Page 103 of 2 Books in One Bundle

Suddenly on guard, Evolet sat down with him on the edge of the bed. He didn’t reach for her, didn’t touch her, just speared her with a gaze that was simultaneously distant and wary.

“I told you before I don’t talk about my parents. That it’s too painful.” At Evolet’s nod, he continued. “What happened to them changed my life. The world I knew was gone in an instant. It showed me that things like love and happiness can be taken without warning. It’s why I focused on Bradford Global. There are risks, but there’s also control.”

Evolet’s fingers dug into the bedspread. She wanted to reach out, to smooth her hand over Damon’s face and offer him comfort. But she wasn’t sure where this confession was headed, what he needed from her.

“Continuing my family’s legacy has given me purpose. It’s filled my life.”

But has it?

It was eerie to hear him say the same words she herself would have said just weeks ago, to notice the intensity running through his voice, as if he were trying to convince himself that what he said was truth.

“I’m glad you found something,” she said carefully.

“Thank you.” He breathed in. “I’m sharing this with you because I know we’ve become close the last couple of weeks. I want to continue our arrangement. But,” he added gently, “I wanted to reiterate that anything beyond these weeks isn’t an option. A relationship, love, none of that is in my future.”

She willed herself not to cry. He was only repeating what she’d already known. But God, it hurt so much more after the past couple of weeks together.

“I understand.” She said the words carefully, taking care to enunciate each one and keep her tone neutral. “Have I given you any reason to think I might ask or demand more after this is over?”

He blinked. “No.”

“Okay.” She reached over and laid a gentle hand on top of his. “I’ve been enjoying our time together, Damon.”

He stared down at her hand.

“I have, too.” He let out a quiet, derisive chuckle. “I like you. I don’t want to hurt you or make you think that something more could happen. I’m not capable of it.”

Evolet’s heart cracked for the man before her, a man she had come to care very deeply for in such a short amount of time. She knew what it felt like that, to withdraw so deeply into oneself to keep pain at bay. But she had missed out on so much. She’d lived more in the past month than she had her entire life. She wanted that for Damon, too, this man who listened and cared and worked so hard.

Except he wasn’t ready. She wouldn’t push him, wouldn’t cause him pain when he had reestablished the boundary between them.

So she offered him comfort the only way he would accept. She leaned forward, pressed a kiss to his cheek. He turned his head and captured her lips with his. The kiss catapulted from slow and tender into a desperate craving. With a groan he spun, pressing her down onto the bed. He yanked her shirt over her head, captured a nipple in his mouth as she arched over his arm.

He suddenly stopped as he cursed.

“What?” she asked breathlessly.

“Condom.”

She paused. “I...um, I started the pill after you accepted my proposal. I didn’t say anything because I figured you would want the extra protection and I was nervous about bringing it up—”

He cut off her words by wrapping one hand around her neck and hauling her against him for another kiss.

“You just might kill me yet,” he growled against her mouth.

Their clothes ended up in a pile on the floor. He grabbed her hips and drove inside her.

She closed around him as if he’d been made for her. His head dropped to her shoulder. He slid out, then back in.

“God, Evolet.” He moved inside her, each thrust driving her higher.

“Faster,” she urged him in a throaty whisper.

“No.” He lifted his head and smiled down at her. “I’ve never made love bare, and I intend to savor every moment.”

His words hit her, the intimacy of what they were sharing made all the more potent by his admission. It made her wonder, made her hope that perhaps, with time, he might let his guard down even more.

He sank deeper inside her, moving with languid strokes of his hips, pressing his body fully against hers. His hands moved over her with a sensual mastery that stole her breath. The heat that seemed to always burn between them rose up and consumed them both as she cried out and he poured himself into her.

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