In the limousine, he watched as she fidgeted near the window. The confidence from the theater seemed to dissipate into the cool evening air. Before he could give it much more thought, she turned toward him. Her voice filled the quiet cabin. “That was a magnificent evening. Thank you, again.”
Her sudden surge of straightforwardness caught him by surprise. “Do you really think so?”
“I do. The music was performed beautifully, and you were right about the conductor.” After a pause, she asked, “Did I do all right?”
“What do you think?” he taunted.
After a moment, she replied, “I think I did well. I listened to Catherine, and to you, and d-did well.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy the trepidation in her voice; however, if she were to accompany him on future outings, positive reinforcement was in order. He was prepared. Anthony reached into his briefcase and found the black velvet box. He didn’t know that Claire would be accompanying him until this afternoon and didn’t have time to buy anything; then he remembered the old necklace he’d found in her apartment. While he was home, he put it in his briefcase in anticipation of just such an occasion.
Extending the box toward her, he softened his tone. “I believe you did well. I’ve told you that every action has a consequence. That can be negative—as we’ve seen—or positive. I believe that tonight you earned a positive consequence.”
“Anthony, I don’t need a gift. I wanted to make you proud. If I did that, then I’m happy and that’s enough.”
“It’s a gift, or at least I believe it was; however, it’s not new.” He continued to hold the box in her direction. Her tentative response caused his cheeks to rise. She was so unlike the other women he’d dated. Curiously, he asked, “Will it always be this difficult to get you to open gifts?”
She took the box. “You have my curiosity piqued. What are you giving me that’s old?”
Before he could answer, she lifted the lid. When she looked up, tears silently glided down her cheeks. He’d seen her cry before—this was different. He listened as she choked back her emotion. “H-how did you … where did you get this? It was my grandmother’s.”
“It was in your apartment in Atlanta when it was cleaned out. I thought you might want to have it. Do you?” He watched as Claire internalized his words. In essence, he’d just told her that her old life was now cleaned out, disposed of—gone. She hadn’t asked, and he hadn’t informed her, but now it was confirmed. Anthony waited for her to respond.
“Oh, yes, I do!”
Her concentration on the necklace and acceptance of her apartment’s fate satisfied him more than he’d expected. It confirmed that the old Claire Nichols was ceasing to exist, and with each passing day, the woman before him was new and created solely for his liking. His cheeks rose with the unexpected wave of relief. Eagerly, he asked, “Would you like me to help you put it on?”
Claire nodded and turned away as he draped the delicate chain around her neck. Past experience confirmed that the woman he initially acquired from Atlanta would’ve dwelled on her loss and become emotionally distraught. Claire’s steadily improving behavior filled Anthony with pride. He’d done this! There wasn’t a challenge that Anthony Rawlings couldn’t overcome. Perhaps some of the credit should go to Catherine. Either way, he was enjoying the benefits of their dedication to their project.
As he fastened the clasp and the tips of his fingers touched her warm skin, Anthony remembered why he liked Claire’s hair styled up. He leaned nearer to taste her exposed neck, but before his lips contacted her skin, she bent forward and pulled a small compact from her purse. A reprimand was on the tip of his tongue, when he realized that she hadn’t moved away from him. She was still too wrapped up in the necklace to sense his intentions.
Her gaze flitted from the small mirror to him, as she said, “Anthony, there isn’t a necklace you could’ve bought that would mean more to me than this one.”
He’d seen many emotions in her emerald eyes, but what he saw at that moment gave him an unexplained sense of contentment. Anthony’s thumb gently brushed her cheek, confirming that her tears from earlier were dry, unexpectedly her lids fluttered, and she moved toward his touch. Anthony knew that many times her words were false. He didn’t consider it deception, but rather obedience. She said what she was expected to say and did what she was expected to do. There were also times when her expression failed to hide her trepidation, and he saw her true exposed reaction. This moment was different—real, not contrived—but honestly pleasant. He’d planned to give her the necklace as a reward, if she performed well; however, what he said next hadn’t been planned. “People who know me well, and they’re numbered, call me Tony. You may call me Tony.”
“Thank you, Tony,” she replied. “This has been an amazing night. How can I ever thank you?”
He pulled her close, feeling the pressure of her breasts against his chest. Turning off the riding lights, he smiled a devilish grin. “I have a few ideas.”
Claire’s glance darted toward the dark glass partition separating the back from the front of the car.
Tony laughed. “I promise we’re alone; Eric can’t see or hear us.” He leaned toward her. She instinctively reached for his neck and settled onto the long leather seat. As he hovered mere inches above, he watched her cheeks flush, and his erection came to life. Over the past few months, Claire had learned to respond to Tony’s commands—both verbal and otherwise. There‘d been times when she’d hesitated. It was on those occasions that she earned the punishment she deserved. Turning his tone more serious, he raised a brow and demanded, “Now, show me that you’ve followed my rules. I want to see.”