He's Captured My Trust (Captured Series Book 2) (18 page)

“Baby, you look stunning and I’m so proud to have you by my side tonight and show you off,” he continues. “But I mean what I said. I don’t want you to feel anything other than comfortable.” He leads me to living room, where there are two glasses of what I can only presume is champagne waiting for us. I put both the shawl and the bag down on the sofa.

His compliment has done as he intended—made me feel good about myself, boosted my spirits, and given me the confidence I need. We both sit down. He picks up both glasses and hands me one. “A toast,” he says.

“To what?”

“To what I’m sure is going to be a wonderful and eventful night with my beautiful sweet girl.”

I flush at his words, thinking about how eventful it could turn out to be.
Interesting.

We clink our glasses and we both take a drink. He puts his glass down and takes mine from me. “I have something for you.” He picks up a small bag from the floor and hands it to me. “I hope you like it.”

I take a black box from the bag. A jewellery box? I open it and gush over the contents. Inside is the most beautiful set of jewellery I’ve ever seen—stunning drop earrings with a matching drop necklace and a bracelet. I can only presume the stones are diamonds set in white gold.

“Do you approve?” he asks, taking the box from my hands.

“Alex, these are beautiful. So is this the errand you ran today?”

“Yes. I asked Sophie’s opinion on what you might need, but I picked it out myself.” He takes the necklace from the box first. “Turn around.”

I do as he says. I feel his warm hands as he places the necklace around my neck and fastens the clip.

He turns me back toward him and stands back. “Perfect, just like you.” He takes the earrings out one at a time, and I put them in. He then takes the stunning bracelet and gently places it on my right wrist, securing it in place with the clasp.

“Alex, thank you. You know you didn’t have to, but I do appreciate this.” I place both my hands on his jaw and pull him closer to me. My kiss is warm and gentle. I pull myself back reluctantly. The look on his beautiful face makes my heart flutter. He hands me back the glass of champagne.

“I know I didn’t, but I wanted to. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you, baby. We should head off now. Murphy is already downstairs waiting for us.” Alex takes my empty glass and places it beside his. He picks up the shawl and starts to place it around my shoulders, but I shrug it off. “Baby, are you sure?”

“Yes, I am. It’s always going to be there, so I may as well start getting used to it now.” In my heels I don’t need to stand on my tiptoes to kiss him, which I do, to his surprise—although why he’s surprised, I don’t know. I want to kiss him or be close to him every chance I get.

“Right. We need to get moving,” he says, pulling away from me. I lift my bag and take his hand as we head out.

“You two have a lovely evening,” Joan calls before we leave. I turn and smile at her.

The journey down in the lift is a quiet affair, but the air between the two of us is highly charged. Every time I turn my head and look at him, his eyes are on me, filled with warmth and love. He keeps hold of my hand the whole time, gently stroking the side of it. Tonight is going to be torturous. I want his hands all over my naked body as he is deep inside me.

We exit the lift, but not in the parking lot as I expected. Instead I find us in the main hallway of the building. We continue to walk hand in hand, and Alex has a polite hello for everyone we pass. The doorman opens the door and wishes us a good evening. Murphy is where I expect him to be, standing on the pavement, waiting by the side of the limo. When he sees us, he opens the back door.

“Miss Stewart, may I say—you look beautiful this evening.” He glances at Alex and nods.

“Why, thank you, Murphy.”

I slide into the backseat as Alex speaks with Murphy before walking around to the other side and entering. Murphy closes the door behind me before taking up his position in the driver’s seat. It hasn’t gone unnoticed on my part that the privacy glass is raised. This could have
very interesting
prospects!

Alex takes my hand as soon as he’s beside me and runs his fingers along the bracelet.

“I love it,” I say, but not as much as I love him. I’ve only used that word with him one time, but I don’t doubt he knows how I feel.

He lifts his free arm and wraps it around my waist, pulling me tightly toward him and at the same time placing a delicate kiss on my forehead. “I’m glad you love it,” he whispers. “It’s a beautiful piece of jewellery but not as beautiful as the woman wearing it.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere.”

“I’m more than happy to be everywhere, as long as you’re by my side.”

His words make me blush because of the sincerity in his voice.

A number of scenarios run through my head about how our limo journey could go. I think back to a journey home from my parents’ house. I climbed on top of him to lift his mood.

“I know that look well, Miss Stewart, but I also know we are only a short drive from the hotel. So there is no time for what is running through your head
.
”
More’s the pity.
He takes my hand in his, and his fingers caress mine. I move my head slightly to look at him. He is staring out the window. I move my free hand to his chin and turn it slightly toward me. His gaze is intense, and the look on his face is wicked—in a good way.

My purpose is clear as I pull him toward me. Our connection is made as the impact of our lips entwine with each other with passion, lust, and meaning. His tongue seeks out mine, and we are both lost in the moment, without a care in the world. Lost in each other. My hands never leave his face, holding him in place as if my life depends on it. He runs his hands all over my bare back. I flinch slightly as he touches my scar. It’s not as sore as it was, but it is still tender. As we tear ourselves away from each other, I see passion in his eyes, burning with a desire for me. I hope I always see that look in his eyes when he looks at me.

He lifts his fingers to my lips and wipes at the corner. “We can’t have you leaving this car with a smudge. How would that look in tomorrow’s papers?”

I take the powder compact out of my bag and look in the mirror. I do need to tidy myself before I leave the car. He’s right; this would not be a good look. Journalists would have a field day.

“There. Is that better?” I ask, putting my things back in the bag.

“Much. Now, are you ready? We’re here.”

“As ready as I’m going to be.” I look out the window. A few reporters and photographers are waiting to the side of the hotel entrance. Time for my professional smile.

Murphy gets out of the car first, opens Alex’s door, and then moves around to mine. Alex exits the car next, and I am under strict instructions to stay put for a minute. Murphy opens my door as soon as Alex is around the car.

Alex offers me his hand as I leave the car, and he pulls me tightly toward him. “You are aware, Miss Stewart, that our ride home in that limo is going to be different. Just so you know.”

I can feel my face light up as I envision what is going to take place during the ride home. And with that, we face the awaiting media and pose for the cameras.

Well planned, Mr. Mathews.
His arm is tight around my waist, holding me so that I am standing at his side.

“Miss Stewart, I see you and Mr. Mathews have sorted out your differences,” a reporter says.

I look to Alex and smile before answering. “There were no differences to sort out.”

“Can we expect you to be gracing our city on a regular basis then, Miss Stewart?”

“I think that is a fair assumption, when I can get time away from my work commitments.”

Alex’s grip around my waist gets a little tighter as he acknowledges the words I have said.

“Mr. Mathews, if you don’t mind me asking, is your time going to be split equally between here and the UK now?”

“I’ll be back in the UK in two weeks and will be spending several weeks there trying to get my business up and running. Having business in the UK, yes, means I’ll be spending more time there, but it does come with its advantages.” He smiles and places a brief kiss on my forehead, much to the delight of the waiting photographers. “Now, ladies and gentlemen, if you don’t mind.”

With that, the doorman who has been standing patiently waiting leads the way into the building.

Holy shit! What an entrance.

We are greeted as soon as we enter the building by an older, round gentleman, whom Alex introduces as Fredrick the hotel manager. He seems rather charming as he kisses both my cheeks. “Miss Stewart, I do hope everything in the hotel meets with your expectations and approval,” Frederick says. “I run an exceptionally tight ship, or so I like to think, so if you come across anything not up to your high standards, please feel free to let me know.”

“I’m sure you do, but I’m here for a family gathering, not to judge how the hotel is run.” I glance from him to Alex. “It’s a stunning start, if that makes you both feel any better.” I don’t know what to take in first.

“Fredrick, is everything all set?” Alex asks.

“Yes, sir. Your immediate family is already here.”

“That’s fine. We’ll see them shortly. First I’m going to give Libby a brief tour.”

Fredrick leaves us to it, saying he looks forward to seeing me at a later date. I am still standing and admiring the grand reception lobby I find myself in—nothing like my warm and cosy reception back home. The colours are perfect, light with warm tones throughout. Lots of shades of cream, from the polished marble floor to the soft shades on the walls, highlighted with warm reds in all the soft furnishings. Not what I expected at all.

I don’t know why, but I thought it would be ultramodern. It has kept a lot of its original character. It doesn’t have the same feeling of warmth that Stewart House has, but it does have a good vibe.

“So you like?” Alex asks as I stand, taking in my surroundings.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Come on. We don’t have a lot of time. I want you to see the restaurants and bars.”

“So there is more than one of each?” I ask. He only grins at my question.

We head through the hotel and Alex fills me in on what it has to offer. It’s a luxury five-star-plus hotel with more than a thousand rooms, offering its guests the ultimate experience. Each room and suite has been individually designed. There is a fitness room unlike any I’ve ever seen that’s open twenty-four hours. Stephen would love this for the gym back home. I thought everything we had was state of the art. I’d love to come back and get some photos to show Stephen this place. But why would it need to be open twenty-four hours? Beauty rooms and a spa offer everything from relaxing massages to intimate waxing. A few individual shops offer guests everything from souvenirs to designer wear.

We briefly look in on two of the bars, which are busy. It is a Saturday evening after all. I wouldn’t expect anything less. Our next stops are the restaurants, which there are three of, all different in what they serve. The first is a themed burger-and-steak room, judging by the decor and the menu. It’s full with not an empty seat to be seen. Lots of families. The second looks to be an à la carte restaurant on the fifth floor with a great view of the hustle and bustle of city life below. The kitchen that serves these two restaurants must be impressive. Alex tells me we’ll do a tour of the kitchen another day, when I’m dressed appropriately.

We then head up in the lift to the tenth floor for the final restaurant. Alex looks excited to show me this one. We enter a stunning piano bar—and by stunning, I mean spectacular. It leads out onto a beautiful terrace. And the views—what can I say about them? The terrace has beautiful seating areas. There aren’t many people sitting outside right now, but I can imagine in the warmer months, this is well used. There are lots of potted plants and trees that sparkle with fairy lights, and soft music flows out from inside. It’s romantic. I could see couples out dancing in the moonlight. That thought pleases me. I would love to be, wrapped in Alex’s arms dancing under the stars.

“Alex, it’s beautiful out here,” I barely whisper.

“I thought you’d love it.” He kisses the back of my neck. “Now, one last place and person I want you to meet before we head down to the ballroom.”

He still has a firm hold of my hand as we head back inside, and it’s not long before we arrive at our destination—what looks to me like a fine-dining restaurant. Very formal and compact, it’s not as large as the others. There are a few diners already seated, enjoying their experiences. I have a quick look at the menu; it’s mighty impressive, from slow-cooked duck eggs with crisp ham and fresh pea mousseline to braised belly of lamb served with olive oil, crushed potato, zucchini, tomato barley, and rosemary jus.

“Mr. Mathews, Miss Stewart, good evening,” a smartly dressed woman with her dark hair tied back says as she approaches us.

“Rose, is everything alright?” Alex asks. “Libby, this is Rose. She’s in charge of the restaurants, the bars, and the functions.”

“Nice to meet you, Rose,” I say, offering her my hand.

“It’s great to meet you. And of course everything is fine—no problems to report. Colin says he can spare five minutes in the piano bar now.” I look from Rose to Alex, slightly puzzled.

“Colin is my executive chef. I thought you would like to meet him.”
Why?
I wonder. “Rose, you know where I’ll be if anything pops up tonight.”

He takes my hand, and we leave the restaurant and return to the piano bar. We go over to the bar, and Alex orders two glasses of champagne from the server. He pulls a stool out for me to sit on, but he doesn’t sit beside me; instead he stands beside me with his arm draped around me. Such a simple gesture has me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, and that’s before I take a drink from the glass.

“Alex, the hotel is fantastic. I’ve been in my fair share of hotels over the years, but I have to say, this place outshines them all.”

“That means a lot to me,” he says, smiling. “I have to admit it’s growing on me. It was only meant to be a turnaround business for me—I was just going to increase the profit before selling on—but I’m having second thoughts about it.”