“That it’s nice to be able to talk to you about Claud. She’s normally off-limits.”
“On dates?” I ask, holding back a disgusted shiver, hating the very idea of him ever with another woman.
He shakes his head against mine. “No, she’s off-limits to everyone who is not close to me. I pay a lot of money to keep her out of any articles, even if it’s not gossip, which is why you couldn’t find a picture of her. Even colleagues and employees know not to ask about her. They are very aware my personal life is just that, personal. That’s why I have a side entrance into my office building leading straight into a private elevator to take her to the top floor. You know, a different elevator than the one you used,” he says, his chest shaking against my cheek, thinking he’s funny as shit.
I’m not amused.
“Don’t remind me of that day. I’ll never step foot in the vicinity of that building again,” I grumble. What must his coworkers think of the crazy lunatic girl showing up there unannounced?
Then I think of something.
“If Claud is so private, why can we talk about her?”
He stills under me, and I can feel him thinking. “Well, you knew her before me, and…I trust you.”
I quickly sit up to look at him, surprised by his admission. “You do?”
A tingling sensation creeps up my arm as his fingers trail sensuously over my skin. His eyes are cast down, deep inthought, but when he finally looks up, he nods, full of meaning. “I do, beautiful.”
The car comes to a stop before I can say anything more, though I’m not sure what there is to say.
Harrison Davenport, Mr. Elusive, as many articles have named him, trustsme.
That’s a big freaking deal.
“Hey.” I snap my attention back toward him when I feel his hand creeping up my inner thigh. “Kiss me one more time before we get out of the car.”
“Oh, yeah.” I frown. “I forgot the rules.”
“We’re not going to stay long, I promise. Trust me, there is no way I’ll be able to stay four hours next to you without touching you freely or kissing you.”
I smile at his honesty. “That’s because you show affection through physical touch. Haven’t you noticed? You almost always need to be touching or kissing me.”
He thinks about it and shakes his head. “No, it’s because you’re so fucking hot that I can’t keep my hands off you. Now kiss me before I make you.”
Harrison
She’s beautiful. My eyes have not left Juliette for one second tonight.
And I’m not the only one.
The moment we walked through the doors, everyone’s line of vision, both men and women, trailed her as she gracefully glided through the room. I shocked myself when I felt pride versus jealousy that she was on my arm tonight and no one else’s.
Jules has me so crazy over her; two times tonight, people have had to repeat themselves because I can’t pay attention to anything or anyone but her.
Our situation has me feeling utterly confused and out of my mind lately. I’ve never felt so conflicted about what to do as I do now.
You’ve never cared about a woman before like you do her.
Juliette has weaved a path through my complicated life, and everything in me screams to keep her as mine.
Because that’s what she is,mine.
I remind her of that every day.
Only then does my conscience kick in, reminding me of my promise to my brother.
When Claudina was born, it was clear I would be her father and sole caretaker, even if deep down, Sebastian would have loved to take on the role if he were in a better place mentally. When the decision was made, he asked one thing of me…to make Claud my world.
