Page 63 of A Vow to Set the Virgin Free

That was the only way to exorcise the demons that hounded him.

This was therealreason he had stayed in the middle of nowhere.

Because with Athena next door, the way that he really wanted to cope with the need that was coursing through his veins was to crash through her bedroom door and...

He would not.

The very idea made his stomach curdle.

There were competing, terrible needs inside of him, and he did not care for them at all.

He knew all about the physical release that came with sex. He had honed his own need to be only that. It was why he was so able to ruthlessly and efficiently find release on his own.

Because it meant nothing. Yes, he liked the softness of a woman’s body. He had enough experiences to know exactly what he would choose when he was in control over the selection of his partners, and he preferred women. He liked the way they looked. The way that they smelled. The shape of them. It was certainly an added pleasure to have a partner. But he did not need it. He had gotten rid of that need. That yawning, ridiculous need that he’d still had at seventeen. That had made him so naïve and hopeful. That had made him think perhaps...

He had extinguished that. He was not a better man for it, but he was a man who had survived.

He did not wish to introduce Athena to his brand of sex. It was cold. It was transactional. And now... It would be far too rough. At least now. While he was so close to the edge.

And never. The bottom line was never.

He got in the shower, and turned on the cold spray. He gritted his teeth. And then he went to the fridge and took out some eggs and cream.

He got out some flour. There were fresh strawberries in there as well, and he quickly made crepes.

He was just finishing making some very strong coffee in the French press, when Athena appeared.

She was wearing...

Next to nothing.

A silken robe, with a lacy garment underneath. Her black hair was tousled. She looked... Much more appetizing than the breakfast that had been spread out before them.

“Good morning.”

She smiled, and her smile looked wicked. “Good morning.”

She took a tentative step into the kitchen, and looked up at him again. “I’ve never seen you in the act of cooking. I hoped to catch you quite often at the palace, but I never did.”

“And why do you look sheepish this morning?”

She looked away. “I do not wish to make you uncomfortable.”

He laughed. He could not help it. The very idea this little creature could make him uncomfortable.

His laughter, though, seemed to provoke her outrage. “I have a rich fantasy life, Cameron,” she said, as her cheeks turned a deep pink. “A woman has to do something while she tries to go to sleep.”

“You are a vixen.”

“You have pushed me to be.”

“It is probably for the best that you were kept under lock and key all those years if you are so easily provoked. You would’ve been trouble.”

She laughed., though it was not an easy sound. “I would’ve been. Yes. I would’ve been. Because believe me, those guards would’ve all been mine.”

“Big talk.”

“Who’s to say my big talk isn’t true. None of us can prove it.”

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