Page 107 of The Billionaire's Demand

Was this a way to assuage his conscience at what he knew he’d taken away from her? That being the hope of ever living out her childhood hopes and dreams for a fairy tale happy ending?

Yes, he thought, standing with frustration and pacing across his office. That was precisely the problem. He had a guilty conscience and he didn’t want to feel worse than he already did.

She’d cover her response quickly, he was sure, but she’d still feel it. Hurt. Offended. As if he couldn’t bear to be with her. Besides, it wasn’t like they would need to spend time together if she were to come. Rome was a big city and Raul was travelling for work. So long as he spelled that out when he invited her it would be fine.

With a growl low in his throat that spoke of the regret he knew he’d feel no matter what he chose, he moved back to his keyboard and typed out a reply before he could change his mind.

Yes.

‘Libby?’

She glanced at the bedside clock, frowning. It was after ten, and she’d been about to slip into bed.

‘Yes?’

‘Have you got a moment?’

She glanced at her reflection in the mirror with a sense of panic. Her pyjamas were hardly the last word in seduction—she wore a pair of comfortable yoga pants and a singlet top but, nonetheless, the idea of Raul seeing her like this did something funny to her insides.

‘Libby?’ His voice was stern, and it put paid to her indecision.

‘Okay.’ She wrenched the door inwards and almost lost her footing because he was right there, all handsome and businesslike in a button-down shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, and dark grey trousers that emphasised his slim waist. Her mouth felt dry and her heart fluttered. But it was the way Raul looked at her that sent Libby’s pulse into dangerously fast territory. His eyes rested on her face for the briefest moment before travelling all the way down her body, landing on her pale, bare feet, then moving up and clinging to her slightly rounded stomach, so she lifted a hand and rubbed it self-consciously.

‘You’re—’ His eyes widened when they met hers, and she felt a rush of emotions from him. ‘May I...?’ His hand lifted of its own accord, towards her stomach, and Libby stood very still, her heart in her throat, everything going haywire.

‘Of course,’ she managed to say, her voice almost a whisper.

He closed his eyes as his hand connected with her stomach, his breath hissing out between his teeth, then his other hand lifted, feeling the other side of her belly, and she swayed a little because it was such a vital, important connection. Mother and father, their baby.

His eyes opened, locking to hers. Libby’s heart stammered.

‘Did you need something?’

She had meant it innocently. She’d meant it simply because he’d come to her room at ten o’clock, because he’d wanted to talk to her, but she heard the invitation in her words and knew she should say something to retract it. To pull away from him.

Desire was one thing, but Libby had to be stronger than this. She had to learn not to fall into a puddle every time he looked at her as though he wanted to peel her clothes from her body.

Except she didn’t. Libby stood right there, blinking up at him, heart pounding, any semblance of resistance melting away in the face of her need for him.

‘Libby,’ he said darkly, angrily, and something in her chest hurt, but then his hand lifted higher on her side, holding her, and his throat shifted as he swallowed. Libby could only stare at him, as if drawn to him by a force so much greater than any she’d ever known. ‘What is it about you?’ he said with more anger, more darkness, and both of those emotions were palpable when he dropped his mouth to hers and kissed her as though the world would stop spinning if he didn’t.

Libby swayed all the way forward then, pressing her body to his, a complete and willing surrender, not just to this moment but to something bigger, something inevitable and important. Lightning bolts flared inside her mind. She saw stars and felt heaven burst through her. It was nirvana; it was bliss, even when it was also terrifyingly complicated. A simple kiss yet it had the power to detonate something deep in her belly and all through her bones.

‘Raul,’ she groaned as she leaned closer to him, lifting a hand and curling it into the dark hair at the nape of his warm, strong neck. She felt him grow still. His whole body seemed to tense as though he were fighting something, perhaps the surge of need dominating them. Libby felt it and she refused to allow that fight; she had surrendered and needed him to as well. She kissed him and lifted one foot to the back of his calf, curving it around him, and it was like the unlocking of a door for both of them.

Raul cursed softly against her mouth and then he was moving, taking her with him, deeper into Libby’s spacious bedroom, all the way to the king-size bed at its heart. They tumbled to the mattress together, arms, legs entwined, moving frantically now to remove each other’s clothes, every touch, each brush of flesh incendiary and divine. Libby had never known anything like it...

Raul wanted to punch himself. No sooner had they exploded in unison, their bodies burning up in a fever of mutual desire, lust and need than he knew it had been a mistake. The whole thing. He lay beside her, a frown on his face, wishing he could take back the last twenty minutes, wishing he could erase their intimacy. For the look on Libby’s face had been deeply troubling. Her eyes had softened, her lips had parted, and he’d felt something spark in his chest, something he instantly shied away from, something his brain knew to warn him off.

This was getting messy, and he didn’t do mess. Not in his personal life. Not in any sector of his life, in fact. It made him want to run—to run as hard and fast as he could.

He pushed off her bed with an air of casual unconcern, swiped up his boxer shorts and pulled them on, then, when he had chosen a path of retreat, he steeled himself to turn and face Libby.

‘I’m flying to Rome tomorrow.’ His voice sounded odd to Libby, who was still floating high in the clouds of sensual euphoria after that magnificent coming together, so she didn’t immediately understand what he’d said. She pressed a hand to her naked stomach on autopilot, frowning a little.

‘I’m sorry?’

‘I came here to tell you I’m going to Rome.’ He crossed his arms over his chest, looking at her without a hint of emotion on his face.

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