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“I will. Do you want to talk now, or do you need to sleep first?”
She shakes her head.
“I have questions, too, and I’m going to push you for honest answers,” I warn. “You might want to be well rested for that.”
If she’s tired, it’ll be easier to catch her in a lie or to back her into a corner so that I get the answers I want. When she’s tired, she allows herself to be vulnerable around me—or at least she did—and lets the mask slip. I treasured those times when she let me see the raw parts she hid from the rest of the world. I never took advantage of her when she was like that, and I won’t start now. No matter how much I want the information.
“I napped on the flight,” she replies. “But you look like hell. When’s the last time you slept?”
I snicker. “I’ve been busy. I said some awful things to my woman, kicked her out of my place, and she ran straight into danger. There was no way I was going to allow anyone to hurt her.”
“Because you reserve that right for yourself,” she says softly, more of a probe than a statement.
I shake my head. “No one has that right, Lexie. Least of all me.”
“I’m not your woman.” Her voice is laden with emotion. “And you didn’t kick me out. I left of my own accord.”
“Semantics.”
“I realize this flight has to land in Porto first. But after it’s refueled, I’d like to use the plane to go home to London, Rafael.” The emotion is gone from her voice, and she’s all business as she sits up straight. “I’ll fully compensate you for the use, including the crew.”
I bristle at her offer to compensate me for what amounts to nothing more than a favor I’ve done for many people. “I don’t want your money. You can use my plane anytime it’s available. But going to London is not an option right now.”
“Why not?” she demands, narrowing her gaze. “I won’t be held prisoner.”
I’d prefer not to hold her against her wishes, but she’s not going to London until things are calmer there.
“I’ll tell you everything, and then you’ll do the same,” I add, meeting her gaze. “But let’s talk in the conference room, where we’ll have some privacy.”
“Fine.” She stands and glares at me when I don’t follow her lead. “Let’s go find that privacy you need.”
I’m sure she’d rather talk out here, where she thinks I might not push her for answers others might overhear. She’s misjudged me, if that’s what she believes.
I’m not worried about the soldiers on this plane overhearing and spreading gossip. If I were, they wouldn’t be here. But I don’t intend to let her off the hook.
Lexie is going to tell me why she was in Quimper, even if I have to tie her to a chair and edge her for the remainder of the flight. Her whimpers and sultry pleas are mine. As is her pleasure. No one gets to listen to any of it—but me.
11
LEXIE
Rafael carries a tray into the conference room with tea and biscuits for me, and a coffee for him. He places it on the table between us and sits down across from me.
I dunk the tea sachet in the hot water while he scrolls through his phone. I’m not sure if he’s actually responding to messages or dragging his feet while he concocts some bullshit story about why I can’t go to London. But after a minute or two, I’ve had enough.
“Why isn’t London an option? If it’s about the plane—”
He lifts his head and glares at me. “I already told you I don’t care about the damn plane. And if you ever offer to compensate me for anything again, I’ll take you over my knee and slap your ass until you can’t sit for a month.”
The last time I was draped over his lap while he slapped my ass, I managed to hump his thigh to a blissful orgasm. Focus, Lexie. Focus.
“If borrowing the plane isn’t the issue, then what is?”
“There’s been a lot of trouble in London tonight—small things, but your father’s bracing for something bigger to happen. As I mentioned earlier, his organization has been infiltrated. He’s concerned about getting you into the city safely and tucked away before the other shoe drops.”
Trouble in London. Tucked away is nothing more than a euphemism for in hiding. Wait. Mum. “Where’s my mother?”
“They moved her to a secure location right away. That’s all I know.”
