Page 59 of Forbidden Access

“I did. I got a private investigator to find her a couple of years later. By then I’d already fallen out with Alek.”

“You saw her?”

He shook his head. “I got the P.I. to deliver the divorce papers. Rebecca was flitting around the world, traveling and having fun. She had no issue with signing them.”

“Wow,” Thorn breathed. “I’m sorry, Damian. That’s tough.”

“I’m not.” He looked over at her, her hair lifting softly in the breeze. There was no denying it, he was falling face-first, head over heels for his beautiful Rose.

His.

When had he started thinking of her as his?

Since that first kiss. Maybe earlier, since their fake marriage. That’s why he’d been so uptight about Jaden, because he’d gotten used to having the dead man’s wife all to himself, and now he was having to share her again.

Except, maybe not.

Something had shifted in her. He’d known it from the run. He’d never allowed himself to hope so much for something in his life.

Now he needed to know.

But he still didn’t want to push it. Didn’t want to send her flying back to that dark place she’d been in when they’d arrived at the farmhouse. He needed her to be okay with it.

With him.

So he waited and did nothing.

CHAPTER 25

There was a soft creak as Thorn got out of her chair. The way Damian was looking at her—with heat, etched with worry and a little bit of apprehension—it softened him. It made the growly beast less intimidating, more human.

She wanted to wipe the worry from his eyes, reassure him that she was still there. That she still had feelings for him. That it did mean something.

Coming here had knocked her off course, and for a moment, she feared she’d made a humongous mistake. That her feelings for Damian were nothing more than a fling, a distraction. Something to be fought and squashed and ignored.

But she’d been wrong.

Even with her thoughts full of Jaden, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Damian. It all made sense now. That’s why it had hurt so badly. She hadn’t just lost her husband; she’d moved on. That’s why she’d been an emotional wreck—because she knew she was letting go. She couldn’t hold on to the memories any longer. It was time to make new ones.

That’s what hurt the most.

One thing she knew for sure was that Jaden would have wanted her to be happy. He’d tried to make her happy, and he had, for that short time. Now it was someone else’s turn.

Thorn’s heartbeat quickened as she closed the distance between them. Damian’s eyes darkened, his jaw tightening as if he was bracing for something. Maybe he thought she was going to walk away again, leave him hanging like she had before. But that wasn’t going to happen—not this time.

She didn’t break eye contact, her breath catching as she took in the rugged lines of his face, the tension coiled in his broad shoulders. There was something raw about him, something that always made her pulse race. It was like looking at a storm about to break, and for once, she wanted to be right in the middle of it.

Without a word, she slid onto his lap, her thighs pressing against his hips as she straddled him. She felt the sharp intake of his breath, saw the flicker of surprise in his eyes before they darkened further, the heat between them sparking to life.

Her hands found their way to his shoulders, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt as she leaned in, her lips hovering just above his.

For a split second, she hesitated. Maybe this was crazy, maybe she was moving too fast, but the way he was looking at her, with that mix of desire and caution, told her he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

She didn’t need words to show him what she felt—words had never been their strong suit anyway.

So she kissed him.

It wasn’t soft or tentative. This was all fire and need, the turmoil of the last two days erupting inside her. She poured everything into that kiss—every fear, every doubt, every longing she’d tried to suppress.

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