Continental Life

Eleven

Xander's drive home was interrupted by his sudden need to pull over and step out for some fresh sea air. The image of Bella's perfect ass being swatted by that damned paddle held by another's man's hand would be forever emblazoned in his mind. As he'd watched, resentment had ripped him open and left his emotions bare for everyone to see. He thought he was stronger and more flexible, but he had never been more wrong about himself.

"Fuck the DDTC," he grumbled out loud.

The look on her face as he held Lauren was another memory he would rather forget. Bella had to know it didn't mean anything to him ... she had to.

His shoving match with Dalberg still had him feeling raw and pissed off. Clearly, Brandon's neutrality was a thing of the past. It was a good thing Dominic had stepped in when he did, or else the night would have ended with a few black eyes and, likely, bloodshed.

What the fuck was Brandon's problem, anyway?

Leaning against the hood of his car, he stared at the bright half-moon and the wispy clouds floating past it. Bella's pained cries once again broke through his calm. Glancing at his watch, the time read 10:02. If he hurried, he might make it home in time to watch her dance for him, though he doubted it. If he hadn't gotten into the confrontation with Dalberg, he would have had plenty of time. Goddamn it.

He would just have to settle for watching her via mobile uplink somewhere private where he could at least indulge in a glass of vintage champagne to wash his woes away. Only one place came to mind. The Effervesce Lounge.

When he climbed back into his car, he texted Bella his plans and drove quickly to downtown San Francisco.

Once there, he seated himself in a secluded area and logged onto his security account. As he flipped through the different cameras, he was pissed to find Bella nowhere in sight.

XP: I need to see you. Where are you? It's 10:33.

MsDarcy: There's been a change of plans. Talk later. I love you.

Bella's cold response festered low in his gut. What the hell could have come up that was so important the one thing he looked forward to every day could be pushed aside so easily?

Rising, he walked to the bar and ordered a glass of Dom Perignon.

Maybe what she saw him engage in with Lauren had been too much for her. Of course, it was. Just like it was too much for him to see her with Hutchens.

Barely resisting the urge to drive to her, he instead tracked her phone only to find it turned off. Giving her time and the benefit of the doubt, he sulked to a busier area of the bar and downed his champagne far too quickly. He knew her way of dealing with things was the same way he did—by seeking solitude for a short period of time to think things over. He'd taught her well.

Disheartened, he swirled the last remaining sips of his drink in his glass as the sound of Wait for Me played in the background, and din filled the air. It was unusually busy for a Monday night, and it would've been a perfect opportunity to bring Bella out for a bit of bubbly and a dance. A real dance. One where he could actually hold her and not merely watch her.

"Your next glass of Dom is on the lady at the end of the bar," the lanky bartender stated, pushing another glass across the ornate wooden bar toward him.

Xander pushed it away without looking up. "Tell her I'm not interested."

"She insists," the man commented.

Xander chuckled sarcastically. He wasn't into women who insisted on anything. He preferred his women to be submissive and obedient. Like Bella. And occasionally sassy, he thought as he chuckled again, still astounded she had dared to give old Dalberg the Walla Walla comeback. The confused look on his face that followed was nearly laugh-out-loud-worthy. In any other situation, he would have, too.