At His Word: The Billionaire's Beck and Call, Part 6 Read Free

Chase. But don’t
worry, I’ll look after Miss Willcox while you’re gone.” He winked at me, and I
frowned back. “May I cut in?”
    Mr. Drake sighed and pulled back. “Duty calls,” he
said, giving me an apologetic look. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, and then we
can get out of here.”
    I nodded, my body feeling cold without him holding
me tight. Lex held out his hand.
    “Well? How about it? I haven’t gotten to dance
with a single beautiful woman tonight, so it would mean a lot to me.”
    I placed my hand in his and let him draw me close,
swaying to the music. Something about his tone of voice made me wonder if he
was making a joke at my expense, but I smiled up at him, not wanting to offend
Mr. Drake’s partner.
    “I don’t know if I fit the bill, but I’m happy to
let you cut in.”
      He laughed,
his black eyes full of humor. “Very good, Miss Willcox.”
    I couldn’t help but notice how his face changed
when he smiled; how his entire demeanor lightened, his white teeth dazzling
against his tan complexion.
    “I hope you don’t think I’m forward for asking,”
he said, his voice low, “but are you and Chase...? Are you seeing one another?”
    I felt the necklace, cool against my throat, and
swallowed hard, not sure what to say. What were we, after all? Slave and
master? Boyfriend and girlfriend? Lovers?
    This wasn’t exactly the kind of relationship I was
used to.
    “Why do you ask?”
    I chewed my lips and met his gaze, not wanting to
give too much away. What was Mr. Drake comfortable with me talking about? Hell,
what was I comfortable
talking about?
    Lex’s hand moved lower on my back, and I flinched
in his arms. He stopped, his fingers dangerously close to the curve of my ass.
    “You are a lovely young woman, Isabeau.”
    His eyes were serious now, all trace of mirth long
gone. But what was reflected there shocked me. Hunger, raw and obvious shone in
his eyes. He pulled me closer, almost imperceptibly, but I could feel him
hardening against me through the thin fabric of my skirt. My breath hitched as
I met him, stare for stare. What was going on here?
    “Chase Drake is a complicated man,” he said, his
body moving against mine to the slow rhythm of the song. “People who get close
to him often seem to get hurt... I just want you to be careful.”
    “What do you mean?”
    My voice was higher than normal, but I couldn’t
help it. My whole body was tensing under that stare of his, my body reacting to
his touch, even though all I wanted to do was get away. But I didn’t want to
create a scene in the middle of his mother’s party.
    “Has he told you about the other women he’s seen,
Isabeau? About how those relationships end? How they always end?”
    I looked away, searching the crowd for a sign of
Mr. Drake returning.
    “Chase isn’t the only one out there, Isabeau,” he
said, drawing my eyes back to his. “He isn’t the only one who sees what kind of
woman you are.”
    He pressed against me again, and I jerked back,
breaking out of his grasp.
    “Excuse me, I... I need a drink.”
    I hurried off the dance floor, toward the far end
of the room where dessert wine was being served. When I glanced back, Lex was
still on the floor, grinning with his hands on his hips as if I were a mystery
that needed solving. I took a glass of wine and raised it to my lips. The
sweetness pouring over my tongue made me feel ill, and I put it back down.
    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mr. Drake
enter, followed closely by Veronica. He said something to her, then broke away,
moving toward me.
    “I’m sorry that took so long. Are you ready to go,
Isa?”
    Veronica grinned at me as if she’d won some sort
of victory, but the smile faded as I took Mr. Drake’s outstretched hand in
mine.
    “Please. Let’s get out of here.”

 
    ***

 
    I was quiet as we drove back to Mr. Drake’s home,
my thoughts going a mile a minute. What was that on the dance floor? Was he
seriously trying to seduce me,