Page 43 of Peyton's Price

More like a lifetime of them.She would have argued he was wrong, but Matthias tugged her closer, putting both hands on either side of her face. His mouth came down again, demanding and hard.

Overwhelmed by a feeling of gratitude, Peyton melted. The heat between them was real, and it wasfierce. His mouth slanted over hers, his tongue dipping into her mouth, and she moaned, clinging to him.

He made a little sound and pulled her closer, obliterating all coherent thought. The fire burned away the past. Peyton forgot how they met, and who he’d been with before her. She even forgot she was supposed to be suffering from a broken heart.

Chapter 20

Liam shoved the stack of china pattern and flower catalogs aside. Why couldn’t Caroline keep all this damn wedding paraphernalia off his desk? She had been back less than a day, and they were already taking over again.

Not to mention the fact there was an exceptionally large and empty coffee table at her disposal in front of the couch in the corner. Or better yet, she could leave these with his assistant. It wasn’t as if he were going to choose the bloody flowers. He had to work. Caroline knew that, and she’d agreed—repeatedly—to handle all details.

He finally dug up the contracts he was searching for under a stack of upholstery samples. “What does she need those for?” he grumbled before giving up and tossing the lot on the shelves behind him.

Liam settled down to work, but he stopped a few minutes later, unable to focus on the intricate clauses of the deal in front of him.

Yanking at his tie, he all but strangled himself in his haste to get it off. Why was he having so much trouble?

Yes, it had been a hellish few weeks. Peyton going missing had been a nightmare, but he’d gotten her back. It had only taken him betraying his personal convictions to do so, but screw it. Peyton was back, and she was safe. He could sleep again.

So what if he got up a few times a night to make sure she was in her bed? She never woke up when he came in, not even last night when he’d reached out and touched her lips.

I was only checking to see if she was breathing.“Fuck,” he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut. He had to stop doing that.

Eyes still closed, he noticed the silence for the first time. He checked his watch and the empty couch. Where the hell was Peyton? For the last few days, she had been camped out in his office, reading quietly in the corner so she wouldn’t disturb him while he worked.

Well, you knew it was only a matter of time before she stopped that. Peyton couldn’t stay idle long. He’d heard Sam asking for her help on updating the security feeds just yesterday. No doubt she was helping him.

Those small tasks weren’t going to keep her occupied for long. Trick was right. Peyton needed more of a challenge. He didn’t want her running back to Silicon Valley as soon as the coast was clear.

How was he going to keep her here?A sneaky voice whispered in his head, You could start by not marrying Caroline.Liam gripped the pen so hard it broke.

“Damn it, not again.” Where the hell was Constanza ordering these pens? They needed a new supplier, one that didn’t sell crap.

His brother blew in like a storm gale. Trick grunted a greeting, closing the door. He went straight to the bar.

“Hello to you, too,” Liam said, wondering if he and Thalia had a fight.

His brother’s bride was the most even-tempered sweetheart Liam had ever met. Thalia was the most perfect sister-in-law he could ask for, but since falling pregnant, she’d developed the distressing habit of crying at the drop of a hat. His brother, an enthusiastic father-to-be, took every unfortunate episode in stride, so whatever was bugging him now was bigger than that.

And that meant the fight was his brother’s fault. Liam waited, ready to read his brother the riot act for Thalia’s sake, when Trick spilled his favorite scotch all over the table.

Hell. This fight must be a bad one. But Trick settled on the couch instead of running after his runaway bride, so it would eventually blow over. “What did you do?”

“I drove.” Trick waved the full glass of Scotch at him.

“Don’t spill on the leather,” he said, glancing down at the contract he hadn’t read.

Trick ignored him, downing half the contents of the glass. “Congratulations by the way.”

“For what?”

Tricks’ eyes narrowed, but his expression wasn’t hostile. More like resigned. “For driving away the only woman who will ever truly love you as you are.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m supposed to forgive you by the way, but I don’t feel like it at the moment, so let’s table that until tomorrow.” Trick downed the rest of the glass. “I don’t know when Maggie will forgive you, but Peyton was right. We have to accept Caroline and move on.”

Liam sat up straight. “Wait, what about Peyton?”

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