CHAPTERSEVEN
Feral and sweating, Conor was irresistible with his muscles pumped and his focus entirely fixed on Karolina.Clothes were flung aside as they came together like a clap of thunder.He
was everything a lover should be, both intuitive and considerate.Could she ever get enough of him?She didn’t want to get enough of him.She wanted this complete immersion in each other to last forever.But was it enough for a loving marriage, a family, a future, all the things she wanted?Two people who’d grown up without the joy of family had to make up a route map as they went along.Could they do that?
Was this just sex for Karolina?It could hardly be more, he reasoned as he soothed her down.They’d both been damaged by the past.When he’d first entered into this marriage, it was a straightforward arrangement that allowed him to get close to a very dangerous man.
Unsettled, he lifted Karolina to her feet, and steadying her, he moved away.“Breakfast?I’ll cook.”
“You’ll cook?”she queried with a grin.
“I have a lot of untapped skills.”
Putting her arms around him, she rested her face against his back.“I can’t wait to discover them.”
“You’ll discover them,” he promised.“We can talk while we eat.I need to make sure you haven’t left anything out,” he explained when she looked at him with a frown on her face.“Your father’s activities?”he prompted.“I need chapter and verse.”
His rapid change of subject from what they’d just shared to harsh reality, was quite clearly a surprise to Karolina.He hated doing this, but destroying her father’s organization had to take precedence over their needs.That said, if he had to look at her face a moment longer, he might soften.He couldn’t risk that.“I’ll swim, shower, and see you up there.”
“Okay,” she agreed, voice flat.
She was right to worry, Karolina reflected when she joined Conor in the kitchen.Yes, he was an amazing and considerate lover, brave and selfless to a fault, but when it came to intimacy between them, that stopped at sex, and now Conor was calling in his part of the deal.That didn’t stop her wanting to throw her arms around him, to kiss, have fun, cook eggs, but she couldn’t while this was on her mind.“I don’t flatter myself that love plays any part in our marriage, but I did think there’d be more time before you questioned me again.”
Conor threw her a frowning glance.“Better to get it over with, don’t you think?”
“I’m happy to tell you anything you want to know, just not like this, because it feels like an inquisition.”
“It’s not meant to.My work is too important to allow personal feelings to intrude.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t have personal feelings.They don’t have to intrude in your work.”
“The more you tell me, the safer I can make your life, and the lives of other potential victims.”
“Yes, you’re right,” she conceded.“I suppose I’m just feeling—”
“Vulnerable?”he supplied.
Crossing the room, Conor drew her into his arms.“Be careful,” she whispered.“My father knows no boundaries.The slightest infringement of his will has always been met with the most shocking brutality.He won’t care that you’re my husband, or even that your ponies are second to none.Vengeance will be topmost in his mind.He lost valuable slaves in your raid, so in his eyes, you’re damned and I’m damned with you.”
“I won’t allow anything to endanger you.”Conor’s tone was fierce.“Nothing.Do you hear me, Karolina?”
But he’d still rather not talk about feelings, she mused as he tipped the eggs he’d cooked onto a plate and prompted, “Eat.”
While they ate, she told him everything she could think of that might be useful, but at no point during that monologue did she forget how it felt to have Conor’s arms around her, or long to hear him promise that from this moment on, they would stand together in everything.
Sex was a great mind block, but she had to face the truth eventually.Karolina was the ambassador’s daughter, and as such, a valuable asset for Conor.She was a tool he could use to uncover her father’s secrets.She had to get it through her head that Conor Murphy had never been looking for love and maybe he never would be.
“Tell me about the regularity of the shipments,” he pressed.
She flinched at his words.“You sound like my father.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know how else to describe human cargo.”
“Perhaps you need me more than you think.Describing those poor women as cargo, or in terms of a shipment, goes against everything you told me about your work.I grew up with tragedy surrounding me and learned quickly that I could go one of two ways.I chose my way, and that includes never allowing cruelty to leave me numb.”
Conor pulled his head back with surprise.“Are you saying that’s what’s happened to me?”
“I only know that you’re a world-famous polo player and a highly successful businessman with a sideline in dangerous undercover activity.You’ve told me something about your past, and so has my father, but each time I think I’m starting to know you, you throw in a curve ball.”
