Page 67 of My Grumpy Billionaire Protector

“Morning,” I murmur in a hoarse voice. “How did you sleep?”

One corner of Shane’s mouth lifts up. “Better than I have in a long time.”

I nod. “That’s good.”

Shane reaches between us and tucks my hair behind my ears. “How about you?”

“I slept okay.”

Bright light pours in through the slits of the curtain, illuminating him a soft halo of light. “Thanks for staying last night.”

I clear my throat. “Yeah, sure. I’m glad you’re okay.”

Shane searches my face. “Evie, I—”

“Don’t.” I shake my head. “Let’s not ruin this.”

Shane frowns. “Ruin this?”

I blow out a breath. “It’s clear we’re both attracted to each other, and we’re not supposed to be. I mean, this is a pretty fucked-up situation.”

“It is.”

“So I think we can agree that we shouldn’t read too much into it.”

Shane raises an eyebrow. “Okay, what do you suggest we do?”

I make a low, strangled noise. “I don’t know. I guess I could leave.”

“You could.”

I flip onto my back and groan. “Why is it hard for me to leave?”

Shane throws an arm across my waist and nuzzles my neck. “Because you don’t want to, and I don’t want you to.”

A shiver races up my spine. “I don’t think whatwewant matters at this point.”

“It should.” Shane’s lips part, and he presses soft, open-mouthed kisses across my neck. “I don’t see why we should deny it.”

I turn my head to look at him. “Are you serious?”

Shane stares at me. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

I sit up and draw my knees up to my chest. “Shane, I’m being kept here against my will, I’m starting to come to terms with the fact you weren’t a part of this, but it doesn’t make this any better. Isaiah is stillyourbusiness partner.”

“Thanks for the play-by-play.” Shane sits up and angles himself so he is facing me. “I know all of this already.”

“So, how is this going to work? I fuck you, and you use that to get Isaiah to give us a little leeway?”

Shane folds his arms over his chest. “No, we’re not exchanging favors.”

“Then, how does this work?”

Shane throws his hands up in the air, and his expression turns pained. “Jesus, Evie. I don’t know, okay? This is new territory for me too. I didn’t expect this to happen.”

“This?”

“You,” Shane grinds out before lowering his head. He presses two fingers to his temples and rubs in slow, circular motions. “It was supposed to be simple. We were supposed to convince your mother to sit down for a meeting and get her to convince your grandfather to invest in the company. You weren’t supposed to be a part of this at all.”

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