He has an edge to his voice, a look on that tightening jaw of brimming annoyance and I throw my hair over my shoulder defiantly even though my courage has taken an immediate run for cover and my insides are recoiling a tad. He scares me shitless, but I won’t ever let him know it. ‘’Fine, whatever, it’s your money and I will just make sure you get what you pay for. I’m amazed you don’t want me to dye my hair too.’’ I make a move to leave, still going for sass but with a lot less aplomb, and just trying to put distance between us as he follows me with his eyes. ‘’I happen to like the hair. It’s the first thing that ever drew my eyes to you. Red is your color, leave it as it is.’’ Well I wasn’t expecting that! ‘’Was that a compliment …? Are you feeling okay? Do you need to lie down and let me take your temperature? ‘’I turn and raise a brow at him and catch his stern look receding slightly, easing my fragile mood too and for a moment there is that rare thing that happens occasionally between us sporadically—where I forget to hate him for a few seconds and remember he is still fuckable. It’s rare, but it happens. ‘’Just go buy a dress and don’t make me regret taking you. If you behave, I might reward you later.’’ That softer look and sexy half smile he does bringing out those surprise dimples he manages to hide most of the time. What? Reward me? Hell no … Not a fucking chance is he getting me tied up in that bedroom of his. No matter how much he looks like sex might be worthwhile, I have heard some of the noises from women he has in there, and I am not getting involved in any of the shit he does. I recoil with the previous moment of hate reversal and remind myself what a dick head he is instead. Over my dead body am I laying myself down to become a victim at his hands in his chamber of pain. ‘’You can just throw more dresses my way and I’m content. Easy to please with shoes. I’m totally fine with material possessions and don’t need very much else; completely shallow gold digger over here.’’ I deflect cleverly trying to make it clear that banging him is no longer on my agenda while injecting a little half serious humour instead. I see what he’s like in life and that much commandeering aggression being poured on a helpless woman is not my idea of fun. I will never be one of his submissive women and long gone is my angle of using him. Ever! Alexi just looks at me a little oddly, with that furrowed brow over narrowed eyes as he hones in on me, it’s like he’s trying to dig through my face and into my head and I break the look by turning away, brushing off both his intense gaze and the weird awkward moment of pause between us. ‘‘Go buy a dress. You have till seven like I said. Be ready, I hate being made to wait.’’ How ironic. He sounds different and for a second I wonder what I said to get a tiny little reaction from a man that normally seems immune to me in every way. I am not waiting around to ponder it and high tail out of his office in search of Mico to drive me to the nearest boutiques.