Page 36 of The Millionaire's Mechanic

“Yes.”

Rainer nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck. “I don’t think you’re damaged. I would prove it, but making love to you after those revelations would feel wrong—but make no mistake, I’m going to fuck your brains out come morning.”

Georgia laughed aloud. “You’re so fucking romantic.”

Chuckling, he kissed her. “Don’t you ever forget it, baby.”

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

Being deliriously happy while snowed in during a hellacious blizzard was probably a serious character flaw, but Georgia didn’t care.

She was trapped with a gorgeous man with an even more gorgeous body. The only thing more beautiful might have been his soul.

Rainer was being so sweet, so understanding. Any other guy trapped in a cabin without electricity or running water would have been a complete grump, or worse. But Rainer kept a cool head, dealing with their problems with a rare patience she wasn’t likely to find in another man. He liked figuring things out, but always asked for her input and even followed her advice when he thought it was better than whatever solution he’d come up with.

Rainer didn’t even complain about the cold-as-hell water they washed up with. He just added an extra pot of snow to the fireplace to make sure it would be warm by the time she was ready to wash.

That right there, she told herself,was a man who deserved a hundred blowjobs. Maybe a thousand.

So, it was a little disturbing that he wouldn’t sleep with her.

Oh, they had sex. A lot of it. But on the second night after her revelations, she woke up cold and alone. When she went looking for Rainer, she found him in the nearest bedroom, sitting on the side of the bed—the bed that had clearly been slept in.

The look he gave her was a mix of guilt, frustration, and exhaustion.

“If you wanted to sleep alone, you could have said something,” she said quietly.

Rainer put his head in his hands. “I don’t—George, that’s not it.”

But he didn’t explain. He just hung his head, closed his eyes, and sighed.

Get ahold of yourself. You knew this was coming. Someone like Rainer was bound to realize he could do better sooner rather than later.

“Hey, I get that you have second thoughts about getting involved,” Georgia said, her voice a little huskier than she would have liked. “I know this isn’t something you would have done—with me anyway—not under normal circumstances. But we can’t afford for you to get sick. Sleeping in this cold room alone is not a good idea. We can just go back to sleeping platonically. Or I can sleep on the couch behind the mattress. I fit on it better anyway.”

His head jerked up. “That’s not what this is about. Iwantyou.”

Sure he did.That was why he was willing to freeze to death to avoid sleeping next to her. “You don’t have to say that. I’m a big girl. I can deal with rejection.”

“That’s not what I’m doing,” Rainer said, his tone sharpening.

Georgia pressed her lips into a tight line, taking a step back.

Sighing, Rainer stood. His face softened as he cupped her cheeks in his hands. “You’re the first person who has made me feel normal in alongwhile.”

She tilted her head up to search his face. “How long is long?”

“Over a year.”

“It’s been that long since you slept with anyone?” she asked in a low voice, a creeping suspicious building in the pit of her stomach. “But isn’t that when your security thing happened?”

He didn’t say anything for so long that she thought he wasn’t going to speak. Then Rainer looked over her head and nodded as if coming to some decision. “You’re not wrong—what you suspect. It’s related.”

Georgia reached out, squeezed his hands. “You don’t have to tell me,” she assured him. “Just because I shared doesn’t mean you have to.”

“I want to—I need you to understand.”

He took her hand, tugging her to the couch. They sat together and she waited, her throat tight.

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