Chapter 11

“I...I don’t,” I struggled to clear my throat. “I don’t see the need for us to, you know, need to share a bed—a room.”

My face flushed uncontrollably as I felt James’ eyes peer into my. Good God. There was no way I could have sounded any more of a stuttering mess if I’d tried. There was nothing, truly not a single reason in the world why we needed to take things as far as that.

James raised a single brow and made off down the various hallways till he began ascending the stairs. My stomach twisted and churned.

“James, would you please...Please stop for a moment,” I pleaded under my breath.

We came across numerous other staff members on our way to what I could only assume was to be ‘our’ bedroom. Each time, I felt the excessive brush of James’ hand rub and tried to grab for my own.

When he finally stopped, he snapped his head around and stared down at me with an unreadable look on his face. I struggled to look at him in the eyes while my heart seized my chest.

“A-As I was saying,” I mumbled. “There’s really no need for us to share a room.”

“Do you truly despise physical contact with me?” he asked sharply.

My eyes widened. Again my lips parted but hardly any coherent sound was able to come out.

“What?” My brows furrowed. “What are you—”

“Every Time I’ve attempted to grab your hand, you either flinched or brushed me off completely,” he explained heatedly. “So, I’m going to ask again. Do you despise physical contact with me?”

“No.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure?”

A flare of irritation rushed through me, causing me to almost roll my eyes at him. “Yes! Don’t believe me? Then go ahead and try again.”

James instantly went for my hands, but he didn’t stop there. He swept them up from my sides while gliding me back against the wall, purposely pinning my wrists above my head. All the air was knocked from my lungs. His dark eyes poured into me. He leaned in close, appearing as though he was going to kiss me again.

My heart was racing beyond my ability to control it as I fully anticipated his lips to find mine once more. However, James, instead, turned his head slightly to the side and placed a gentle kiss on the inner side of my wrist.

“I feel how frantic your heart rate is,” he growled. “Sweet, little, Mia. Your pulse had betrayed you. Were you anticipating something else?”

Oh, how I wanted so badly to find something snappy to say back to him. Something that would’ve really knocked him on his heels. But, no. It was as though I’d become paralyzed to his touch.

From there, I felt his lips travel down my arm and toward the inner curve of my neck. My eyes rolled back and closed. His masculine scent flooded my senses yet again.

His warm breath on my neck sent a shiver down my spine, leaving me slightly dazed.

It was all becoming too much.

Between his handsome physique and how close he was pressed against me, he caused my body to feel flame. He was right...

I was looking forward to that kiss just then. Perhaps I was looking for even a little more from him too. My body seemed to know what it wanted while my mind struggled to make me see sense. It all left me confused and feeling very odd.

After all, James and I had established nothing more than a contractual relationship. It was clear from earlier that James was determined to treat our arrangement as a mere transaction. But, I clearly found myself singularly attracted to his appearance. Was he going to find me burdensome after a while?

I tried to push back against him. “Don’t flatter yourself,” I said dryly. “My reaction was merely due to panic. I hadn’t expected you to push me against the wall like this.”

James’ expression showed that he was still looking for some sort of an answer to his earlier question. Again, my mouth went dry and I had a difficult time trying to piece together a normal answer. Instead of pressing further, James looked at me and spoke calmly.

“Look, until you’re ready, we will only pretend to share this room,” he said. “I’ll stay in the guest room in the meantime.”

Without another word on the subject, he let go of my wrists and turned to show me the master bedroom. Aside from an overly large king-size bed at the far end of the room, there was also an equally massive private bathroom attached.

As soon as James left, I finally felt relieved. Although part of me also felt a noticeable twinge of disappointment.

Once I was ready for bed, I climbed onto the mountain-sized mattress and tried to get comfortable. It was rather difficult when my mind kept involuntarily thinking of James normally sleeping in the same place.

Aside from that, my mind continuously played off the day’s wild events until my eyes finally fluttered shut and sleep overcame me. I kept tossing and turning, knowing it was going to be a rough night.

The next morning, I’d decided on a shower to help lighten the mood. My head slightly ached and my muscles were sore from all the tension I held on to.

“Damn it,” I hissed under my breath. I’d forgotten to bring in a change of clothes.

I was still so distracted from what had gone on yesterday, that my whole morning routine fell to shambles.

Quickly wrapping myself in a towel, I stepped outside of the bathroom. I scurried over to one of the various closets and searched for something to temporarily put on. But, no luck.

Right as I was about to turn to head back into the bathroom, I heard a sudden knock and the main door swung open.