Page 113 of Worth Every Penny

His gaze flashes with something—regret?—before he says, “I’d take you with me, but Charlie’s at mine again. And it’s not a good idea to…” He shrugs, tugging on his trousers and fastening them.

“To what?” I ask, watching as he pulls on his socks and laces his shoes.

“To do this publicly.”

“Well, no. We’d get arrested.” I gesture to my naked body and a deep chuckle parts his gorgeous mouth.

“I meant letting anyone know. I don’t think it would be good for your career.”

My chest splinters.Does he mean that whatever this is between us has to be a secret forever?

If that’s what he wants, then this can’t ever be serious. The realisation hits and it makes me feel sick. To distract myself, I pace across the room and pick up my clothes. I start to get dressed, yanking up my skirt and buttoning my shirt, not caring that I haven’t put on my underwear first.

“Kate?” Nico must have noticed the change in my demeanor because he joins me on this side of the room and pins me with both hands on my shoulders, staring intently into my eyes. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” I roll my shoulders and his hands fall away. “Just dizzy. Maybe it's the window. The height.”

He pulls back a fraction, eyes narrowing. “Are you frightened?”

“A bit.”

The air pulses with a heavy beat, our eyes locked, each of us searching out something more than words. His lips tug down a fraction.He knows what I mean.

He hugs me, engulfing me in his essence and kissing the top of my head. “I’m sorry. I’ve only just got back to the UK. I’m not ready to—”

“Commit to anything?” I squirm out of his embrace and peer up at him.

He frowns, and something plummets through my centre, leaving me empty.

“No. It’s not about commitment. I’m yours if you want me. It’s about taking things public. I need to settle back in to being in here. Keep a low profile for a bit longer. I’ve got to go back to New York soon. After that, we can reassess. If you still want to, we can take it public then.”

He said a lot of words, but all of it translates to one thing in my mind: rejection. It hits like a blow, and I have to physically stop myself from reeling backwards.

“A low profile?” I blurt, hating how petty and jealous I sound. “Is that what you were doing by taking Erica Lefroy out? Or Amy Moritz?”

He looks at me curiously. “Did you hear what I just said?”

His gentle tone takes me by surprise. “Huh?”

He cups my cheeks, tilting my face to his. “I’m yours, Kate. Do you want me?”

His words feel unreal. I must be dreaming. I wait for a moment, in case he’s joking. Or someone’s about to shake me awake.

“Kate?” His mouth breaks into a smile so devastatingly warm and gorgeous that all my doubts, all my questions, dissolve like sherbet on my tongue.

“Yes. Yes. Yes, I very much do.”

“Good, because I want you every night and every morning and every fucking second in between.”

I throw my arms around his neck to kiss him. My tongue steals through his parted lips, claiming him as mine; not just physically, but emotionally, too.Nico Hawkston is all mine.

We’re breathless when I eventually drag my mouth from his. “Hey,” I whisper.

His eyes flicker open. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

He tucks my hair behind my ear. “What?”

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