Page 40 of Hidden Heart

His words sounded cold and bitter repeated to him. When they’d severed their ties, he had explained he didn’t think love could survive in the type of relationship she wanted. Not that he wanted a love-based relationship with Melody or anyone else at the time. He’d caused the sag because he didn’t want more than what was on the surface.

That wasn’t the case anymore. He wanted the depths of Jessica; morning talks while still wrapped up in each other under the covers, lazy weekends, and everything in between.

He loved her.

“Did you hear me?” Melody’s voice hardened when he didn’t respond.

“Yes.” He shook his head. “You can’t stay here. I’m sorry you’re having trouble letting go, but we’re finished. I released you.” He shoved away from the sink.

Her eyes widened, and she stopped him from walking away by wrapping her arms around his waist.

His favorite perfume engulfed the air around them.

She looked up at him with soft eyes. “I’m sorry I upset you. I can be a good girl.”

He watched her lips as she spoke.

“I can be your good girl,” she whispered, reaching up on her toes, bringing her lips to his.

Chapter 15

Jessica sat on her couch, stunned. The past twenty-four hours left her mind reeling. Royce wasn’t like any man she’d known before. That much she’d figured out on their first date. He continued to pull her emotions in every way, both confusing and exciting her.

A spanking as an adult should be a humiliation. Or so she’d thought when she learned about them only weeks ago. Yet, humiliation was anything but what she felt when Royce took her over his knee or had her draped over the side of his bed. Instead, she’d felt…cared for.

He didn’t get pissed off with her and leave the room—or the relationship—as so many others had. He stayed. He addressed the issue and corrected the problem.

Royce didn’t yell or berate her, instead he cuddled her when the spanking ended. He walked her home again and again, never once attempting to force his way into her apartment. He recognized the boundary and respected it.

She had assumed when she finally gave into anal sex, she would be left feeling dirty and used. But Royce made her feel like a princess. He had woken her and carried her to the bath, sliding her into the water with such care she almost ached from it. She had relaxed against the tub as he washed her hair and conditioned it, running his fingers through the long strands to remove any tangles. When she was all clean, he removed the plug from the tub and brought the showerhead down from its holder.

“Need to be sure every part of you is clean,” he had said, his dimple holding steady with his evil grin. He adjusted the stream of the water and turned it on. “Spread those legs for me.” His order had been gentled by the licking of her nipple. The stream aimed directly at her clit while he suckled her nipples. He hadn’t let up on her until her orgasm ripped through her and her cries bounced off the bathroom tiles.

Thinking back on all her previous missteps with men, she couldn’t think of one who ever put her needs or comfort before their own. James certainly never filled a tub for her, let alone washed her hair. She’d considered herself lucky if he left any hot water for her after his own long ass shower.

Royce was doing things to her. He didn’t push—not too much. He possessed some sort of psychic sense which told him when she had reached her limit and when to stop. Even when he brought her to uncharted territories, and her first reaction was to run, he managed to bring her there anyway, but never forced her to where she didn’t want to be.

The business card he’d given her sat on the keyboard of her laptop. She stared at it from across the room.

The man continually surprised her, and she was beginning to surprise herself. He treaded dangerously close to her.

Every time she put up a barrier, he simply walked through it. This new project of his, this opportunity he’d opened for her, meant more than any trinket he could send her. She wasn’t merely a passing thought in his mind. She knew she held merit.

She moved to sit at her computer, determined to see his project through. Even if nothing came of it, even if she never heard from his friend, completing the task Royce had given her thrilled her.

The excitement of the afternoon took control of her. She finished her résumé and the cover letter—editing them a few dozen times—and grabbed her coat. She wanted to show him and get his input. They hadn’t made plans for the rest of the weekend, but she acted on impulse—another new for her.

The walk—or slow jog—to his apartment only took her seven minutes. The chill in the air made her lungs burn, pushing her to move faster.

She held the envelope in both hands as she entered his lobby and greeted the doorman with a smile before heading for the elevators. He gave a small wave in response, his brow furrowed with worry.

She knocked on Royce’s door, nearly bouncing like a toddler on a sugar high. She’d realized on her jog over it wasn’t the project making her move so quickly, it was him. She craved his touch. Needed to feel him on her lips and in his arms. Most importantly, she knew he would be pleased with her. This alone sent a rush through her.

The door opened, and a half-dressed woman, a foot taller and two sizes leaner than Jessica, stood staring at her.

“Can I help you?” she asked with annoyance.

“Um.” Jessica glanced at the number on the door to be sure she had the right apartment. “I’m looking for Royce?” She gripped the envelope tighter.

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