Deserving of His Diamonds by ASUS

said, taking a generous sip to settle her nerves. ‗Why didn‘t you put your
    things in my bedroom as I asked you to?‘ he said. She gripped her wineglass
    a little tighter. ‗You can‘t force me to occupy your bed. I need more time.
    It‘s a big step for me.‘

    ‗Didn‘t you like the new decor?‘ he asked. ‗It looks like no expense has been
    spared to rid your bedroom of every trace of my previous occupation of it,‘
    Gisele said with a touch of asperity. His expression was unreadable as he
    raised his glass to his lips. ‗I thought it was time for a change.‘ ‗Out with the old, in with the new?‘ she said with a cynical look. ‗Did all your subsequent
    girlfriends like it?‘ A brooding frown appeared between his eyebrows. ‗If
    you don‘t like it then we can occupy another room,‘ he said. ‗But you will
    share a bed with me, Gisele. I will not have any rumours circulating that this
    is not a proper relationship.‘ ‗How soon did you replace me?‘ she asked. A
    muscle worked in his jaw. ‗Gisele, this is not going to help matters.‘ ‗How
    many?‘ she asked, feeling a lump rise in her throat. ‗I could ask you the
    same thing.‘ ‗Go on,‘ she said. ‗Ask me.‘ The muscle in his jaw worked
    even harder. ‗All right,‘ he said on an expelled breath. ‗How many lovers
    have you had since me?‘ Gisele wished now she hadn‘t provoked him.
    Could she lie just to hurt him? Could she play payback with a host of
    imaginary lovers, not one of whom would have come close to being as
    perfect for her physically as him? What was the point? She suspected he
    would see through it

    anyway. Hadn‘t the way she‘d responded to him so far given him enough
    proof that she hadn‘t moved on? ‗There‘s been no one,‘ she said after a tight
    pause. ‗Gisele …‘ ‗Don‘t get me wrong.‘ She cut him off quickly. ‗I‘ve had
    plenty of opportunities. I just didn‘t want to rush into anything. You don‘t
    have to automatically assume I was waiting for you to take me back because
    I wasn‘t.‘ He took his drink and moved over to the windows again, his back
    turned towards her. It was a moment or two before he spoke and, when he
    did, his voice was rough around the edges, as if it had been dragged up from
    a place deep inside him. ‗Would you believe me if I told you I was thinking
    of making contact with you even before the press release came out about
    Sienna being the one in the tape?‘ Gisele felt her heart give a little hit-and-
    miss beat. ‗Why?‘ He turned from the window and faced her with an
    inscrutable look. ‗I‘m not sure,‘ he said. ‗I guess I wanted to see if you had
    fared any better than me.‘ ‗What do you mean?‘ ‗Anger and bitterness are
    pretty corrosive things to be carrying around,‘ he said. ‗I think I got tired of
    being angry. For two years I was totally consumed with it. I could think of
    nothing else. I finally got to the point where I wanted to move on. I thought
    if I contacted you, perhaps met with you face to face to ask you why you‘d
    betrayed me, it might‘ve helped.‘ ‗But I hadn‘t betrayed you.‘

    He let out a heavy sigh. ‗No,‘ he said. ‗You hadn‘t. And that‘s what I have
    to live with. I made a mistake. It‘s new territory for me. I‘m not usually
    wrong about anything.‘ Gisele looked at the wine in her glass and thought
    about what he had said about carrying around anger. Her anger had burned
    like acid inside her. It was still burning, eating away at her, keeping her
    awake at night. But she wasn‘t quite ready to relinquish it. Marietta appeared
    at that point with the announcement that dinner was ready. Gisele followed
    Emilio to the dining room where the long highly polished table had been
    beautifully set up for a romantic dinner for two. Flowers from the garden
    made a fragrant centrepiece along with the flickering candles in the
    candelabra that added to the tone of intimacy. So many times in the past