I fucking hate that she’s on the ground barefoot. My eyes immediately go to her feet to make sure she hasn’t stepped in or on anything. If we were alone, I’d be scooping her into my arms so she wouldn’t have to walk on the concrete.

  “You talked all that shit about cheating—” he starts when she interrupts putting a hand up to silence him.

  “I didn’t cheat on you, Paxton.”

  “Bullshit,” he barks. “You think I didn’t notice how wet you got for him all the time? There were times you would just stare at him. In front of me! Like I wouldn’t fucking notice!”

  “Paxton, lay off. Since, you know, there’s no point in being diplomatic, talk to her like you have some sense or we’re going to have a very big problem.” I don’t need a reason to hit my woman’s ex-boyfriend after everything he put her through, but I would fucking love one.

  Is she your woman though? my subconscious asks.

  “You don’t have to believe me but what reason would I have to lie? You’ve cheated on me with countless women.”

  “Because you know if you cheated too, then you can’t play the victim.” He points at her. “God, what is that? A hickey?” He makes a move towards her and I’m immediately in front of her blocking him from her.

  “I will fucking end you, Paxton.” I drop my hand to his shoulder, gripping it tightly and I give him a look that I hope shakes him because I’m done messing around. “Your interactions with Shay are over. Do you understand me? You two broke up. It happens. Stop embarrassing yourself.” I grip his shoulder harder and he winces. “Shay isn’t playing the victim. Even if she didn’t have me in her bed fucking her better than you ever did, she doesn’t care. What you do, who you do, she doesn’t care because she doesn’t want you anymore. She wants me.” I hear her gasp and if I’m not mistaken, it’s more out of lust than shock. I want to tell her to just give me five minutes to get rid of this asshole and I’ll spend the rest of the night giving in to every want she’s ever had.

  His eyes are cold but I decide to dig the knife deeper wanting him to get fed up with this conversation and leave. “And Shay has spent more time in bed with me the last few days than out of it. She didn’t leak the news of your cheating.” His nostrils flare and his eyes dart to Shay who’s now standing next to me. “Did you ever think maybe it’s someone from your camp? I can’t imagine all the women you’ve fucked are particularly happy with having to be kept quiet or in the dark and being treated with little to no respect. Maybe one of them outed you. Or hell, maybe one of the workers on the secret vacations you were taking. A flight attendant, a driver, a bartender. You think everyone values discretion or doesn’t want to sell the information they have on celebrities because maybe you left them a decent tip once? Grow up.”

  He narrows his eyes and then looks at Shay. “Fuck you, both.”

  “Pax…” Shay starts. I can see the tears in her eyes and I’m not sure what it’s about. “I know you’re angry and I know you think I did this, but I didn’t, and I’ve never cheated on you. Please don’t leak this.” I realize now she’s thinking about her career or her image. She doesn’t care about him being angry, but what his anger might mean if he sits too long with it.

  “That’s all you care about? Fuck my feelings, right?” he barks at her.

  “No. I didn’t say that. I don’t think you can really play that card though because you cheated on me…” she says. Does he keep forgetting that?

  “Not with anyone that I cared about.”

  “Okay, so I’m the asshole because I started dating someone after you that I do care about? I’m the problem because this isn’t meaningless sex?”

  “If this were any other guy on the planet, I’d say no, but I knew you always had feelings for him and you fucked around with me anyway. You used me because you thought you couldn’t have him.”

  “That’s not at all what this was, Paxton. I did care about you! I did love you! You broke my heart! You don’t get to judge me for how or when I moved on!” I’ll admit it stings hearing that she loved him but I ignore it because she’s over it and him and wants to move on.

  The intrusive thought that I’m just her rebound hits me like a fucking train. Something fun and sexy and exciting before she goes back to her life of glamour and rich men that can give her the world and not one whose only pro is keeping her safe in it.

  He scoffs and puts his hand up silencing her and I resist the urge to break it. “Fucking please. You moved on in five minutes. Look me in the face and tell me you didn’t have feelings for him. Tell me that you didn’t ask him out and he said no.”

  “I didn’t ask him out,” she snaps.

  “Semantics, Shay. You know what the fuck I’m saying.”

  “And what does that have to do with anything?” I interrupt. “Nothing happened while you and Shay were together.”

  “I don’t know if I believe that,” he grumbles. I see the defeated look in his eyes and his demeanor. He knows it’s over. That he fucked up and there isn’t a chance he’s getting another. That Shay Eastwood is one of a kind and yet he treated her like he could find another just like her. “I’ll keep your precious secret, Shay. I’ll be the bad guy in this story.”

  “I haven’t said anything to any media outlet. I haven’t even made a statement. I don’t want you to be the bad guy. I just want to move on.”

  His eyes dart back and forth between me and Shay. “Can I talk to you alone?” he asks her and her eyes flit to mine. They’re not looking for approval; Shay rarely asks for approval for anything, except more recently if she could come, but I see everything in just the brief flash of her eyes.

  It doesn’t mean anything.

  Nothing will change.

  I want you.

  I’m not sure what he wants to talk to her about, and despite my reluctance to leave them alone, I nod and turn towards her house knowing this allows me to do a quick sweep. A soft hand slips into mine, stopping me from walking, and when I turn around, my gaze finds her warm brown eyes as she looks up at me through her lashes. She flashes me a smile that’s both sweet and sexy, and reaches up on her toes to presents her lips for me to take. I narrow my eyes curiously wondering why the show for her ex-boyfriend, but I oblige, pressing my lips to hers for no more than a second and then turn to walk towards the house.

  As much as I want to stand at the window and watch, I can’t figure out if that’s the man she’s sleeping with or her bodyguard’s dilemma. I eventually decide that she’s safe with him and begin my walk through, ignoring the pang of jealousy. I’m still making my way through her top floor where her bedroom is when I hear the door open and close. It hasn’t even been ten minutes and I’m interested to see what he wanted to talk about and how it ended.

  I’m surprised she hasn’t called for me or made her way upstairs and when I hear noises in the kitchen and the sounds of ice in a glass I proceed with caution, not sure what kind of mood she’s in. When I enter the kitchen, she’s leaning against the refrigerator, drinking a glass of clear liquid and I don’t know if it’s water or vodka.

  “Want to talk about it?” I ask her, nodding my head towards the door. “What he said?”

  “He told me about the ring.”

  I stiffen, not expecting that but also not totally surprised. “He asked you?” Thoughts of him down on one knee, selling her on a life of wealth and security and whatever else he could offer her that I can’t come charging into my brain before I have a chance to tell myself she’d never marry him.

  She winces, scrunching her cheeks. “Not in the traditional, man on one knee, ‘I love you and can’t live without you’ type of proposal.” She sighs. “It was more of a, ‘I know I fucked up but how about a marriage of convenience? You can even keep Damian if you want.’” I blink in shock because how the fuck could he even speak those words aloud. “Did you hear me swooning from in here?”

  A ghost of a smile pulls at my lips at her ability to make a joke even when she’s tense. She rolls her eyes and moves around the island in the center of her kitchen, hopping up on it like she’s done a million times. She grabs the loosened tie still around my neck and tugs gently pulling me closer to her. “I said no,” she whispers and I nod, not knowing how to respond and hoping she has more to say. “Do you want to know why?”

  “Do you want to tell me why?” I give her a half smile so she knows she doesn’t have to tell me, but also if she does, we’ll still be okay. Whatever she said or he said, it doesn’t mean anything to us.

  “He doesn’t think it’ll work…” She frowns. “You and me. That we are too different and eventually those differences will overwhelm our relationship.” She scrunches her nose. “He took two psychology classes before he dropped out of college to pursue acting and evidently, he’s Dr. Phil.” She purses her lips and years of experience tell me she’s trying to stop the tears from falling.

  “Baby,” I rub her cheek, trying to calm the nerves I know are dancing beneath her skin. “It’s okay.”

  “I want us to try.” Her hands go to my shoulders. “If you want. I don’t want him, I want you. That’s why I said no.”

  I grip her hips and move between her legs for her to wrap them around my waist. “I want.”

  She shrugs. “It’s going to be a little complicated at first, and then when people find out there will be a lot of questions and opinions. I’m used to that but I worry about you. It’s a lot for someone who’s never had their privacy violated.”

  I rub my thumb gently over her chin and press my lips to hers. “Can you let me worry about what I can handle?”

  “I just don’t want this to become too much for you.”

  “Is this all coming from Paxton?”

  She winces. “A little, but I’ve thought about it. It’s impossible not to think about.” She drops her gaze away from mine, looking down as she fidgets with her hands in her lap. “I have abandonment issues.”

  I lift her face and the tears in her eyes gut me, transporting me back to a time when she’d sobbed in my arms and begged me to tell her that it was all a mistake and her parents were still alive. “I will never abandon you.”

  I seal my promise with my mouth against hers and yank her off the counter into my arms before carrying her out of her house. I set the alarms without looking with my lips still on hers and then I’m pushing her through the door of my guesthouse. The last few nights we’ve been in her bed, but I want her in mine. I want her in the bed where I have lain awake and thought about her with my hand wrapped around my dick as her scent clung to the air.

  I set her on her feet as I turn on the lights, dimming the harshness of the overhead lights to give the room a warm amber glow.

  “Your place is so clean,” she says and when I go to respond she’s completely nude, having discarded her jumpsuit and her underwear are still in my pocket.

  I let out a breath and drop to my sofa, my heart and dick both pounding in tandem, making me feel like I might have a heart attack or come just from seeing her naked. I signal for her to come to me and she moves quickly onto my lap, settling that pert little ass against me. She looks at me innocently like she’s not rubbing her wet pussy on me.

  “I don’t think seeing you naked will ever not render me speechless for a minute.” I groan as the sensation of her tight, sexy body moves against me.

  “Seeing your body does a number on me too.” My cock hardens beneath her in response and her hands reach for my button-down, yanking it from my pants, and sliding her hands up my torso. “How come I’m always naked while you’re fully clothed?”

  I slide out of my jacket and lift her up, pushing her into the plush suede sofa. “Because I’m always in a rush to put my mouth here.” I drag my finger through her wet slit and she moans when I circle her clit. She whimpers and when I look up at her, her eyes are fluttering closed as her head drifts back and a serene smile finds her face as she rolls her hips against my fingers. “Look at me,” I tell her, wanting her eyes on me while I put my mouth on her.

  Her eyes fly open, finding mine and I wink at her just before I let a stream of spit fall from my mouth to land on her clit.

  She gasps, “Oh my god.”

  I spread her sex, staring at her slick and wet opening. “You have such a pretty pussy, baby. I fucking love it. That’s why I can’t stop.” I grip her thighs and drag my tongue through her pussy slowly. “I’ll never want to stop,” I tell her as I fuck her with my mouth slowly. I pour everything I’m feeling into it, trying to show her how much I want her. How I’ve always wanted her, and even though things are different between us now, I will always protect her.

  Even if there’s a point in time when we aren’t doing this.

  “Mmmm, tell me you want me again,” she says and I groan against her, hoping the vibrations feel good against her clit.

  I pull away and lick my lips, collecting her juices that are covering the bottom half of my face. “I want you so fucking much, Shay. You’ve been driving me wild for years. I trained myself not to look at you.” I pull off the remainder of my clothes, letting my hard cock spring free the second it’s out of my briefs. “Told myself I couldn’t have you.”

  “Why?” She looks up at me. “You knew I wanted you.”

  “A lot of reasons, Shay. For one, I thought it would be too complicated. Crossing these lines while I’m protecting you.”

  “And now? Isn’t it still complicated?”

  “Yes, but I let myself touch you and now I’m addicted.” I don’t want to get into this now, while we’re both naked and her wet cunt is glistening in the low lighting of the room. I want to take her to my bed and worship her and defile her and fuck her like an animal and then I want to make love to her and show her that no one could ever know her body the way I do.

  Unshed tears glisten in her eyes and when she reaches out to me, I lift her into my arms.

  Her legs wrap around my waist and her lips find my neck. “I want to be in your bed,” she tells me, but I’m already walking back towards my bedroom just off the living room and kicking the door shut behind me. The second her back is on the bed, I’m sliding into her and my lips collide with hers, my tongue finds hers, devouring her mouth. I lace our fingers and drag them over her head as we begin a rhythm of thrusting and writhing against each other.

  “Damian,” she moans, “fuck me harder.”

  I let her hands go and wrap a hand around her back and pull her into my lap. I’m sitting back on my heels allowing me to get deeper as I thrust upwards into her. She wraps her arms around my neck and her eyes bore into mine. “It’s so deep,” she whispers as she slides up and down on me harder.

  I grip her hips, drilling harder into her. “You take me so fucking well.”

  “Do I?” she whispers. “Is my pussy your favorite?” she purrs.

  “You know it is.” I pull her bottom lip into my mouth and nibble it gently. “Your pussy is my favorite place to be.”

  “I love the way you look at me while we’re like this,” she whispers. “Like you can see everything.” Her lips find the space behind my ear before she runs her tongue along the shell and nibbles on the lobe. “It’s so intense.”

  She’s right. I’ve never experienced such sexual compatibility with someone. It makes me wonder if there’s really something to the term soulmate and if she’s mine. Because what I feel when I’m inside of her is something so much deeper than an orgasm.

  I continue fucking her, moving her up and down harder with each thrust as I feel my balls tingling. “Baby, I need you to get there,” I tell her, moving my hand between us to strum my thumb over her clit, stroking that sensitive bundle of nerves that has become one of my favorite things in the world.

  “Damian!” she cries out right as her body goes rigid and her eyes flutter shut. “Oh my fucking god, right there baby.” Her lips find mine as she lets out the sexiest moan as she begins to shake in my arms. Her entire body vibrates on top of me and it’s almost too fucking much.

  “Fuck…” I let my head fall back as the feeling takes me under. “The way your pussy clenches around me…” I grit out and just before I come, the overwhelming need to possess her takes over me so I pull out of her. She gasps and I push her onto her back just in time to shoot my orgasm onto her bare, wet cunt. I grip my cock, dragging it from root to tip, letting my cum drip onto her. I drop my cock, still wet from being inside of her and still slightly hard, and put my hands on her, rubbing my cum into her pussy and over her clit.

  I drag my gaze to hers to find her watching my hands as they rub my cum into her skin.

  “I want to know how we taste together,” she says and when I look up at her, she’s giving me the sexiest look. Her teeth dig into her bottom lip and her eyes are full of want. I drag my finger through the mess I made on her and slide it through her lips. She sucks it like she would my cock, and my dick jolts in hopes that it gets its turn between her lips. She pulls me out of her mouth and drags her tongue up my finger. “We taste so fucking good.”

  I raise an eyebrow at her. “Maybe I should try it then,” I tell her as I lower my mouth to her cunt and drag my tongue through her slit, tasting both of us from the source.

  She lets her head fall back as a sound that sounds part chuckle and part moan leaves her lips. “Damian, you are so hot, Jesus Christ.” She lets out a breath as I get up and make my way to the bathroom. I turn on the sink, holding a washcloth under warm running water before going back to the bedroom. She’d propped herself up on her elbow and I can tell she’s looking at something but the room is somewhat dark so I’m not sure what’s caught her attention.

  I get on the bed, grab her ankle, and pull her gently towards me so I can clean her up when her eyes meet mine. “Why do you have women’s perfume on your nightstand?” she asks. “More specifically mine?”