Ryan got up to leave, and Anna followed him to the door. When he bent down to kiss her cheek goodbye, she turned her face away, and he planted the kiss on her lip. He stopped in surprise, and when he saw Anna's eyes closed, as if waiting for more, he kissed her again. Anna found his kiss even gentler than Allister's on her face, and longed to feel his hands on her body, so she responded with ardor. She might never be able to have Adam, but Ryan was a good substitute. He had the same physical attributes as his brother, and she was very much in need. She ran her hand through his soft hair and pressed her body to his, but Ryan pulled away at that moment, showing that he was doing it with difficulty, and looked her in the eye.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to surprise you. I hope you like it." He said and left.
Anna felt grateful to be able to wipe that fake smile off her lips, despite her frustration at having her wishes indifferently ignored, she was pleased with herself, and went into the bedroom. It was dark, but she was very tired and jumped into bed without turning on the light.
But it was suddenly turned on, and she sat up in surprise to see Adam staring angrily at her from beside the light switch.
"Oh, no! What now? Why don't you go and drink your water?" she said annoyed, lying back on the pillow.
"You're a good actress. Ryan's going to ask you to marry him tomorrow."
"Were you spying on me? Did you hear everything we said?" Anna asked disinterestedly, her eyes closed and she yawned.
"I came in through the other room... If you'd been walking around the house more attentively, you would have realized that there's a door there, and that I sleep there, while you date."
"I saw the door and thought it was one of the men in the black suit resting there." She said sleepily.
"Kate spoke to me."
"Really? Do you want to confide in me at this hour? I know you're used to torturing people, but can't it be tomorrow? I'm really tired!" She said and pulled the blanket over her head.
She felt a weight fall next to her, and she pulled the blanket off her head. Adam was lying next to her.
Anna jumped out of bed when she saw him next to her, and was suddenly awake.
"What are you doing?"
"Kate told me a bit about your conversation..."
"No! She didn't tell you a bit. She minutely recounted every detail of our conversation!"
"How do you know?"
"You're not the kind of man who settles for summaries."
"Is that how you define me? Kate gave me the impression that you don't approve of our relationship..."
"You sounded angry. I didn't know that my opinion or my approval made a difference to either of you."
"I told you that you didn't have to put your tongue inside his mouth, and you went even further. You offered him so much more. Ryan left here confused, not knowing whether to marry you or win the bet."
"These are things you can't know. You said you were in the room when I kissed him, and you don't have the power to read minds. Don't be arrogant, 'boss'."
Adam smiled mysteriously.
"You don't know what I'm capable of."
"I'm not deaf, 'boss'. I've heard stories about your family since I was born. Your cruelty has not gone unnoticed by my people. That's why they all fear you."
"Your people... Do you know who your mother was?"
Anna pressed her lips together.
"You won't tell me about my mother. You're not worthy to utter her name."
Adam looked at her with his usual cold eyes.
"The fear of your people has not extended to you, Anna. And I can assure you that what they know of my family, of the cruelties they have practiced, cannot compare with the things I am capable of."
Anna left the room before he could finish his sentence and grabbed a glass of water from the sink. Adam appeared behind her. She turned around when she felt his presence.
"I hope I didn't get in the way of your... Romance." She said to get away from the subject of her people.
"You wish you had, yes."
"Yes. I would very much like to."
"Why?"
"You betrayed the man I loved. You don't deserve to be happy."
"No. That's not the reason."
"No?"
Adam approached her, standing a meter away. Anna was leaning on the sink and could smell his perfume.
"You're jealous."
Anna looked away.
"You're very overbearing."
"I can see it in your eyes every time you look at me, Anna."
Anna turned, her back to him.
"Where are you going with this conversation?"
"I just want to... Try it out. I'm curious."
Anna turned to him and was surprised to realize that he had moved closer, and was now a step away from her. It wasn't a pleasant position to be in, but she needed to prove to him the extent of the contempt she felt.
"Do you want to know what I see when I'm not looking at you with disgust? I see Allister. You're a lot like him. I try to see something in you that reminds me of the time when I was happy, but it doesn't last. You're not even a shadow of the man your father was. You're erased by the mere memory of his eyes!"
"Those are your assumptions. None of my wives have had conversations with you about our intimacy, so... You still don't have any real data to compare me with my father. Maybe you're right, and Allister is the only man who was able to give pleasure to a human woman, because he seemed to care, but you can't be sure of that, until... Try it."
Anna stared at him, still not wanting to understand what he was saying. His cold eyes, the arrogance embedded in his whole being, were factors that should have been enough to make her want him as far away from herself as possible, but that wasn't what she wanted. It wasn't distance that she needed at that moment.