make a decision.
Fuck.
He’d simply have to sit her
down and make her listen. He almost laughed out loud. His feisty
submissive had fought him hard last night and he imagined when she
woke she’d be just as determined as the night before. He needed
a plan.
“ Alex,” her hoarse
whisper beckoned him back into the room.
He sat down on the bed and pulled
her into his arms. She wore her exhaustion like a cloak. It troubled
him she’d worn herself down this much. He’d have to
insist on a medical check up. “I’m here sweetheart. Let
me get you some water.”
She nodded and slid bonelessly
back to the mattress. He brushed the hair from her face and watched
her slide back into the deep sleep she’d barely come out of.
Reluctantly, he left his bedroom and headed in the direction of the
kitchen. He reached for the light switch and swiped across something
on the small hallway table. It landed on the floor with a thud and
unseen items scattered across the floor. He turned on the light and
saw he’d knocked over Harper’s purse.
He bent over and swept the loose
items into her bag and placed it back on the desk. He’d
dislodged some paper that he shoved into the side pocket.
Wait a minute. He recognized
that envelope . He
pulled the item back out and opened the familiar airline ticket flap.
Harper’s name was printed on the ticket as was her flight
destination of Miami, Florida. What the hell? He opened it farther,
searching for more details when he hit the jackpot. Her itinerary had
been stapled inside the back of the ticket envelope. She was flying
to Miami later this afternoon where a car would pick her up and take
her to the Tranquility Bay resort in the Florida Keys. First she’d
taken off her collar and now this?
Dumbfounded, Alex continued to
stare at the paper until his vision blurred and the frustration
building inside him boiled over. Not only had she come here to break
up with him tonight but she’d also cemented the deal with a
planned island vacation for one.
It took every ounce of his
willpower not to storm into the bedroom, wake up his misbehaving
submissive and paddle her ass bright fucking red. He’d warned
her long ago about this kind of shit. He’d definitely made a
grave miscalculation by leaving her unattended for so long, but she’d
damn sure made things worse by refusing to talk to him when something
made her unhappy.
Alex winced at the thought.
Harper unhappy made him sick to his stomach. Things between them were
definitely still out of hand. He needed a plan and his mind was
already working one out. First, he needed to make some calls and then
he’d take care of Harper. Before she could walk out on him
again they were going to spend some time hashing this out. Then if
she still wanted to leave he’d have to let her go.
He stepped into his office and
closed the door to ensure his work didn’t wake Harper. He
grabbed the phone and dialed downstairs.
“ Charlie,” he spoke
before the man got in a word edge wise. “I need to go to the
airport in thirty minutes.”
“ Of course, sir. I’ll
call for car service right now. Anything else?”
Alex ran through the mental list
he’d been making since he’d decided on a plan. “No.
I’ve got everything else I need.”
He disconnected and punched in
the next number. Twenty minutes later all the arrangements had been
made and he had nothing left to do except grab his personal items and
one perfect, albeit stubborn as hell submissive.
Alex walked back into the master
bedroom and shook his head at the sight in front of him. Harper had
managed to roll the silk comforter around her like a moth making a
cocoon. Well, fine. It was time to show her how to become the
butterfly she was born to be and it would not be without him.
With the barest of necessities
packed, Alex scooped her from the bed and headed for the front door.
Charlie would follow behind with the sparse luggage he’d thrown
together for their impromptu trip. Everything