“At one point, you’ll have dinner, am I right?”
“Yes, but… I…”
Cheryl fell silent, just staring at him helplessly as if she was waiting for him to make the decision for her. Nikolas did.
“Good,” he decided. “Then that is settled. All we need to decide now is where you would like to eat. Would you like to choose a place you are particularly fond of?”
By offering her the choice in order to make her feel more in control of a situation, Nikolas knew it was overwhelming for her. The look of uncertainty in her eyes deepened yet more.
“I&he
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The ‘somewhere quieter and private’ that Nikolas had promised was the dining room of his suite. Cheryl’s eyes had widened when she’d seen the view, but she had not objected or said anything, simply stared out over the river and the shore beyond. Nikolas came up behind her. His hand rested lightly and very casually on her shoulder while explaining her the view. Through the thin material of her blouse, Cheryl felt warm beneath his touch. And since he felt her quite startled, Nikolas kept his contact brief. He stepped away, feeling a wry smile tugging at his mouth as his eyes flickered over her rearview. She had called her uniform ‘stupid’. But Nikolas had another word for it and it wasn’t one he would use in front of her. Not without pushing her away
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Nikolas turned to glance at her again. She was leafing through a glossy magazine now, her head slightly bowed and her lovely profile exposed to him, and he let his eyes linger a moment. Yes, she was different indeed. And not just in looks and style. In personality too. Cheryl was quiet, for a start. She didn’t try to talk to him, to make sophisticated conversation, or demands of him. She simply gave a fleeting smile, almost shy, her eyes only briefly meeting his, before drawing away as if she wasn’t sure whether to look at him. Nor did she seem, like all the other women he knew, to relish and revel in the attentions of other men. All the women he had selected for his leisure hours had always known how prized they were and had taken it for granted that male eyes would be drawn to them. Cheryl was
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Being in Chicago with Nikolas was just as wonderful as being in New York. As it was being in San Francisco, and then Atlanta, and then, after the United States, back in Europe, in Milan, Italy. Being anywhere with him had been wonderful… Anywhere at all! For as long as Nikolas wanted her. And he did seem to want her! That was the amazing, fantastical thing! She had given up wondering at it, worrying about it. Time seemed to have stopped. Past and future seemed to have slipped away. There was only an endless, wonderful ‘now’ that swept her away on wings of wonder and delight. A ‘now’ that was focused only and entirely on Nikolas. The irresistible, gorgeous, sexy Nikolas. Cheryl was helpless and could only give herself to him, time after time, night after night. His care of her, h
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She wasn’t sure what she said to the sales assistant, didn’t register that the woman had nodded and gone through to the storeroom. Registered only that a hand like steel had gripped around her wrist.“What did that woman just call you?” Cheryl rested her eyes on Nikolas’s face, where all she could see was blank stupefaction and disbelief.“Um… She called me ‘Dr. Richards’,” she replied in an expressionless voice. “Because that’s who I am, Nikolas. I got my Ph.D. last year… the year my father died. He was a senior research fellow at the university, and I’ve just taken up a research post in his former department, guided now by my old colleague, Dr. Maria Shell.” His eyes were on her, quite blank.
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His voice was low, urgent. Insistent. Somehow, though her mouth was suddenly as dry as a bone, Cheryl forced herself to speak.“There is nothing more to be said. You should get into your fancy car and go as far away from me as possible.” Cheryl’s voice grated out through a throat that had closed completely. His hand slashed negation.“Absolutely not. Not even by a long shot. There is still so much more to be said between you and me! That’s the reason I’ve been searching for you. That’s why I’m here, in front of you. It wasn’t all said, Cheryl. The most important part got left out. I was so devastated with what you threw at me, I let you go. I let you leave me. I should never have done that. Never! I should have told you then! But I didn’t realize… I didn’t realize that…&rdquo
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That voice came out of nowhere, from the pool of darkness at the far end of the terrace. A familiar voice, one he didn’t want to hear ever again. Demetrios strolled out of the darkness, like a snake slithering towards a possible prey. His voice was taunting, grating.“Are you already missing her, big brother?” Demetrios continued with a grin on his lips.“What the hell are you doing here?” Nikolas asked and his voice was terse, demanding. A new emotion was taking over, fueled by a rush of adrenaline that had come the moment he’d heard his brother’s taunting voice. An emotion that tensed and coiled in every muscle of his body.“Oh, come on, Niko! Don’t tell me I’m trespassing?” Demetrios responded drawlingly. “Are you going to call your security guys and ask them to throw me ou
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He tried to say something, but Cheryl stopped him. “No… It’s my turn to talk now and you’re going to hear me out right until the end,” she added starting to feel a little tired, physically and mentally. “I know I’m not very good at talking about the stock market and brokers, and funds and charities, and whatever you, rich people, consider important subjects in a conversation. That I’m out of my league here. Still, I think, even for a reclusive, a bookworm like me, I never was so bad. I never embarrassed you. But I never actually thought… that you of all people, saw me in this light… as a brainless whore.” Another ragged intake of breath scissored through her lungs. “That a man like you, someone I thought so highly of, would be the one kicking me down to the ground again. Now I’m done.” Nik
