Inheriting a SECRET (Corrigan & Co. #7)(18)

“You okay?” he asks me.

“Better than.”

“That was pretty epic.”

I laugh as I tease him. “You’re starting to talk like me.”

“I’ll say or do anything you want after what just happened.”

“Or we could just do it again.”

“Give me a little time to recover, and then I’ll be more than happy to make love to you again.”

“No. Don’t say that. It wasn’t that,” I tell him, moving off of him to gather my clothes.

“What was it then?”

“Fucking. We f*cked.”

It’s a lie when it comes off my tongue, and he knows it. I can’t allow it to be more, though. Not with Brayden. He needs something from me that I can’t give him, and despite our “truce,” I know he won’t stop until he gets what he thinks he needs. Which means he may have to go back on his promise not to harm me. I can’t just give the jewels to him, and if love gets involved in what we’re doing, it’ll make it that much harder on both of us.

“Bullshit. That was…I don’t know exactly what it was…but it wasn’t just f*cking. We both know it, so stop pretending.”

“What happens in the light of day, Brayden? Do you just forget that you want something from me that I can’t give you? Do we make this engagement real and live happily ever after? What?”

“I don’t know.”

“Fucking,” I say, turning to stop the stupid tears that are threatening to fall. I’m not a crier. I’m not.

“Come here, Cat,” he tells me pulling me into his bare chest, and holding me tight. “We’ll figure this out somehow. I promise. Just don’t belittle what we are, or what just happened. Please. Give me—us—a chance.”

“I want to,” I tell him honestly. “But what if it’s all too much with everything else.”

“We’ll take it day by day. Hour by hour. Minute by minute. Whatever it takes. Just be in this with me, and let me have you, even if it’s just for now.”

I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle it when the “now” is over, but I don’t want to say no. I can’t. What I’m starting to feel for him is stronger than I’ve ever felt for anyone else, and I don’t want to be without him. Forever was never on the table, so “now” is going to have to do.

“Yes. Okay. We’ll do now.”

“Score.”

“I’m going to make an American out of you yet, Crown.”

“Or I’ll make a Cyndryannite out of you.”

“Not likely. How’s the recovery time, by the way?”

He moves back a little to show me his erect cock. “See for yourself.”

“I think it’s time to try the bed,” I tell him with a smile as I walk towards my bedroom.

“Brilliant idea, Cat. Absolutely brilliant.”

* * *

Brayden

“You’re running out of time, Bray.”

“I’m well aware of the timeline, Noah.”

“Yet you’re not pushing her for the answers you need.”

“Leave it alone.”

“You’ve been sleeping in her room every night for the past month, and you can’t get her to tell you where the jewels are? Have you lost your touch?”

“I haven’t lost anything, and it’s not like that. She’s not like that.”

“You really like her, don’t you?”

“I love her,” I tell.

“Bloody hell. Are you willing to give up the crown for her?”

“I can’t.”

He looks like he wants to punch me, and I take a step back without even realizing it. “If she’s not worth more than a monarchy, then you don’t really love her. You should stop leading her on.”

“Umm, weren’t you the one telling me to seduce her secret from her just a minute ago?”

“When I thought it was just sex, yeah. But if you’re in love with her, she’ll know it. I don’t want you to destroy her.”

“You two really are getting along now, aren’t you?”

“Something like that, but I mean it. Don’t f*ck with her like this. It’ll end badly for both of you.”

“I’m trying to avoid a disaster, but as you pointed out, I’m running out of time. My coronation is set for a month from now, and you know I promised my dad that I wouldn’t be crowned without recovering the jewels.”

“Would he want you to break the heart of the woman you love in order to keep that promise?”

“Probably not, but he’s not here to confirm or deny that, is he?”

I don’t try to hide the bitterness from my voice. My dad wasn’t supposed to die yet, and no matter what anyone tries to tell me, I know there was nothing “natural” about it. He was murdered, and once I get the jewels and the keys to the kingdom, I’m going to find out who did it and make them pay. Darcy could help me with it, but I’ll be lucky if we’re still speaking by the time I’m crowned.

“I miss him too, you know.”

I do know that. Noah’s father was a good friend of my dad’s, and when he died, we took Noah in. My dad stood in for him everywhere he could, while taking time alone with him to reminisce and keep their memories alive. I know his death was like a double blow to Noah after he’d already lost his own father.