Page 61 of Truth

“Yes?”

“Why do you think I don’t want to have sex with you? It couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“Then why haven’t you?”

His chest vibrated beneath me with his laughter. “You’ve had a rough couple of nights emotionally, sweetheart. I was giving you time to adjust.”

“Okay.” I knew I didn’t sound convincing, but it was the best I could do.

Then, before I knew what was happening, I was lying flat on my back and Stephan was hovering over me. He dragged my arms over my head and held them down with one hand as he reached between us with the other. The feeling of being surrounded by him permeated my bones, and all the stress and anxiety of the day faded away. For the first time in the last few hours, I could breathe.

Chapter Seventeen

Stephan

I hadn’t expected the night to turn out the way it had. I had thought I was protecting Brianna by not initiating sex the last two nights, but instead I’d made her feel insecure. That wasn’t what I’d wanted at all. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Last night, I’d realized she was even stronger than what I’d understood her to be, yet she needed something from me. Brianna was submissive, at least to me. She trusted that I would take care of her, and there was nothing that said that more than the way her body became relaxed and pliant beneath me when I dominated her sexually.

She came twice—once with my fingers, once with my mouth—before I’d taken her. The instant connection I felt to her once we’d come together was hard to describe. It got better every time.

Her sleep had been interrupted only once during the night, which wasn’t bad considering. She’d woken up screaming, not knowing where she was, just after two in the morning. Once I’d got her to calm down, I’d held her until she’d fallen back to sleep.

She was smiling as she served me breakfast, all signs of her distress gone. It was always difficult to leave her, but I also knew she would be waiting for me when I came home. The thought of her not being there one day was inconceivable to me, and I hoped it never happened. Until then, however, I would be there for her in whatever capacity she needed me to be, and at the moment, that included protecting her from her father.

To be safe, I stopped by the front desk to check in with Tom before going to my car. He was just getting in for the day.

“Hello, Mr. Coleman. How are you this morning?”

“I’m good, Tom. And you?”

“Can’t complain. How is Miss Reeves?”

“She’s doing well. I wanted to see if you’d heard or seen anything of Jonathan Reeves since the restraining order was issued.”

“No. Nothing in the last three days.”

“Good. I hope it stays that way.”

“If I see him, sir, I’ll call you.”

“You’re a good man, Tom. Thank you.”

“No thanks needed, Mr. Coleman.”

My morning at work went quickly. The pile on my desk didn’t appear to be going away anytime soon, but at least I was making progress.

At eleven forty-five, I let Jamie know I was going out and headed to the local restaurant where Logan and I were meeting for lunch. It was almost exactly half the distance between my office and his, so it was perfect for these midday meetings. Plus, it was a little hole-in-the-wall place that was busier for dinner than lunch, which would mean more privacy for our conversation.

When I arrived, Logan was already seated at a small table in the back. I took a seat across from him. Before either of us was able to say anything, our server appeared to get my drink order.

“I think she may be new,” Logan said, the minute our server left. “She was here within seconds of me sitting down as well.”

“Nothing wrong with being prompt.” He smiled, knowing how anal I could be sometimes about people being on time. I didn’t have many pet peeves, but tardiness was one of them. “How was your trip?”

“New York is the same as always. It would have been nicer if Lily had been able to come with me.”

“I’m sure. Unfortunately, she’s up to her eyeballs in last-minute details for the fall fundraiser. October will be here before we know it.”

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