Page 34 of Starting Over with Her Billionaire Boss

The way she’d rolled away from him, clearly she was already regretting it, and the last thing he wanted was to make it worse. He couldn’t take advantage of her. Just because they were both made of broken pieces didn’t mean they would fit each other’s puzzle.

No matter how he looked at it, he was in a lose-lose situation. On the one hand, it was a release both of them had clearly needed. It was one of the most intense orgasms Daegan had ever felt. But now what? He didn’t want to lead Kinsley on. What if she developed deeper feelings than he could give her back?

Feelings.He sighed. Emotional wholeness could be strong medicine. But what if he had too many cracks to ever be wholeagain? Most days Daegan felt like he was barely being held together.

Determined not to dwell on it this morning, he got up and dressed back into his comfortable attire. In Seattle, it would still be the middle of night; he and Kinsley would have a chance to get a short sleep in at the hotel. He could figure this out in the morning after he actually got some rest.

Just as the pilot quietly announced their descent, Kinsley joined Daegan at the chairs, dressed again in her comfortable clothes. She’d brushed her hair, but it was down rather than up. Had he left any marks she’d felt the need to cover up? He had no way of knowing, because she was covered from head to toe and she hadn’t said a single word.

She wouldn’t even look him in the eyes.

Neither of them seemed to know what to say, or if anything even should be said. Daegan didn’t want to be the first to bring it up, and instead remained quietly horrified. Was she having regrets, or did she feel used from their night of passion?Is this what a one-night stand feels like?

Tomorrow, after a few more hours of sleep, things would be clearer for them both. Some space for them both would let them figure out what to say. If nothing else, he had to get it sorted out before they returned to Trueport—they had a professional relationship, after all. But was it ruined? The thought of having to lay her off if things went bad made him sick to his stomach.

The flight landed without issue and they were ushered into a private vehicle which taxied them to the closest luxury hotel. As the air between them thickened, Daegan knew he had to slice through it.

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly as he leaned toward her.

She hesitated, turning to look out the window. “I’m fine. Just tired.”

The words were light, but the way she wouldn’t meet his eyes made them feel heavier than they should have. Was she tired? Or regretting everything?

The nighttime stillness of the hotel lobby mirrored the cold quiet between them. Daegan checked them in, fetched their cards, and they rode the elevator without a word until it stopped again.

“This should be your room,” he said, handing her the keycard, “and mine is right next door.”

Kinsley paused. “Thank you,” she said, her tone unreadable. She grabbed the keycard and unlocked her door, going inside without so much as a “goodnight” or “see you in the morning.”

Just like that, the wall was back up.

“Meet me downstairs at seven for breakfast,” Daegan said as the door clicked behind her.

“Okay,” her muffled voice replied from the other side.

He stared at the door for a moment, and found his hand hovering near the frame. He could knock, could ask her if she was really okay—but what would that accomplish? If Kinsley wanted him to leave her alone, he had to respect that.

With a quiet sigh, he turned toward his own room, the weight of her silence following him like a shadow. Maybe Kinsley needed distance right now, time to think through it all. But as he looked at her closed door, he realized distance was the last thing he wanted.

This tug-of-war between wanting and not was new territory for him; it left him unsettled and uncertain.

The door to his private suite clicked shut behind him, and he leaned against it. It was cold against his hands, just like their sheets had been when he’d left them. He’d hoped for some reassurance in her eyes by this point, a sign that maybe their night of passion had meant something more. Instead, he only felt the weight of Kinsley’s icy distance between them.

Daegan wasn’t sure he could live with it.

9

Longing,confusion, and betrayal churned within her, each one wrestling for dominance. The memory of Daegan’s touch was seared into her mind. She wanted that intimacy again more than anything. The desire between them was magnetic, as if only the other could fill the void. The wetness in her panties and the pleasant ache between her thighs would not let her forget it.

Daegan had seemed to want her so badly, as if he’d wanted nothing more than to make her his.Baby,he had called her, when she’d only started using his first name. He had even seemed so attuned to her needs. It was as if Daegan had an operating manual for her orgasms that Kinsley didn’t even know existed.

Or was she imagining that?

She had fallen asleep after, but upon waking he hadn’t said a word. There was no “Good morning, baby” that she longed to hear from his lips. No kiss the moment she sat up. There wasn’t even an acknowledgment of what had transpired just hours before, though her body wasn’t going to let her forget. It made her question if he still cared for her at all. Perhaps he had gotten it all out of his system. Kinsley hadn’t, and that physical longingto touch him the whole way to the hotel had joined forces with her heartbreak and left her speechless.

She’d known what she was getting into. She’d said she would deal with the rest after the fact. And now Kinsley was dealing with it, crying into her pillow as the ache in her chest started to outweigh the far more pleasant one between her thighs.

Had she been crazy to hope that maybe this would lead to Daegan as seeing her asmore?

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