Page 47 of Embattled Ever After

Lifting her chin she slid past him and walked to the couch, curling one leg beneath her. The other she pulled her baggy shirt over, then rested her arms on top. Duncan pressed the power button on the remote and the room fell to silence as he settled into the opposite corner of the couch.

“I’m sorry if my words hurt you earlier. I thought I’d been pretty clear about my not wanting kids.”

Alex winced, but tried to cover it by tucking her hair behind her right ear. “You were. I remember you saying it the first night. But we clicked on everything else and I guess I thought you might possibly start to rethink your position.”

He could understand why she would think that. Theyhadclicked on everything. She’d fit into his house as if she’d always been here. Hell, she fit into hislifeas if she’d always been there. All of the worries he’d had about her youth had faded. She was more mature for her age than most of the men he knew, and that was the truth.

“I don’t want this,” he motioned between them, “to end because of just this one thing.”

She frowned. “I hope you didn’t mean that the way it sounded, because that one thing is very important to me. I’m almost thirty-two. As trite as it is to say, my childbearing time is ticking away.”

Duncan growled, pissed that he couldn’t articulate his feelings the way he needed to. He was losing her, he could see it in her eyes. “I don’t want the responsibility of children, but I don’t want our physical or emotional relationship to end. I enjoy having you in my life.”

She gave him a narrow-eyed look. “It’s convenient, right? Having a woman in your house and bed, falling in love with you? I can’t just be ‘enjoyed’ Duncan, I need more that that. I felt like we had a deeper connection than that.”

Scowling, he turned to look at the cold fireplace. Then her words slowly sank in. She’d said she was falling in love with him.

Fuck…

Alex muttered a curse under her breath and pushed to her feet to pace. Duncan watched her move, thoughts swirling in his mind. She thought she loved him, but she’d only been here a couple of days. Yes, they’d been together the entire time since she’d been here, but surely she didn’t think she loved him.

Maybe she was less mature than he thought. No one could decide to tie themselves to a man that quickly, let alone a disabled veteran destined to have long-term emotional and medical issues.

She paused in her pacing, as if coming to a decision.

“I think I’m going to go home.”

The words fell into the silence and he lost his breath. But he couldn’t blame her. She wanted more than he could give her. Once again, like with Melanie, he was being tossed over for another man, this one just so far unnamed. “If you make your reservations, I can drive you whenever you need me to.”

She blinked at him, a strange expression on her face, then she shook her head as if she couldn’t believe it was ending. He couldn’t either.

“All right. Goodnight.”

Duncan watched her walk out of the room and wondered why he felt like shooting himself.

***

Alex went intoher room, but she didn’t lay down. There would be no sleeping right now. She’d just been dumped. Actually, they’d kind of dumped each other.

Damn this hurt. She rubbed a hand across her chest, wondering how the hell she was supposed to pull off an elegant exit while feeling this much pain. Her heart literally ached. It was definitely more than she’d expected to feel, and sharper. She’d had a feeling the end was coming, but it hadn’t prepared her for the depth of the hurt.

He hadn’t even hesitated about his decision.

On the one hand she could admire him for being so steadfast in his beliefs, but on the other she cursed him. They could have been so amazing together.

Even now her body was beginning to go into withdrawal. Duncan had fit her so well.

A tear rolled down her cheek, in spite of her best wishes. She didn’t want to cry for him.

Behind her, the door opened. Duncan crossed the room and folded her into his strong arms, rocking her silently for several long minutes.

Alex wept softly as she clutched his shirt. This would be the last time she would feel him wrapped around her, so she drew out the moment. When he lifted his head to look down at her, it was with as much devastation in his eyes as she had. Leaning down, he rested his mouth against hers, sipping softly. Then, cupping her jaw in his hand, he angled his mouth to sink his tongue into her.

Alex accepted the crushing assault, because she knew it would be the last they had, and she was selfish enough to want one last taste.

They stripped out of their clothes and their bodies met in a clash of furious emotion. They didn’t whisper endearments or encouragements, just fucked like it was the last time they would be able to. He took her hard against the mattress, her legs high against her chest. Alex cried out as her orgasm neared, arching into him more fully. When it rolled over her though, he didn’t ease up on the pounding. Just continued to plow into her as he sought his own release. It was the most carnal, sad coupling she’d ever been a part of, and it made her heart weep. As soon as he caught his breath, he’d given her a final kiss and let himself out of the room.

***

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