Page 91 of 2 Books in One Bundle

He moved harder, deeper, wanting to cover himself with her, inhale her sweetness and take it inside himself, because he knew too how this was going to end. He was going to have to give her up the way he’d given up Luke.

She wanted things he couldn’t give her. Things he was done with. She wanted a family and he didn’t. He’d had a family and it was gone, and he wasn’t going to do it again.

It would hurt her. It would hurt her badly, and yet there was no other way this could go. But before that moment, he could at least give her some pleasure to take with her, so he did, slipping his fingers between her thighs and stroking her as moved. Making her moan and cry out and twist against him.

The orgasm came before he was ready and he wanted to resist it, to draw out the ecstasy for as long as possible, but it was too intense. It swept over both of them, relentless as a king tide, leaving them both gasping, and he held her for a long time against the glass, neither of them speaking.

Finally, he eased away and let her down gently so she was standing once again, then dealt with their clothing, taking his time because this was the last time he would touch her. The last time he’d kiss her, stroke her hair, touch her skin.

It was agony when he finally stepped away, but he did it.

Perhaps she had a sense of what was coming because her face was pale once again, all the pretty colour from her orgasm leached away from her skin. ‘You’re still going to send me away, aren’t you?’

His heart ached at the hurt in her eyes. He hadn’t thought she’d feel so strongly about all of this and that had been careless of him. He should have kept her at a distance. He should have made it all about sex and nothing more. He shouldn’t have let her in.

But he had and now there was no help for it. He’d made his choice.

‘I’m sorry, Isla.’ He had to work to keep the rough edge from his voice. ‘But yes, it’s time for our honeymoon to end.’

She just stood there staring at him as if he’d made the ground she walked on suddenly disappear under her feet. ‘Why? I thought it wasn’t me?’

It hurt to look at the bewilderment on her face, but what could he say? Telling her how he felt would only make this even worse for her. Because how could he explain why love was always sacrifice? Why love was always pain? Better to spare her that while he could. She’d have plenty of time to figure that out for herself.

‘It’s not,’ he said. ‘But I never wanted a wife, Isla. I never wanted a family. I had one and then I lost it and I’m not doing it again.’

‘So it’s a choice,’ Isla said flatly and it wasn’t a question. ‘This is something you’re actively choosing.’

He didn’t understand what she was getting at. ‘Yes, didn’t I just say that?’

‘And what about for someone you loved? Would you do it for them?’

The question caught him off guard and for a second all he could do was stare at her, while his heart shouted,Yes, I’d do it for you. I love you. And the family you want, I want too, and we could have one together.

But he swallowed down the words. Because somewhere, somehow, at some point in time, he would destroy that family. He would ruin it, because that’s what he did. Or maybe something else would happen and it would be ripped from him once again anyway. Either way, he couldn’t risk it happening again. The first time it had just about destroyed him. The next time it would kill him.

‘No,’ he said quietly. ‘Not even then.’

She didn’t say anything for the longest time. Then finally all the fight seemed to drain right out of her, and she turned and left his office without a word.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

ISLADIDN’TKNOWwhat to do. He’d told her it wasn’t her, yet he was sending her away all the same and it didn’t make any sense. The way it felt as if he’d ripped her heart out of her chest didn’t make any sense either.

She’d only known him a week. What did it matter if he didn’t want a family? She’d had that brief, wonderful vision of being here at Christmas time with a family of her own, one with children. Orion’s children. And while that vision had made her long for it deeply, she could have that wonderful family Christmas with another man, couldn’t she? It didn’t have to be with Orion.

She didn’t understand why that thought left her so desolate.

He spent the rest of the day in his office, only coming out to tell her that due to the weather, the helicopter wouldn’t be able to take her back to the UK until tomorrow.

Getting rid of you the way that family got rid of you. Like David got rid of you.

She couldn’t stop thinking about that, or about how Orion had told her that David had sold her to him. Because he had. She hadn’t really taken it in when Orion had arrived at the church that day and told her about the deal he’d done with David, because she’d had too many other things to worry about.

But she was thinking about it now. How her happiness or what she wanted had never mattered to him. He hadn’t considered those things at all; only the company had ever been important. Never her.

And it was clear she wasn’t important to Orion either, if he could get rid of her the way everyone else had, with absolutely no difficulty whatsoever.

It hurt. It hurt so much.

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