Page 60 of Lead Me Knot

Could our souls have known all along?

He hasn’t found love, though he’s traveled all over. I didn't find it when I stayed here.

I’ve never been overly romantic, but deep in my heart, I was still hoping to find my soulmate one day. Under the tender embrace of this man, I start to wonder if it’s been him all along.

When he dips to kiss my neck, I whisper, “Make love to me, Baylor.”

He lifts his head so our gazes connect, revealing the appreciation he has for me. A gentle smile lifts his cheeks, and he ducks to my ear and kisses me. “I’ll make love to you, baby.”

His hand works its way down my body and slips between my legs. It never takes long with him, but the magic strikes faster this time. When he fills my body with the weight of him on top of me, I’m free to feel everything he’s giving. But one of my favorite things is pleasing him. To bring him to his knees is such an aphrodisiac.

We roll over so I can take charge, riding him with his eyes fixed on my body, making me feel sexier than I ever have. And when he starts to lose his grip of control, his hold on me tightens, and his eyes start to roll back in his head. I can tell the moment his release nears—his eyes clench closed, his body tenses, and his movements become erratic under me.

He flips me to the bed, lifting my leg over his shoulder, and fucks me until we both fall apart together. But when we’re left lying with the sun beginning to set outside, I hold on tightly to him. I kiss his shoulder, and whisper, “I don’t want you to go.”

“Me either, Shortcake. Ten days,” he says, resting his head next to mine.

His words are a good reminder of the countdown before us, making it easier to keep things in perspective. “Ten days,” I add, my body finally running out of air.

He rolls onto his back, letting his right arm flop wide, and exhales loudly. His eyes are closed when I cuddle up to him and drape my arm over his chest. I say, “I wanted to give you something.”

“What do you want to give me?”

“I thought it only fair to give you a 10 percent discount off your reservation since the sex has been so good this weekend.”

I can’t see him, but his chest vibrates when he bursts out laughing. “Only 10 percent good?”

“Fine.” I lift my head to see his smile, anchoring my elbow to the bed. “You drive a hard bargain. Fifteen percent.”

He grabs me, tickling my ribs mercilessly until I’m begging for forgiveness. I’m given a reprieve when I agree to 20 percent. But when I get up to use the bathroom, he catches me by the wrist, causing me to turn back. When I do, he says, “I don’t need a discount to make love to you.” He pulls me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around my waist. Placing a kiss on my shoulder, he looks up at me, his lips lingering on my skin. “I don’t want your money.”

“What do you want, stud?”

Running his hand on my back, he says, “You. Only you, baby.”

Dinner wasnothing more than a frozen pizza and fruit I had on hand, but neither of us wanted to leave the apartment.

It’s a quieter night. We don’t mind as long as we’re together. So by the time we’re in bed and he’s spooning me from behind, he says, “Remember when you wake up tomorrow that I wanted to stay. Will you do that for me?”

I’m not expecting my emotions to overwhelm me, but tears form and escape the corners of my eyes. My heart lumps in my throat, leaving me too choked up to reply. I nod.

He kisses the back of my head as his arm tightens around me. We lie in silence until the only sound is gentle breaths that lengthen as the night goes on. And then I fall asleep against my best efforts to stay awake.

With a gasp and my heart racing in panic, I sit up, opening my eyes. The room is dark, and the silence deafening. I can’t hear him breathing or feel the warmth of his hand on me. The bed isn’t dipped behind me, and the covers are made like he never existed at all.

Baylor’s gone.

I’ve never felt lonelier in my life.

One Week Later . . .

“I don’t understand.” I sit forward on the chair, my heart beating hard in my chest. “Do you mind explaining it to me one more time, Mr. Josten?”

The real estate leasing agent takes his pen from the pocket of his dress shirt, drawing my attention to the sweat circle extending around his armpits, and taps the loan agreement with the tip of it. I wasn’t expecting a visit from the new management company based in Austin, which is now in charge of our lease agreement. And if I’m hearing him correctly, I definitely would not have given him a piece of my strawberry cobbler on the house. Or the vanilla, light-on-the-syrup-heavy-on-the-cream specialty coffee I made specially for him.

“What do you do again?” I ask, my thoughts scrambling under the blindside of this situation. He’s not much older than I am, but he’s talking to me like I’m a child, slowing his speech as if the actual words were the problem. No, it’s the new rent increase that’s an issue.

“I’m the new five-county rep for the company hired to manage its portfolio.”

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