Virtuous(64)

Hayden’s question about security puts me right back on edge. Because of what she’s endured in the past, I have to warn her again about the media blitz that will follow our coming-out party. I have to be sure it won’t cause a setback for her after she’s worked so hard to build a new life for herself. In light of what she shared with me earlier, I shouldn’t take her with me on Sunday. I have to give her the chance to beg off and spare her the insanity.

Selfish bastard that I am, I hate the thought of her deciding not to come with me. But she’s already been violated once before, and that word aptly describes what will happen to her once the press catches wind of the fact that I have a new woman in my life, and that I’m serious about her.

I take a deep breath, steeling myself to deal with the disappointment that will follow her decision. But this isn’t about what’s best for me. I have to think of what is best for her. I will do the right thing by her no matter what it costs me—emotionally and physically.

With the steady drumbeat of desire thrumming through my veins reminding me of what I can’t have, it’s hard to say what price will exact the greater toll on me—the physical or the emotional.





Flynn wakes me with kisses that begin at my shoulder and end at my fingertips, leaving a tingle of sensation that reawakens the desire. “We land in about an hour, Sleeping Beauty.”

“How long have I been asleep?”

“About three hours.”

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry. You must’ve been bored.”

“Not so bad. I watched a movie when I wasn’t watching you sleep.”

I’m immediately embarrassed at the thought of him watching me sleep.

He runs a finger over my frown. “You were adorable. As always.”

I shift under the blanket, and the rasp of soft wool against my breasts reminds me that I’m half-naked. My nipples tighten under the blanket, and I swear he knows that my body is reacting to his nearness.

As always, he shows restraint, but I can tell it doesn’t come naturally to him. He’s a man who reaches out and takes what he wants, and he clearly wants me. That he can’t have me, at least not the way he’d like to have me, hasn’t driven him away.

“I would give anything to know what goes on in that pretty head of yours when you look at me that way.”

“What way am I looking at you?”

“Like you have a million questions you’re dying to ask me, but can’t bring yourself to do it.” He bends over me to rub his nose against mine. “I wish you’d ask rather than worry about things that are probably no big deal.”

“This whole thing is a big deal to me. A huge big deal. You have no idea how big.”

“I think I have a small idea—and it’s a huge big deal to me, too. Just in case you thought otherwise.”

“I feel like Cinderella at the ball, and any second the clock is going to strike midnight, and the handsome prince will disappear in a wisp of smoke, never to be seen or heard from again.”

“As you well know, the prince showed up the next day with her slipper, and they all lived happily ever after.”

“That’s how it works in fairy tales. Not real life.”

“Not to give myself more credit than I deserve, but if I’m playing the role of the prince in this fairy tale of yours, I can assure you I’m not going anywhere. No wisp of smoke, no team of mules or ten men could drag me away from you. So whatever you’re thinking, just say it. Put it out there and have one less thing on your mind.”

He makes it so easy to lay myself bare before him in more ways than one. Words come to mind that I can’t imagine saying to anyone, let alone him, but because he makes it easy, I find myself saying them. “I see the way you look at me.”

“How do I look at you?”

“Like you’re starving, and I’m the only food for miles around.”

A broad smile unfolds across his sinfully handsome face. “You do make me rather ravenous. Have we moved on from Cinderella to the Big Bad Wolf?”

I laugh at the playful growl that accompanies his question. “I want you to know… I’m aware that you have… needs… and if you wanted to go elsewhere for that—”

“Natalie! Jesus. What do you take me for? A rutting beast with no self-control?” He stands and pushes his hands through his hair, his entire body rigid with impatience and irritation.