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“He gave them to you. He chose them out. I don’t like it.”
She couldn’t help the small smile of surprise that sculpted her lips. “Are you jealous of my husband, sir?”
His black eyes glittered with a strength of feeling that stole Chloe’s breath away. “I am far more than just jealous of him. I
hate him.” The passion in his speech made her heart stutter.
“But why?”
“Men like him, who treat women as he does, are the lowest of the low.”
She nodded. “Yes. But …”
“Don’t defend him,” he implored, his voice gravelly.
She rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t about to, believe me. It’s just that you’re …”
“Yes?” He prompted, when she paused, mid-revelation.
Her cheeks glowed with a hint of pink. “That first night we, um … at my place.”
“Yes?” He smiled at her teasingly.
Chloe punched his arm playfully, but he captured her hand in his and lifted it to his lips. “You said, I sleep with women who want a great fuck. Or something like that.” Her whole body heated up at the memory of that night. His fingers were running over her hand, stroking her soft skin.
He dipped his head forward. She took it for a nod, but actually, it was shame. Shame that he’d said that to her, when she had been trying to make sense of the tumultuous feelings that they sparked in one another. “I was angry.”
“At me?” She asked, curiosity making her blue eyes wide.
“No,” he lifted her hand to his mouth once more, and kissed each knuckle gently. “At the situation we found ourselves in.” It was true. The murkiness of what he wanted from her as a man, and what he needed from her as a grieving, vengeful brother, had become a confusing mesh of emotions. Even then, he’d known it was unsustainable. He couldn’t be true to both needs, and what he owed his sister had burned inside of him for a long time. It was impossible to ignore.
Knowledge of his duplicity sickened him. He covered it with a confident smile. “I wanted you.”
She swallowed, her pulse firing rapidly. He lowered his gaze to the slender column of her neck, and the necklace she always wore. She followed his gaze and burst out laughing. “This one you have to let me keep. This one was from my mother.”
“Ah,” he nodded, fingering the small pendant. “It’s beautiful.” She wore the necklace because it meant something to her. It was from her late mother. Did she wear the earrings because they too meant something to her, despite what she said? Because William still had a power over her?
If that was the case, it was a power he intended to erase. He flicked the top of the box open to reveal two diamond studs, at least three times the size of the ones William had given her.
“Hendrix,” she gasped when she saw them, shaking her head. “No.”
“Yes,” he insisted, passing the box to her.
“No.” Her response was far more serious. She stood up, dropping the box onto the lounge behind her. She paced over to the window, observing the glittering view of Manhattan by night. Her heart was still racing. But it was also breaking. She didn’t want gifts from him. Not under these circumstances.
Hendrix exhaled in genuine frustration. He pulled another box out of the bag, and strode silently over to Chloe. “Then at least let me give you this,” he murmured, sliding the engagement ring onto her finger before she could object.
Chloe stared down at it, completely lost for words. It was the most beautiful piece of jewellery she’d ever seen. Far more than jewellery, it was art. An enormous black diamond sat in the centre of a circlet of pristine white diamonds, and even more diamonds surrounded the platinum band. It shimmered on her finger with a blinding clarity. “Hendrix,” she groaned, lifting her hand to observe the beautiful spectre. She knew she would have to take it off, but for the moment, she couldn’t resist letting the jewel dazzle her.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a week, Chloe. It’s not a spur of the moment decision.”
“To marry me?” She drawled sarcastically.
He shook his head ruefully. “It is the only way to get a man like William to back off. He will hound you until he thinks all hope is lost.”
“And you think us pretending to be engaged will miraculously make my bastard of a husband take a hike?”
Hendrix wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her to him gently. “Not only do I think it, sweetheart, I promise it to you. I will swear to you now, on my sister’s soul, that he will not fight for you, once he knows I’m in the picture.”
