The Love Affair(Good Wife Better Mistress)

Possessive

She can feel a certain part of her body become excited, and she knows the wetness isn't just from her period. She wants to kick herself for responding so shamelessly to his touch. She wants to scream at him to make him stop, but someone is knocking on the door.

"Mr. Romano, the clothes are here," says John.

Alex picks up the clothes and hands them to her before leaving her alone in the small room. After a few minutes, the clerk returns carrying a paper bag. Your boyfriend said that you might have trouble getting dressed because of your injury and he asked me to help you. Also, I've brought you some supplies to deal with your period. Nicole sighs.

"I can see that he cares about you," the clerk says.

"Can you?" Nicole asks, surprised, "How can you tell?"

"He looked so scared when he carried you in here. We all thought that you'd been in some horrible accident from his expression," the clerk said, "We were afraid you were dying."

"He's always angry," Nicole smiles and rolls her eyes, "Some people mistake that for fear at first."

"No, it wasn't anger," the clerk insists with a small smile, "I know how men look when they're angry, and he wasn't angry. He was scared he was going to lose you."

Nicole can't believe what the clerk is saying, but she forces herself to try to remember what happened when he found her in the bathroom. His voice did sound strange, she admits. But she's not so sure it wasn't just anger or disgust at seeing the blood. She thinks about the way he took her in his arms and carried her to the car, the way he cradled against his body throughout the drive, and then the way he boldly ran into traffic to get her into the pharmacy.

She was too groggy with pain to pay attention to his expression, but she has to admit that maybe it didn't anger on his face. Maybe he was worried about her.

"It's the first time I've ever seen a man so nervous he couldn't tell if his girlfriend was bleeding out or on her period. He even mistook the lipstick on the towel for your blood," the clerk says with a small chuckle.

Nicole presses her lips together. She doesn't know how to reply to the clerk—she doesn't even know how she feels. She doesn't want to know that Alex might be softening, that in some sick way, he might care for her. She can't afford any distractions and she definitely can't let any remnant of her old feelings get in the way of her divorce plans.

The clerk looks at the clothing Nicole is struggling to put on and gasps, "Wow, that's the latest Donna Karan. You're so lucky to have such a sweet boyfriend."

Nicole remains silent. She somehow doesn't seem to realize who Alex is. If she knew, she wouldn't be shocked. One designer outfit is absolutely nothing to Alex.

"Um, anyway, he also brought you some extra long sanitary napkins," the clerk says.

Nicole rolls her eyes. Alex must have asked John to buy those too. John is perpetually single and has no idea what to buy for women on their period. Though Nicole doubts that Alex knows any better than his butler. She smiles dryly when she realizes that Alex may have specifically asked for the extra-long napkins because he was so overwrought by the sight of her blood.

"Can I help you stand up?" the clerk asks.

With the clerk's help, Nicole finishes getting dresses. For some reason, she can't stop thinking about what the clerk said. Her intuition tells her that the clerk is right: Alex has suddenly started caring for her. Nicole shakes her head to clear her thoughts.

"I can't make the same mistake again," she thinks.

As soon as she finishes dressing, alex insists on taking her to the hospital for x-rays and scans. The techs report that nothing is broken or torn and Alex cradles her in the backseat of his car on the way back to the manor.

Several servants stand at the gate of the manor, waiting for Alex and Nicole. Brownie stands near them, but the servants all keep their distance from the enormous black dog.

"Mr. Romano, our apologies, but Brownie got out and we can't get him back inside," a servant says as Alex opens the car door.

Alex helps Nicole out of the car and Brownie begins to bark at her.

"Brownie, go back to your kennel," Alex says seriously.

Nicole shrinks into Alex's side, afraid that the dog might come for her. Brownie growls low in his throat and pads toward Alex. At the last minute, he dodges past Alex and bites Nicole on the leg.

"Brownie!" Nicole scolds.

Brownie wags his tail. The bite was a playful greeting, and he quickly follows it by licking her leg. Alex is surprised to see that Brownie is so affectionate with someone besides him.

"Let me go," Nicole says, trying to escape Alex's embrace.

"Don't you care about your waist?" Alex asks.

"The doctors said it's fine," Nicole says, "Now let me go. I can walk on my own."

Alex ignores her complains and sweeps her off the ground.

"Go to your kennel," he commands again in a low voice.

The dog yelps and runs back to the house.

"Where are you taking me?" Nicole asks, looking around. Instead of taking her to the main parlor, Alex is taking her to the back parlor where he keeps Brownie, "You told me not to come here anymore.

Alex gently places her on the sofa and brownie  immediately runs over and rests his head on her leg.

"Leave her alone," Alex commands and points at the other side of the room.

He pushes brownie's head away from Nicole, and the dog stands up and trots to the other side of the room. John watches in awe. He still can't believe that the dog likes Nicole so much. He's been working for Alex for years, but the dog still tries to bite him every time it sees him.

Alex points at Brownie again, "Stay there or you can't have dinner tonight."

"Why won't you let him come here?" Nicole asks, "Alexandro, are you so low you'll even threaten a dog?"

"Did you hear that?" Alex says to the dog, "It seems like she likes you."

Nicole wants to roll her eyes or scream. If anyone else said that it would be fine, but somehow Alex finds a way to sound jealous of a dog. She wants to ask Conrad if he happens to know of any medicines to cure men of crazy, possessive desires.

She suddenly remembers the man from the night club whose leg Alex had skinned and she feels sick. She presses her face into the sofa cushion and closes her eyes. Seeing that Nicole is resting and Brownie is behaving, Alex whispers something to one of the servants and then leaves with John.