Page 36 of The Billionaire's Temporary Governess (French Conquests 2)

“I won’t share you.”

He lifted his head to look down into her determined eyes. “Why would you be sharing me?”

“I was told you have a girlfriend.”

His lips quirked. “I can only imagine where you got that news from. Remind me to give her a spanking in the morning.”

“I’m serious. I’m not that kind of woman.”

“I know you aren’t,” he comforted. “And I’m not that kind of man. This woman you refer to, she’s a friend. For almost a year or so, we spent some time together. It is true that we had sex from time to time, but it was a matter of mutual convenience. Two people keeping each other company.” He figured he could play it distant at this point, or he could be honest. “Sofia had just passed, and it had been a long time since I had been with a woman. I was lonely, and we liked each other. But she has moved on. When we met today, we met as friends.”

She seemed to be peering at him, trying to assess whether he was telling the truth, and then she nodded. “Also, if we are to do this, I won’t make love to you in a bed you shared with your wife.” She patted the mattress to illustrate her words.

This time, he didn’t hesitate, he wanted her to know the truth. “After my father passed away, and I became the Count, Sofia and I moved to these executive suites after my mom moved out of them. When we moved into these rooms, we never shared a bed. She didn’t even sleep in the Countess’s suite, which is right through that door,” he pointed in the direction of an oak door in the far corner of his bedroom.

He soldiered on, and the opportunity passed. “And in case you’re wondering, I had no other relationships with women during my marriage, despite the fact that my wife and I were no longer sleeping together. It took me almost two years after our wedding before I could even touch her intimately. We were married for ten years and I didn’t touch my wife for the last five years of the union. She wanted another baby, a son, an heir for me, but I didn’t want to bring another child into our messed-up marriage.”

She was sure her face portrayed the surprise she felt. “So you’ve been—”

“Celibate, yes. Until Nicolette,” He said it without shame; there was pain, but no embarrassment in admitting he had gone without intimacy for so many years. “I took a vow when I married Sofia, and I stuck to it, I needed to stick to it regardless of how unhappy I became.”

What did he mean by needing to stick to it?

These new revelations were stunning, for more than one reason. Not only was it clear to her just how bad William’s marriage was, but it was obvious that Willa’s baby brother, Christien, could not possibly be his child! Her mind whirled, and immediately she felt a rush of shame. She’d held it against William that he hadn’t seemed to want any contact with this child. But clearly, if this baby was the result of an extramarital affair that Sofia had had, then all she could do was admit that William was more than decent to allow Willa to maintain ties with the baby at his residence.

Her opinion of him shot right up. But should she say something? Confess her negative thoughts towards him?

She thought about what he’d said, then reached out to stroke the side of his face. “One last thing.”

He chuckled. “That’s an awful lot of conditions for ‘one condition’.”

His smile was contagious. She returned the gesture. “Don’t worry. It’s just onelittlething.”

“Shoot.”

“Willa mustn’t know. I couldn’t bear it if—”

“Agreed and understood,” he said at once. “She’s already been through so much. There’s no sense confusing her, especially if—” He was probably about to say, “Especially if this all goes badly,” but he didn’t.

Naisha nodded slowly and managed a smile.

“My turn to question.”

“I know what you’re going to ask.”

“So, answer it.”

Her lips twisted ruefully. “Iwasin a relationship, but it’s over now. It has been for months. It’s just that sometimes he was insistent. He didn’t want to take ‘no’ for an answer.”

Liam’s fists balled. “Want me to teach him what ‘no’ means?” Disgust for her faceless ex-lover rose in his throat like bile. What kind of man kept chasing a woman after she’d made it clear she no longer wanted him?

She shook her head vehemently. “It’s fine. It’s over. Nobody but my immediate family knows I’m here, and he’s way back in the States. So that chapter’s closed.”

“Good,” he growled.

“Good,” she echoed. There was a lengthy, but not uncomfortable pause. “So. Here we are, I guess.”

“Here we are.” The time for talking had passed, he decided. It was time for touch, taste, scent, sensation. Liam pulled Naisha against him so they were side by side on his huge bed, the bed in which no other woman had lain, and pulled her close so he could feel every inch of her along the length of his own body. Just the feel of her skin and the scent of her hair brought him into erection, and filled him with a longing that only a night of loving could assuage.

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