Page 57 of Savage Game
He indulged in a few moments of cuddling. Pressing up on his elbows, Byron kissed her cheek and enjoyed the feeling of warm, soft skin under his lips. Beneath his mouth he could feel her smile, and her bedroom eyes blinked up into his. “I love you, Byron Nolan.”
He groaned. “I love you too, Kittycat mine.” Swooping down, he took her kiss-swollen mouth as if their lives depended on it, pouring in every ounce of love and devotion he felt for her.
When he finally pulled back, they were both panting for air and her eyes gleamed tenderly with love and tears. “I love you, Byron, with all my heart. But—” her voice trailed off and she swallowed.
He rested his forehead on hers and finished her sentence, “But you’re still married and not willing to jump headfirst into a new relationship.”
Charlotte let out a shuddering breath and quietly replied, “Yes.”
Sighing, he lifted his weight from her, rolled to his back, and stared up at the ceiling. “I understand. I wish things were different, but I do understand.”
Maybe he didn’t like that she was withholding her love from him, essentially was holding back from him, but… Byron sighed. He couldn’t blame her for keeping pieces of herself shielded from him. Byron himself still hadn’t told Charlotte all about the accident that changed his face and his life—his deepest shameful regret. He should get out of bed and shower, but he stayed put. No matter the amount of water and soap, he could never wash away his feelings of remorse and guilt. Never!
26
Day Twenty-Six
The wax-play had smoothed away any remaining awkwardness between them, Charlotte thought as she worked alongside Byron on a takeover. The business was a struggling publisher and Charlotte couldn’t understand the problem. “I thought the publishing business was doing well with the current situation and people staying home.”
“Hmm?”
She grinned and waited for him to tear his gaze away from the papers before she addressed him again and confided, “I find the way you focus and concentrate really sexy, Sir.”
His eyes flashed, and a sexy smirk curved his mouth. “Do you now?”
All his attention now centered on her, sending tingles over her entire body—shivers of the pleasurable kind she’d come to love and anticipate. The air between them shifted with sexual tension, transforming him from boss into Master and her from assistant into submissive.
Byron rolled his chair away from the desk, and she was moving toward him before he held his hand out.
Sitting on his lap, she toed off her shoes and, curling her leg around his, rubbed the instep of her bare foot against his calf. He rested his chin on her shoulder and blew out his breath.
She leaned her upper body against his chest and enjoyed his warmth. For a moment, she just inhaled his unique amber scent.
“So, Kittycat, what did you ask me?”
Ask him? As if she could remember anything with his scent and strength enveloping her and a distinctive bulge growing against her behind. She wiggled, and his arms tightened.
“Kitten.”
Her mouth quirked at the dominant, admonishing tone. “Yes, Sir?” She tipped her head back and stared up at his face.
He bent forward, but instead of kissing her lips, he clamped his teeth around her chin, and his midnight blue eyes blazed into hers. He let go of his hold, but shifted his arm behind her back, forcing her to lean back and trust him to keep her suspended. “You’re being a brat. Answer my question.”
“Oh, right, I remember. I asked why the publisher was having troubles since eBooks are doing well right now.”
“Ah.” He rubbed their noses together. “You’re right about that. But when a publisher loses its reputation amongst authors and they don’t want to write for them anymore, they get into problems.”
“How come?”
“Romance readers are ferocious bibliophiles. They want new books, maybe not daily but every week. If a publisher doesn’t deliver, readers find books elsewhere.”
“And they might never return to the publisher because they found books they like at other places.”
“Yes.”
He nuzzled her neck, and Charlotte giggled. Her hands rose, and she tried to push his head away.
Her Master lifted his head and gave her his sternest expression. “Hands behind your head.”
