Page 58 of Rosabel and the Billionaire Beast

“I know how to love,” he said, his voice throaty and low. “And if I loved you, you wouldn’t know what hit you.”

I couldn’t breathe. There was NO air in this room.

“I would love you with everything I am. There would be no ocean I wouldn’t cross, no depths I wouldn’t sink to. I would doanything for you. I would shower you with attention, kiss you senseless, and leave you wanting more. And because I loved you, I would grant that request. Every time.”

My mouth went dry. I was trapped in the passion in his gaze, in the quiet truth ringing in every one of his words and the way they reverberated in the air between us as though they were stiff strings that had been plucked with no other purpose than to make sound.

“You want me to respect you? I would. I would worship you.”

My heart didn’t dare beat. My lungs stopped pumping. I stilled, holding my breath, pressing my palms to the wall behind me, and drowning in the depths of his focus.

His eyes dropped to my mouth—and then my heart took off like a runner at the sound of a gunshot. Surprisingly, desire pounded along with it.

This wasn’t just want—it was an achingneedto have him close the distance between us, wrap his arms around me, and follow through on every one of the promises he’d just made.

Which was stupid. Beyond stupid. A continent away from stupid, with all the stupids living in the distance between point A to Point B.

Because he’d been such a jerk to me? Yeah, that had something to do with it.

But also because one all-encompassing word kept that barrier in place:

IF.

Ifhe loved me. Which he didn’t.

He was teasing me, that was all. I couldn’t forget who he was, no matter how much attraction flared between us.

Duncan lowered his arm and turned away, stalking to where he’d dropped the towel on the floor. He scooped it up, slung it over his shoulder, and said, “Enjoy your run,” before leaving me alone in the weight room.

The minute he was gone, air expelled from my lungs in one long exhale. I tilted my head back against the wall and slapped a hand over my chest.

What was THAT?

Talk about lifting weights. Whatever he’d just said washeavy. Who would have known Duncan had a heart?

And if I wasn’t careful, it would slowly steal its way into mine.

I couldn’t let that happen—no matter how nice his muscles were.

FIFTEEN

rosabel

My typical strategiesof self-defense no longer seemed to apply. The jerk who snapped at me I could handle, much as I never thought I wanted to. How was I supposed to handle a vulnerable, sexy, confessing-his-feelings Duncan?

I needed my morning run more than ever.

Huffing, I marched out the door with a mixture of shaky limbs and this weird replay setting in my brain where Duncan’s super smooth words and his low, attractive voice stroked my spine.

I pictured him doing just what I’d wanted moments ago. Pulling me to him and pressing his mouth to mine. Holy crap, I wanted to kiss Duncan. And I suddenly couldn’t help wondering what it would be like.

With how bossy and confident he was about everything, I was sure he was right. If Duncan Hawthorne wanted me? I would never be more loved by anyone else than I would by him.

Because if there was anything I knew about my boss, he never did anything by halves. When Duncan made a decision about something, he didn’t hold back.

That thought surged through me with more force than I expected, and I pumped my arms and legs faster than I normally did at the start of a run.

The morning was cool. A low-hanging fog slithered along the road, masking the grass, bushes, and the bases of the trees. It was still, too. Quiet.

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