  &quot;I can't do this, Lexi.&quot; My heart is hammering through my chest and I have checked my appearance three dozen times in the full-length mirror of the bedroom we stayed in for the rest of the night. Obsessed with my appearance as anxiety strangles the life out of me. Trying to focus on something I can control and getting a little preoccupied with its importance.
      We were busy most of last night, making up for our strained day with lots of gentle lovemaking, kissing and caresses, and I'm aglow with his attention today. Cheeks flushed, skin dewy, and a twinkling happiness in my eyes I've never seen before. I felt completely chilled when I got up this morning, well almost completely. That was until he dumped this little announcement on me that we're having a cosy family brunch at Mummy's house.
      Ugh.
      Last night was a repeat of the night he first made love to me, aft

  The house is huge and beautiful like some sort of movie set for the lifestyle of the rich and famous. A towering white mansion set in a beautiful green manicured garden like some modern painting. Set in the sunny Hamptons, near the coast in a very picturesque area that comprises of nothing but huge grand houses, that just spew wealth. I can see why the Carreros reign supreme here. It's like the real housewives of Orange County.
      Their home a show house for sure, completely devoid of lived in family life and we are let in by a maid who ushers us into a sitting room in what appears to be a deserted house until she runs off to find our host. Marble entranceway not dissimilar to that of Alexi's nearby abode, huge sweeping staircase in a flawless neutral palette. It's glossy magazine worthy with massive professional vases of floral arrangements dotted at key points on expensive furnitu

  &quot;Hey. You okay? Don't be scared.&quot;
      It's Alexi. I would know that sexy tone anywhere, and as my eyes adjust, I can see his tattoo peeking up under his jacket collar to confirm I'm not imagining things. Bringing me back to the here and now even though my body is poised and caught in an instinctive ready to run mode. Heart hammering through my chest as I try to work him out, steeped in mistrust. Guarded and nervous.
      &quot;So, you're talking to me now?&quot; It's a knee-jerk reply, covering my thundering heart rate and shaking limbs, ignoring his question and I pull away from him, so his hand no longer moulds to the base of my spine, aiming to walk away and give him a dose of his own medicine. Put distance between us so he can't see how rattled I am. How emotionally fragile this is making me.
      Two of us can be cold and uncaring. If he can't touch me, he can't feel

&quot;I can't do this, Lexi.&quot; My heart is hammering through my chest and I have checked my appearance three dozen times in the full-length mirror of the bedroom we stayed in for the rest of the night. Obsessed with my appearance as anxiety strangles the life out of me. Trying to focus on something I can control and getting a little preoccupied with its importance.
      We were busy most of last night, making up for our strained day with lots of gentle lovemaking, kissing and caresses, and I'm aglow with his attention today. Cheeks flushed, skin dewy, and a twinkling happiness in my eyes I've never seen before. I felt completely chilled when I got up this morning, well almost completely. That was until he dumped this little announcement on me that we're having a cosy family brunch at Mummy's house.
      Ugh.
      Last night was a repeat of the night he first made love to me, after the failed kidnapping at the club. Only without him holding back on the feels, and he completely

Chapter 111