THE BILLIONAIRE'S GIRLFRIEND

TWENTY FOUR.

She woke up hours later to an empty bed. Knowing what she did of his habits, it shouldn't really come as a surprise.

But, somehow, it was. And it hurt. Malora told herself that it didn't mean anything. It didn't diminish the closeness they shared the night before nor the fact that she was still here. Except it did mean something. It meant...she was spending the night alone again. And suddenly, out of nowhere, she was laying down there with her head full of that fucking photo. The one she'd seen right before Titan invaded her privacy in Kinlochbervie: Titan's engagement to Meredith Grey.

How good and put together they looked at that charity event. Even the paps all agreed they looked like the fucking golden couple. Like they were meant to be together. Meredith's hand curled so naturally around his elbow.

When he would barely let her touch him at all.

Wrapping the sheets around her body toga-style, she went in search of Titan. He was in the living room, wrapped in a dressing gown and watching the gray-gold dawn as it broke across the city. The way the window framed him reminded Malora of the first time she saw him. She'd been spitting terrified then but still the sight of him there had touched at her somehow. He'd seemed at once so remote and so beautiful—a cold-eyed beautiful tiger—and she'd yearned to touch him and run away at the same time.

Part of her still yearned to do that.

But the rest of her just felt rejected. Because it was all very well to stand  looking around dramatically lonely when you were, in fact, lonely.

But she was right here.

Right. The. Fuck. Here.

She perched on the arm of a chair.

"What's wrong?"

He glanced her way—his eyes all stormy-dark against cashmere—and gave her a faint smile. "I'm sorry if I woke you up. I am a very light sleeper and not used to sharing a bed."

"What about when you're with Meredith?"

Hell, why in the world had she said that? The words clattered between them like she'd dropped a pot. He did not flinch, but a kind of awful stillness came over him. And she knew she'd gone too far. Pushed too far. Broken every of his goddamned contract rule. He wouldn't probably let her see this side of him again, much less get close to him.

"I'm sorry." She blurted. "I'm tired. I don't know where that came from."

"Go back to bed, Malora."  He didn’t say it in a nasty way but that was almost worse. As if she was on the other side of the glass with the rest of the world.

"You could come with me?" She didn't know what else to do so she tried a minxy look. "We don’t have to sleep."

He shook his head.

"Can I stay, then?" Wow. That was just pathetic. She felt like a broken traffic light, flicking back and forth at random between signals. In her case: needy, flirty, and pushy.

"It's really not necessary."

"I want to." She joined him at the window, watching the silver towers with their fleeting golden crowns.

If f f e could manage to shut up for five seconds, maybe he'd relax. Put his arm around her. Draw her in close. Let her snuggle. She wasn't a morning person but if this was what life with Titan meant…she was game to try.

They'd had a moment last night and now he just back to being indifferent. It was a repetitive habit that was getting tiring now. She should just go back to bed.

Then her mouth happened. "Why don't you trust me?"

There was a brief hesitation and then, with devastating patience, "I do trust you. If I didn't , you wouldn't be here."