My eyes flew open and I rose to my feet as I recognized the voice as one I hadn’t expected to hear again. For a second I wondered if I’d drifted off to sleep and conjured her up, but she was wearing far too much clothing for that to be the case. “Riley, right?” I asked as if there  a chance I might have forgotten her name.     Damn, she was even more beautiful than I remembered. She was dressed in white jeans that hugged her curves in a way that sent my heart racing and a striped blue denim shirt that was unbuttoned just low enough to bring a flush to my cheeks. When she smiled, my mind went completely blank. For an instant there were just the two of us and a pulsing attraction unlike anything I’d felt before.

    “I hope I didn’t ruin your nap.” She tucked her hands into the front pockets of her jeans as she referenced the bench behind me.

    “Just soaking up some sun.”

    “Lunch break?”

    I took a moment to decide which course to take. Considering where we’d met, she should have looked out of place in my world, but she had a simple style that transitioned well. Crisp. Clean. Classic. The nondisclosure-fake-fiancée idea might have been off the table, but if she was interested in becoming the way I took my mind off my current situation, I wouldn’t throw her out of my bed. “I have the week off.”

    The wind blew a section of her hair across her face. She tucked it behind one of her ears. She really did have the most incredible eyes. “Well, I hope I didn’t disturb you. I was just heading in, recognized you, and thought I should say hello. I’m new to the building.”

    My eyebrows rose. “You live here?”

    “Yes?”

    The uncertainty of her response paired with an awkward shrug of her shoulder was briefly confusing. The Terraamum Building boasted some of the most expensive apartments in Boston. When the most likely explanation occurred to me, disappointment followed. “Your boyfriend does,” I said with certainty.

    “No boyfriend.” She blushed and looked away.

    So he’s married. “I honestly don’t care.”

    Her gaze flew back to meet mine. “Wow. Rude. No wonder you require a nondisclosure. You wouldn’t want people spilling the secret that you’re an ass.” She took a step away.

        I should have let her go. I couldn’t. Instead I reached out and touched her arm. “What I meant was your personal life is none of my business.”

    “That doesn’t actually sound any better.” She looked down at my hand and frowned. I broke contact.

    The world was full of beautiful women. There was no need to steal one from another man. There was something about this one, though, that brought out a territorial side of me I would have said I didn’t have. I had to ask: “Is he good to you?”

    “Who?” She was either a very good liar or I was misreading the situation.

    “The man who owns the apartment you’re staying in.”

    There it was—that frown again. “I own it. Me.”

    “Generous of him.”

    Her eyes darkened. “Yes, it was. And unnecessary, because I prefer my place in Lockton—my neighbors are friendlier.”

    So she’d held on to her old place. That spoke volumes about where she thought things were headed with whoever was payrolling her time in the Terraanum. “Friendly. Is that what he allows you to be when he’s not around?”     The whole you-would-stand-me-up act had likely been just that . . . something she used to pick up men on the side. Nothing unheard of for a young woman in her situation. Security must have come from looking one man ahead. I hated the idea of her with some old geezer, though. She didn’t have the appearance of a gold digger, but perhaps that was her appeal.

    Her hands went to her hips. “Why does everything you say sound like an insult?”

    She had me there. There was zero chance of things progressing between us now that I knew her deal, so the truth wouldn’t make a difference. “I had a different impression of you, and I don’t like being wrong.”

    “I had a different impression of you as well.” Her expression turned sad. “I wished you could find whatever it was that would make you happy, but I have to stop worrying so much about what other people are going through. I have the right to be happy too. My decisions, who I choose to spend time with, who I care about, should not affect anyone else’s life.”

    I raised my hands in mock surrender. “I’m not here to judge you.”

She stepped closer and tapped me in the chest. “Good, because love shouldn’t be like that. It shouldn’t come with conditions or guilt. We should be able to all get along.” As if realizing the aggressiveness of her stance, she lowered her hand and stepped back. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to go off like that.”

    “Not a problem.” It wasn’t, but I couldn’t say why. I was turned on and completely confused. She’d essentially said she loved her sugar daddy. Why wasn’t that enough for me to lose interest in her? “My intention wasn’t to upset or insult you.”

    She shrugged, looking lost for a moment in her own thoughts. She glanced at the building behind her. “You live here too?”

    “I do.” I also owned the building, but she didn’t need to know that.

    She gave me another long look, but this time it wasn’t just desire I saw in her eyes. There was an openness in her gaze, uncomplicated, warm—drawing me in. Her hand shot out in my direction. “Then let’s start over. Hi, I’m Riley Ragsdale. Nice to meet you.”

    I shook her hand, then continued to hold it. The temptation to brush my lips across hers was almost too strong to resist. I told myself her air of innocence was an act, but I understood why a man might pay a fortune to keep her around. “Nice to meet you, Riley. I’m Gavin Wenham.” If she recognized the name, it didn’t show in her expression.

    I almost felt sorry for the man she was currently with. Whoever he was, she wouldn’t be with him long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kal can’t continue to be the man he was, but can refuse to be the one Dominic tries to mold him into.

It’ll take a strong woman to help Kal see that his anger is justified, but misplaced.

Love wins no matter how hard a man fights it.