Because You Are Mine (Because You Are Mine #1)(53)
Author: Beth Kery

He already is one of them, she reminded herself wryly with a shake of her head before she went back to studying.

When the pilot’s voice came through the intercom and told them they were beginning their descent into Indiana, Ian glanced up, blinking several times, as if seeing the world around him for the first time. He shut off his computer and raked his fingers through his short, stylishly mussed hair, making Francesca experience a sudden longing to have her fingers where his were.

“How did your studying go?” he asked, his voice sounding a little hoarse from not using it for so long.

“Excellent,” she replied, not at all surprised by the fact that he knew she’d been lying about the novel. Not much got past him.

“You say that with a great deal of confidence,” he said, sipping his ice water and eyeing her over the rim of the glass.

“No reason I shouldn’t.”

He put out his hand expectantly. She held his stare and handed him the tablet.

He began to question her on the material. Francesca rattled off the correct answers without hesitation. The pilot informed them to prepare for landing, and Ian closed the tablet, sliding it into his briefcase. His handsome face was impassive, but she had the impression he was pleased.

“I have meetings this afternoon and all of tomorrow at the office, but I’ll ask Jacob to take you out for some driving practice. Another time or two behind the wheel, and you’ll be ready to get your license,” he stated with confidence.

Francesca ignored the flare of irritation she felt—it was as if getting her license had been added to some kind of mental checklist that he planned to complete in methodical Ian fashion. Instead of commenting on that, however, she focused on something else that he’d said that surprised her.

“This afternoon? What time is it in Chicago?”

He checked his Rolex. “About the same time that we left Paris: eleven forty.”

“Wow, it’s like we transported.”

He flashed an unexpected smile. The plane dipped as they went in for a landing, amplifying the swooping sensation in her belly. That smile always made him more approachable. She had an overwhelming desire to ask about the woman she’d seen him with this morning, to ask him why he’d seemed so affected by the meeting . . .

. . . to demand that he tell her something that helped her understand the enigma of him.

But Ian had another agenda altogether.

“You mentioned being a financial disaster,” he said. Francesca stared at him, openmouthed. It was as if he’d just resumed a conversation they were having yesterday, without a beat. “What do you plan on doing with the money you earned for the painting commission?”

She gripped the armrest, jolting slightly when the plane hit the runway. Ian never blinked.

“What do you mean what do I plan to do with it? I plan to use it for my education . . . my future.”

“Naturally, but it’s not as if you’ll have to write a check for a hundred thousand dollars anytime soon, will you?”

She shook her head.

“Why don’t you let me invest the bulk of it?”

“No,” she blurted out. She saw his blank expression of incredulity at her adamancy. There were thousands of people who would be turning cartwheels at the prospect of financial wizard Ian Noble offering to invest their money for them.

“You can’t leave that much money in a checking account,” he stated as if saying the most obvious thing on the planet. “It makes no sense whatsoever.”

“It makes sense to me! People like me don’t invest money, Ian.”

“People like you? Do you mean other fools? Because that’s what you’d have to be to leave that amount of money in a checking account,” he said, blue eyes sparking.

She started forward in the lounger, prepared to retort hotly, and then reconsidered. She leaned back and regarded him. He stilled when he noticed her speculative look.

“What?” he asked, slightly suspicious.

“I’ll invest it myself if you teach me how.”

The wary gleam in his eyes transformed into one of amusement.

“I haven’t got time to tutor you.” She raised her eyebrows. “Not on personal investing, anyway,” he added, a sexy grin pulling at his lips. Her pulse skipped. God help her, he was beautiful. He unfastened his seat belt when the plane came to a halt.

“Would you really like to learn about finances?”

“Sure. I need all the help I can get.”

He said nothing as he clicked his briefcase closed and stood. He donned his sport coat and came over to her, reaching for her hand. She unfastened her seat belt, and he gently pulled her up next to him.

“We’ll have to see what we can manage between your other lessons,” he murmured, dipping his head and fitting his lips to hers.

What was it about the contrast between Ian’s aloofness at times and his sudden, immense heat that created such a sharp, overwhelming longing in her?

It felt strange to her a half an hour later to see the Chicago skyline set against a cornflower-blue sky. It looked the same as it always had, but she felt different. When Jacob veered the limousine onto North Avenue from the interstate, she mentally prepared herself for returning to her former life. It was hard to mentally fit this Francesca into the former Francesca’s world. Paris had done that to her.

Ian had.

Even if he walked away today, could she really regret her sensual awakening, the widening and deepening of her world?

“Are you painting tomorrow after class?” Ian asked from where he sat across from her on the leather bench seat in the back of the limo.

“Yes,” she said, gathering her purse. Jacob had just come to a stop in front of Davie’s Wicker Park townhome. She glanced at Ian, feeling a little awkward at the realization that now they would return to their separate worlds. Jacob rapped once on the window, and Ian casually leaned over and rapped once back. The door remained closed.

“I would like you to have dinner with me Thursday evening,” he said.

“All right,” she said, both pleased and flustered by his statement.

“And on Friday and Saturday, I’d like to have you. Period.”

Heat flooded her cheeks. A profound sense of relief struck her. Given the edge to his tone just now, he definitely wasn’t finished with her yet.

“I have to work on Saturday night.”

“Sunday then,” he said, unconcerned.

She nodded.

“I’ve asked Jacob to take you driving later this afternoon, and tomorrow afternoon as well. You two can arrange a time for tomorrow. Today, he’ll pick you up at four. Maybe you’d like to rest before then.”