Page 17 of Crimson Heart

“That’s sweet of you, but I can’t.”

“Will I see you again?”

She hesitated. She wanted to, but her life was complicated enough right now.

“At least, let me call you in a couple of days to see how you are,” he insisted.

“I’m keeping my phone switched off.”

When she saw his disappointed facial expression, she added, “Why don’t you give me your number, and I’ll try to call when I can?”

He retrieved a piece of paper from a side table and scribbled his number on it, then handed it to her. She shoved it into her pocket.

“Thank you.”

“Are you gonna call me, or is this goodbye?”

“We both said this was no-strings-attached.”

“It didn’t feel like it.” He pulled her close to him. “At least not for me.”

His words made warmth spread inside her core, knowing that he, too, had felt their connection.

“I will call you. I promise,” she said, even though she didn’t know when and how, and what would become of this thing between them. Maybe it would fizzle away in a day or two, and what she felt was simply the afterglow of a great night of sex.

“Good,” he said and kissed her.

For a few seconds, she surrendered to his kiss and allowed him to remind her of the passion that they shared.

Reluctantly, she freed herself from his embrace and turned toward the door. He didn’t follow her as she opened it. She looked over her shoulder and found him looking at her with longing. Neither said anything. What was there to say that their eyes hadn’t already conveyed to the other?

Charlotte hurried to her motel, which was only a few blocks from Byron’s flat. In her room, she took a quick shower and packed the few things she’d brought with her. When she checked out, the woman in the office called her a cab. She settled into the backseat of the taxi and tried to prepare herself for what was coming next, but all she could think of was being back in Byron’s arms. Now it was even more important to stop her parents from forcing her to mate with a man she didn’t want.

Because she’d already found what she wanted.

Or rather, whom.