Mistress to the Beast (16 page)

“Yes.”

Just as quickly as it had appeared, the light dimmed from her dark eyes all of a sudden. “I can’t.”

“Why not? I’ll have Ernest drive you there.”

“For how long though?”

He shrugged. “For a few hours I suppose.”

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Lila shook her head. “That’s okay. It wouldn’t be enough. I appreciate the gesture though.”

Hunter’s stomach lurched and it felt like it was twisting in knots. He knew the direction this conversation was heading but he found himself saying, “If you’d like I can arrange for you to spend a couple days with him.” The thought of her being away from him even for that short period of time caused him pain, but he knew he had to offer because she wouldn’t ask.

She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, and looked as though she was contemplating his suggestion before shaking her head again. “Thank you, but no. I have another month in our agreement. It wouldn’t be fair to you considering how you’ve honored your end of the bargain. I need to do the same.”

Her statement was like a sledgehammer to his heart. Did she only view the thing between them as mere duty? Just as he was beginning to suspect his feelings for her were so much more than sexual attraction she’d dealt him a painful blow. The sad part was: Lila probably wasn’t aware of what she’d just done.

Had he been a fool to think she’d come to care about him a little? Did it even matter?

Hunter had known things would eventually come to an end. If it truly made her unhappy to be here with him, how could he even justify keeping her? Sure they had a deal, but could he really live with himself knowing she was counting the days until she was out of here? He should never have thrown this offer at her in the first place. But now that he had, he’d have to deal with it. “It’s okay. I don’t mind. Besides, we can add two more days on if it makes you feel better.”

With a smile she leaned forward and brushed her warm lips against his cheek.

“You’re a sweetheart, but seriously, I can hold out for a little while longer to see him. I’d much rather make the rest of our time together special.”

Hunter wanted that too, more than he could ever put into words, but Pandora’s Box had been opened and dammit, there was no closing it. Though it pained him to ask, he had to at least gauge if she felt something deeper for him than just the mere friendship she’d offered. “Lila, what are you plans for when you leave here?”

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A brief frown flitted across her lips. “I haven’t really thought about it, but I’ll definitely spend a couple weeks with Dad and help him around the shop if it needs it, though I suspect he probably won’t need much assistance in that arena. Then I guess I’ll go back to work at the hospital.”

“I see. Do you like your job?”

“I love it. I’m actually excited at the prospect of going back.”

Hunter forced himself to get the words out for the next question. “Is there anyone special you left behind?”

“If I did, it would be over now considering what I’ve been up to these last couple months,” she laughed. “Why?”

“Just curious. I find it hard to believe a beautiful woman like you would remain single for long.”

Lila rolled her eyes. “You’re not harping on looks again are you?”

“No. Just wondering.” He took a deep breath. “Have you ever been in love?”

It took several moments of silence before she spoke. An unreadable expression entered her eyes he couldn’t discern. Finally, she shook her head. “No. Once, I thought I was but I was wrong. Besides, I have had a knack for attracting the wrong kind of men.”

Like myself, Hunter thought. Lila didn’t deserve to be here with a bastard like him.

She had a life to get back to and he was keeping her from it. What was the point in holding her for another month when she’d only end up leaving him anyway? It wouldn’t be any less painful to let her go in four weeks than it was now. In fact each day that passed would cause him agony because he knew the day he’d have to let her go was drawing near.

Hunter stared into her lovely face, memorizing every line of her face, from the tilt of her chin to the curve of her lips. She was the definition of pure beauty. He knew what he had to do. His heart squeezed within the confines of his chest and it became difficult to breath.

Taking a deep breath, he said, “I guess you’re probably wondering what’s up with the twenty questions.”

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She grinned. “Well, it did cross my mind.”

He scratched the back of his head. “Actually, I uh, didn’t quite know how to broach the subject, before, but I needed assurance you had plans once you leave here. As it turns out, it’ll be sooner than we both anticipated.”

Her smile fell in an instant. “What do you mean?”

This was harder than he thought it would be, but he steeled himself to remain firm. “I mean go home to stay. I think it’s time to bring this arrangement to an end.”

Her mouth opened and her hand went to her throat. Judging from the stricken expression this wasn’t good news, but surely he was misinterpreting her thoughts.

“Have you grown tired of me?”

If he wanted to do the right thing, he’d have to sever the ties right now while he still had the strength. “Don’t take it personally, Lila. It’s why I only asked for three months, because that’s how long it normally takes for me to grow bored with the current woman in my life. I just didn’t think it would happen with you so soon. Don’t worry. I’ll keep my end of the bargain. As a matter of fact, if you pack now, Ernest can probably get you home by dinnertime…unless you don’t mind having one last quickie before you go.”

Her jaw dropped. “How can you speak to me like this? You don’t really mean it. I thought things were going well.”

“Oh, they were. And I appreciate your company, but you knew as well as I, this would be ending. Better sooner than later, right?”

“How can you be so cold about the whole thing? I thought we were friends.”

Hunter wanted to take her in his arms and kiss the hurt he saw lurking within the depths of her eyes. “We were friends…out of necessity. I would have said anything to gain your compliance.”

Her lips thinned. “I don’t believe you.”

“Why not? Is it so hard to believe that someone could get tired of you? Now, who’s the one hung up on looks? You’re not as hot as you think, Lila.”

“You son of a bitch,” she whispered.

“I know.” His lips curved to a smug grin. “But let’s end things amicably.”

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Her hurt was then replaced by fury. Her fists clenched in front of her and for a moment he braced himself for a punch. She didn’t. Instead, the fire left her as soon as it had come and she dropped her hands to her sides. “All this time…I thought you were a good person, someone I liked very much, but you were having a good laugh behind my back. I was just another bed warmer to you. All those things you’ve shared with me in these past weeks have meant absolutely nothing. Have they?”

It had meant the world to him, Hunter wanted to shout, but now that he’d set on this course of action there was no turning back. “They did mean something. You were a great lay and for that I thank you. But you’ve also showed me that if one woman isn’t repulsed by this mug of mine, I’m sure I can find another who won’t be either. I simply have to go out and find myself another Pollyanna type.”

She gasped.

Lila, I’m sorry
. “Don’t look so surprised, sweetheart. We had a good thing. Now it’s time to end it.”

“So it’s true,” she whispered.

Hunter frowned. “What is?”

“You really are a beast. You had me fooled. I believed I’d finally seen the real man aside from what the media portrays you as. But they had it right all along.”

“I never pretended to be anything other than I am.”

“No. I was the fool. But never again. Goodbye, Hunter.” She hurried past him and if he wasn’t mistaken, he saw her dark eyes shining with the suspicious gleam of tears.

When he heard the door slam behind her, indicating she’d gone back inside, his shoulders slumped. To say those things to her had been the most difficult task he’d done in his life. But deep down, Hunter knew he couldn’t hold her anymore. He finally knew the meaning of the word love—letting someone go, even though it was killing you inside.

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Lila stood to clear the plates off the table, but Mrs. Perez grabbed her hand. “Let me do that for you, dear. You’ve cooked this delicious meal, the least I can do is take care of the cleanup.”

Her father nodded. “And I’ll help. Gloria and I have sort of gotten into a little routine while you were away.”

Mrs. Perez winked at James. “I wash, you dry?”

“Of course.” He grinned back.

Lila hadn’t missed the meaning of the exchange. Those two had obviously gotten close in her absence. It seemed a lot of things had changed while she was gone. Her father was in the works of remodeling the store. His motto had been, ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, so it’ so it had come as a surprise to see the beginning of the renovations.

James had said Gloria and the teenagers who worked for him had suggested a few changes. Lila had been telling her dad for years about changing things around the store, so it surprised her that he’d been so open to the suggestion of others. Then she’d learned that Mrs. Perez had been over almost every night for dinner and in fact they’d gone out on several dates.

It seemed as if her father was doing well and thriving. He was losing weight, his blood pressure was low, and he seemed happy. Even being here right now made Lila feel like an intruder.

For so long it had been her and her father, depending on and taking care of each other, but having been away for two months, she realized her father was fine on his own.

In fact, he seemed to be better off without her around.

“Okay,” she finally answered. “I think I’m going to turn in a little early.”

James frowned. “Don’t you want some apple pie? Gloria made it from scratch.”

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“Yes, please have dessert with us.” Mrs. Perez smiled at her. Lila didn’t doubt the other woman’s sincerity, but she thought it best to leave the couple alone.

“I’ll pass tonight, but please save me a slice.”

After she left them alone, she went through the motions of getting ready for bed.

When she was in the shower she let her head rest against the stall, the tears mingling with the water falling over her head. Her father was doing great, while the world around her was falling apart.

It was time she started to pick up the pieces of her life again. Perhaps she could contact the hospital and let them know she was ready to come back to work for them.

Now would probably be a good time to start looking for a place of her own, especially when it was clear her father no longer needed her.

As hard as she tried not to think about him, her mind drifted to Hunter. What had started out as a sacrifice she was willing to make on behalf of her father turned into much more. She hadn’t expected to like being with Hunter. Sexually, he fulfilled her as no one else had, satisfying her so thoroughly. Besides the physical however, they’d made a spiritual connection as well. Somewhere along the line, she began to care for him more than a little. He made her laugh, he engaged her mind, and she felt safe and secure in his presence. For so long she’d had to be strong, but in those weeks she’d been with him, Lila was able to relax her guard and let go of all her worries.

She realized that his words had had the power to hurt her because she had fallen in love with him. What a fool she’d been. She should have known what they had was doomed to end terribly. Not only were they from different worlds, he had too many damned hang-ups.

Still, it had taken her by complete surprise how he’d said such cruel things to her. It was almost as if he was trying to make her hate him. But that made no sense. By now, he probably would have moved on, so it was time she did so as well.

Later that night, as she tossed and turned in bed, Lila thought about Hunter. What was he doing now? Was he thinking of her? Did he regret the things he said?
Stop it, girl,
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he’s not worth it
. And she refused to shed any more tears over someone who didn’t deserve them.

She glanced at the clock, and saw that it was nearly midnight. Maybe a couple of sleeping pills and some decaffeinated tea would do the trick. On her way to the bathroom, to get the medication, she noticed the kitchen light was still on.

Lila frowned. Her father was usually in bed by now. Or had he forgotten to turn it off? Always conscious of the electricity bill, he wasn’t likely to leave them on. After getting the bottle out of the medicine cabinet, she headed for the kitchen.

Her father was sitting at the table in his robe, sipping what smelled like hot chocolate in an oversized mug. There was another steaming cup across from him and instantly, she knew he’d been waiting for her.

She took the seat reserved for her. “How did you know?”

James grinned. “The walls aren’t that thick, baby. I knew it was a matter of time before you got up. I made your favorite. Hot chocolate with cinnamon, whipped cream and a giant marshmallow. Just like when you were a little girl.”

She smiled. “Thanks, Daddy, but I think I’ve outgrown this.”

“You’re never too old for my special hot cocoa. Anyway, it’s the least I can do, especially when I see you’re hurting. Do you want to tell me what’s been going on?”

She squeezed her eyes shut. It was time to come clean. “I lied to you, Daddy.”

“About your private nursing assignment? Yes, I know.”

“What?”

“I knew almost from the beginning. First of all, it seemed like a major coincidence that shortly after you left for this so called job, I get a letter from Ramsey’s stating they were no longer interested in buying my property. And then I get a phone call from you.