Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 87091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Maybe the same way it hadn’t been in her father’s. But she hadn’t loved him any less for being unreliable; it just hurt her more.
But Damien? She’d known from the beginning that he was a nomad through and through. Could she not have chosen to love someone more like herself? Someone who would stick around and build white picket fences. Put together swing sets in the backyard for the kids. Why couldn’t she have fallen for Finn? But no, she had to choose a man who was as unattainable and constantly moving as the stars in the sky.
She couldn’t even hold him responsible for their relationship’s moving from a solid friendship to this—this crazy, passionate affair. He hadn’t seduced her—she was the one who’d come to him last night. She was the one who’d knocked on his door. She was the one who’d pretty much given herself to him, no strings attached. She had to accept that she’d chosen to do this. Chosen to put her heart in danger. So even if she was never going to be anything more than Damien Davenport’s latest fling, at least she had that. For now.
And for now that had to be enough.
She watched his strong profile, felt the warmth of his body beside her in bed, and despite all her hard truths, the longing for him did not subside. As much as she knew this would end in heartbreak and tears, she didn’t have the strength to walk away. No. She loved Damien. And for as long as she could have him, she would build memories. Hoard them away like money in a savings account, so that she could live on them for a long time to come.
She had worked through her feelings enough that by the time he stretched and opened his eyes, she was ready with a bright smile. As those gorgeous gray-green eyes settled on hers, she felt as though she were the only woman in the world. In this moment, she was as special to him as he was to her. What a gift he had that he could make her feel this way.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Good morning,” she whispered back.
He kissed her and then smiled so broadly and almost goofily that she giggled.
He reached out and skimmed a hand over her breast, and her tired body leaped to life yet again. How many times had they made love in the night? She’d lost count. She’d never known it could be like this. Where his hands had traced a path along her breast, his lips followed.
“Thank you for dropping by last night,” he said against the slope of her breast, his voice rough and early-morning sexy.
“Thank you for inviting me in,” she responded. Her voice was a purr that didn’t even sound like herself.
Once they’d fully satisfied each other one more time, he said, “Do you want some breakfast?”
She realized then that the benefit of their situation was that even though they knew the excitement of new lovers, they also had the comfort of an old friendship.
She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Is it going to be something plant-based, with a lot of seeds and tofu?”
He chuckled, swinging out of bed and standing to stretch, all naked and gorgeous. Everything she’d ever wanted. “I always keep a few other things stocked in the house. You never know. One of my siblings, most likely Mila, will turn up at the door and demand ‘real food.’ Let me see what I can rustle up.”
She didn’t even have to tell him her likes and dislikes. She’d been to enough Davenport family breakfasts that he already knew how she liked her eggs, that she preferred whole wheat toast over white, and was a sucker for something sweet.
Luckily he left the room before she had to get out of bed, because she wasn’t quite brave enough to stand there naked in the morning light.
As soon as he was gone, she dashed into the ensuite bathroom and treated herself to a long, hot shower with his expensive shower gel. It smelled like Damien and as she lathered herself up, she couldn’t help but feel sexy all over again. It was like she was wearing him. But when she got out, she had no choice but to actually wear last night’s clothes. So as she left the bedroom and headed downstairs, she really felt as though she was doing the walk of shame.
In the kitchen, she found him in a pair of cut-off shorts and an old T-shirt worn for comfort rather than style. And still her mouth went dry at the sight of him.
He was scrambling eggs and humming some tune she didn’t recognize. He already had a cup of green tea on the go, but bless him, he had made a pot of coffee for her. She went straight to it. She needed a decent cup of coffee more than she needed to take her next breath.