“That was fun…Sir.”
I couldn’t help it: I laughed. And then my cock stirred again.
“You’ve gone and done it now,” I growled. I poked her with it, and she yelped.
“Sometimes good girls do bad things.” She giggled.
This girl. She was going to be the death of me.
I pulled her on top of me, ready to play, yearning to make her come again. I was desperate to mark her, to make her scream my name again, to turn her world inside out.
I yearned to make her cling to me and only me. To want me and only me.
I’d vowed not to take my virgin bride until our wedding night.
It was going to be a long fucking couple of days.
CHANCE
RORY
Rhodes tore himself away,citing meetings. We agreed to meet after lunch for wedding planning.
I had the oddest feeling when he left the room—like I wanted to weep. What the hell? He was my boss, my fake fiancé, the billionaire I worked for. We’d had fun in bed, more than fun. He’d made me see white and rocked my world so profoundly that I was probably ruined for other men for good. But I couldn’t let myselffallfor him, if that’s what I was doing.
Too late, dumbass,said the voice in my head.
I feared she was right.
I decided to let myself be happy, at least for the morning. I sort of couldn’t help it—my limbs were loose, and I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face as I showered and dressed. Scenes from last night and that morning played through my head. I shivered, remembering the way that Rhodes touched me. I couldn’t believe everything we’d done. I couldn’t believe how he’d made me feel.
I couldn’t believe how I feltabouthim.
But I shut down that line of thinking, because it would only lead to trouble. He was probably enjoying playing with me, that was all. We were in this together. Any physical connection wasjust a bonus to our contract. Rhodes probably thought that since he basically owned me, he might as well make the best of it.
And I should look at it the same way. Right?
I hustled to get dressed. I tried to stop thinking about Rhodes. I hoped Maria and Luke would like some company; the sun was shining outside on the grounds, and I longed to be outside.
I missed Josie and Bo so much that it hurt. I winced, but then I remembered the guardianship petition—soon enough, my little brother and sister would be safe. I decided to call them that afternoon to check in. I couldn’t wait to hear their voices, and I missed my Grammy, too.
I was about to leave the suite, but I stopped myself. I turned back to the bed, the sheets still rumpled. Embarrassed, I quickly made it, even though the staff would come in and clean the room while I was gone. I sank down on the edge and sat for a moment, scenes from last night and this morning once again flooding me.
I’d be a fool to pretend it didn’t matter to me, that it was nothing. I’d never been with a man before—and what an introduction! Warmth spread through my skin as I remembered the thrill of Rhodes’s touch. He’d done things to me in the past few hours that I hadn’t ever experienced. He’d unlocked pleasure and sensation in my body that I didn’t know existed. The connection between us hadn’t been in my imagination—it was real. He wanted me, too. We’d done things I’d never done with anybody. Things that made my cheeks burn. Things that made my thighs quiver.
Things that made me scream his name.
All of this shocked me, but not as much as the fact that I’d given myself over to him without a second thought.I’dkissedhim. I’d been the one to light the match by calling him ‘Sir.’ I’d been the one to snuggle against him this morning, teasing and laughing.
I hadn’t planned any of this. I hadn’t thought it through. It justwas.
The thing was, IlikedRhodes. There was more to him than just a suit, a frown, and a board meeting. He had a secret world, one that I’d been granted limited access to. And the thing was? I’d given him a peek behind my curtain, too.
I didn’t get close to people. I’d learned, the hard way, that it wasn’t safe. When your own mother regularly threw you over to party or for her latest boyfriend, you understood that your importance to others was negligible at best. That, combined with the fact that I had an MIA, deadbeat dad who wanted nothing to do with me, made me feel pretty certain that I was the only one who would ever have my own back.
I loved my siblings, and I loved my grandmother. They were my safe people. But one of the things I valued in those relationships was what I brought to them—help, guidance, caretaking, and the fact that I was needed. My mother and father didn’t need me; they were obligated to me, and neither seemed thrilled about it. I was just a mouth to feed, a cramp in their personal freedom. But in these other familial relationships, I had a sense of value, that I was bringing something to the table, and that I would not be abandoned because I was necessary.
My siblings and my Grammy loved me. But they also needed me. That made me feel safer.
