Had she turned them on before leaving?
“Where the hell have you been?”
Tara screamed and jumped back, her heart racing. She stared over at Alex in disbelief as he glared at her from where he sat in an armchair in the living room.
Tears threatened as she struggled to pull herself together.
Do not cry. Do not cry. Get mad. Kick his butt.
“What the fuck do you think you are doing?” It came out shakier than she would have liked but Alex still looked at her in surprise.
“I’m waiting for you,” he said in a cold voice. “Where have you been?”
She didn’t like the accusing tone of his voice.
“That’s none of your business. I’m allowed a life, unless you expect me to wait here all day, naked and on my knees, in case you want to come over and get some.”
Wow, okay, where had that all come from?
Alex frowned and stood. “Well, that would be nice. But I know better than to suggest it. It’s nearly nine at night. You knew I would be coming over so I would like to know where you have been.”
She needed a moment to calm down. She placed the laptop on the other chair then sat on the sofa to pull off her shoes.
“Were you with another man? Have you found someone else?”
She gaped up at him. “We signed a contract less than a week ago and already you’re accusing me of sleeping around?”
“Well, are you?”
“No,” she said shortly. “Just because I’m not where you left me doesn’t make me a whore.”
His gaze widened and he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’re right.”
“And I didn’t realize I had a curfew,” she continued. “You should have told me there was a certain time you wanted me to be home so you could fuck me. Here, I’ll start stripping now so we can try and make up for lost time.”
Okay, so she hadn’t been successful at calming down. She stood then dragged off her sweatshirt and t-shirt.
“Tara, stop.” Alex took a step toward her as she stood and pulled off her jeans. “I said stop.” He used his Dom voice and she froze. Damn him.
She just stared at him, dressed only in her bra and panties.
“Sit. Please.”
Tara sat again. But it was only because he said please, she consoled herself. Not because she wanted to do what he told her to.
“I’m sorry,” he said surprising her. She glanced up at him and he nodded. “Yes, I mean it. I shouldn’t have just entered your apartment without your permission and I really am sorry for scaring you.”
“It’s your apartment. You pay for it, you should be able to enter it when you like.”
He sat next to her. “No, that’s not fair. This is where you live. I want you to feel safe here. I scared you. I never wanted to do that.”
She nodded.
“And I don’t expect you to wait around for me. I was just…surprised when you weren’t home. I was worried about you.”
Her anger deflated at those words.
Alex took hold of her hand. “I don’t want you to hate me and I certainly don’t want to use you. Sometimes I steamroll over people to get what I want.”