Page 3 of His Dark Hunger

She was even thinking about him then, pressing her thighs together as apprehension about Jonah churned in her belly. How was that right? She was there to save her son, yet she couldn’t stop recalling how good it had been at Kyle’s feet or how incredible he’d felt as he’d speared her in the Jacuzzi.

What’s happening to me?

She swallowed down the question, clutching at the knots in her stomach.

I’m falling for him.

Nausea threatened to rise at the conclusion.

I can’t be. I’m not so bloody stupid.

The sex was great, but it was only carnality. Lust wasn’t love. She was too old to confuse the two.

Love was what she felt for her sons. It was why she was sitting there trembling in the front of the courthouse. It was the capacity to sacrifice and lose for someone else.

The idea that she’d been playing Kyle’s naughty maid when Jonah was being arrested and carted off to jail tore at her insides, even though she was there to remedy the issue.

Love wasn’t the desire to cede to Kyle because of his money and the smoldering glint in his eyes. It wasn’t the tingle at the apex of her legs or the way her breath caught when he was around.Thatwas something else, but she couldn’t deny how powerful it was.

In tangible ways, her life was so much better than it had been only a week before—all thanks to her enigmatic benefactor. She had somewhere lovely to live, and even if itwas only temporary, the luxury wasn’t lost on her. She also had the prospect of earning a significant sum of money—enough to pay off her immediate debts and create ease in her life for the first time in as long as she could remember.

It was the way she earned that money, though, that disconcerted her. Kyle had hired her as his housekeeper, but so far, aside from a few cursory duties, she’d been more of a waitress and cleaner than someone paid to tend to his house. While she could live with either role so long as the fifty thousand was her reward, the skimpy maid’s outfit he’d insisted she wear had not been part of the original deal, and neither had the sex they’d both relished. She’d loved riding his cock, and despite her embarrassed protests, shehadreveled in the denigrating ways he’d treated her, but she couldn’t reconcile thatthosewere the things he was paying her for.

He said he wasn’t paying me for the sex.

She gripped the edge of her plastic chair as her gaze flitted back to the clock. Kyle had made his rejection of the idea of paying her for sex plain, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that the costumes and capitulation made her little better than a prostitute. That feeling had only compounded when she’d discovered Jonah was in trouble.

She heaved in a breath, blinking away the lurking tears. Despite her best intentions, both her babies were locked up, and as the clerk called her forward, she accepted there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to ensure at least the younger of the two was at liberty.

***

“Thanks so much, Mum.”

Jonah threw his arms around her when the officer finally released his cuffs. The hearing had been thankfully efficient. The judge had accepted his apology, and because it was his first offense, he wasn’t a flight risk. She’d sent a message to Kyle, asking that he wire the money for Jonah’s bail, and was relieved when, shortly after, her son was freed.

“I can’t believe you managed to find the money.”

“Yeah.” She breathed in the scent of him, wanting to make the hug last forever. “That’s a long story.”

But it was one she would have to tell.

One of Jonah’s bail conditions was that he stayed at a fixed abode until his trial date, and, given that Amy had nowhere else to live, that abode was now with Kyle. She’d have to find a way to explain her current living arrangements to her son and pray Jonah didn’t judge her too harshly.

“I’ll explain on the way.”

She’d have to justify the waiting Mercedes, the new ‘home’, and her mysterious employer, let alone what work she was doing for Kyle. She had a horrible feeling that once that was all out in the open, the spell of gratitude in Jonah’s gaze would be broken.

“Why didn’t you come to me if you were struggling, love?” She didn’t want to rebuke him, but if she’d known he was overwhelmed, maybe she could have helped more, although how, she didn’t know.

“It all got out of hand.” He blew out a breath. “One line of speed to ‘give me a buzz’ became a daily habit within weeks, and that stuff doesn’t come for free. The only good thing aboutcustody is that I haven’t been able to get my hands on any. I needed to break the habit.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Her heart ached for his poor choices. She was sure they were well-intentioned, but a drug habit and a criminal record weren’t going to help his career prospects.

“I’m sorry.” He was hoarse as she held him closer. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“I know.”

She whispered the words into his dark hair, wishing she could wrap him up and take him somewhere private to recuperate and prepare for his trial, but as it was, he’d be holed up in one of Kyle’s many guest rooms. She realized how grateful she should be for their host’s charity. Another man might have told her criminal son to take a hike, but Kyle had seemed understanding and kind when she’d explained.

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