new chef said with a smile before she handed the dish to a waiting server.
Elise glanced at Lucien skittishly. It had become rare for her to encounter him. She thought she might have seen more of him before she moved into his penthouse than she had in the past four days.
Of course . . . he
did
put her to bed every night, getting her used not only to falling asleep but to the restraints. Not to mention his magical hands. The hard part wasnât accustoming herself to his touch. The difficult thing was not aching for his touch every second of the day and night.
Heat rushed into her cheeks at the compelling memories of watching him masturbate, of him touching, rubbing, and pleasuring her until she was a mass of quivering goo.
Thatâs all she really saw of him, those scant, decadently erotic moments when she was restrained and he masterfully coaxed her body to relax . . . let go . . . release. Last night, she hadnât even seen him, because heâd insisted on blindfolding her.
âYou are refusing to cooperate,â heâd said as he tied a silk scarf heâd found in her drawer around her eyes. âI tell you to keep your head turned, but you keep watching me, donât you? Greedy little thing,â heâd murmured as he tightened the knot, his tone warm and amused.
Itâd been worseâfar worseâleaving things to her imagination, graphically picturing him stroking his cock while he made her shudder in bliss.
He said he was busy finalizing the details on the hotel purchase, and she supposed that was true, because he was rarely either at Fusion or the penthouse. She knew he occasionally went to his club for a polo match, but as of yet, he hadnât asked her to accompany him. The only hint of hope she had in that direction was that heâd alluded to the fact that heâd look for a mount for her so that they could ride together on the grounds.
Sheâd never felt so good as she had after so many nights of solid, deep sleep. Yet each morning, she woke up alone. All that extra energy was nice, but it was also leaving her with an unsatisfied edge. Not once had she been treated like this in her life. She was accustomed to men going too far in the other directionâbending over backward to please her, following her every demand to the letter, even pulling crazy stunts to get her to notice. Erik Cebir, for instance, the man her parents wanted her to marry, had asked her once if she liked fishing, and sheâd idly replied that she did. Erik had responded by buying a brand-new yachtâcomplete with eight bedroomsâwhich heâd proudly dubbed
The Golden Elise
. Heâd hidden his irritation quite well when heâd finally gotten her out in it to learn she knew absolutely nothing about, nor had any interest in, deep-sea fishing. When sheâd told him she enjoyed fishing, sheâd been referring to dropping a line off the end of a dock, like she had with Lucien during that summer of her youth. Despite her lackluster interest in hooking a gigantic tuna, Erik had rallied to please her in other ways.
She knew very well most men were doing it because of the lure of her status and wealth, and that it had absolutely nothing to do with her value as a person. They didnât really know her, and for the most part, none of them seemed that interested in discovering her character. But that didnât change the fact. It was what she had grown to
expect
from men
,
even if it wasnât necessarily what she desired.
Lucien had changed all the rules on her, and she suspected he knew perfectly well what he was doing. He knew her habits and her former lifestyle as well as anyone, after all. Her frustration was mounting by the hour. She couldnât possess what she wanted mostâthe gorgeous, insufferable, aloof man who stood regarding her now like she was about as interesting as the dirty pans stacked next to the sink.
âMay I steal