Page 65 of Nothing to Fear

“Is that the cost of safety at Breckenridge House?”

“Shit, you want my mom to disown me? We don’t extort anyone, and we sure don’t exchange sex for safety.” He kissed the top of her head. “Sometimes it scares me.”

“What scares you?”

“The way you talk, the things you say… You don’t owe anyone anything. Ever. Not me or my mom or anyone. If someone makes you feel differently, send them my way.”

She slid a hand across his stomach, settling against him.

“Who I am, what I came from, doesn’t match what you and your family have. I’ve never met such…”

“Generosity?” he asked with a smile in his tone.

She peeked up. “Have I used that word?”

“Once or twice. My mom is generous with her time. My father is generous with his money… to a point.”

“Unless your mother is involved. Then it’s all her.”

“You got that right. Me, I’m generous with something else.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“One day you might be lucky and I’ll show you.”

“Oh, is that your game?” she asked, restraining a laugh. “You tease women with maybes?”

“I’ll maybe you right here, baby, if that’s what you want.”

“Tell me more about your family,” she said, coiling his arm around her. “I like the sound of your voice.” She closed her eyes,resting her head against him, basking in his scent. “I don’t care what you say, just talk.”

Looking at him got her in a muddle and speaking to him didn’t always go well. But absorbing those words and the rumble of his chest beneath her ear, she could spend a lifetime right there.

TWENTY-ONE

WHEN THE CAR stopped, she jolted awake. Sleep? Had she been sleeping? Oh, God. How long had she been out?

Pushing away from the man holding her, she couldn’t shake her senses straight.

“Cherry.” The bass of his voice struck her, she gasped and grabbed for the closest stable force: his thigh. Oh, embarrassment knew no limits. “Baby, you okay?” His fingers locked between hers. “You want to sleep out here?”

His tease woke her enough to smile. “In the car?”

“Right here in the driveway.”

“Promising more maybes?”

He slid along the seat and got out, still holding her hand. “Think you’ve got the wrong idea about me.”

“The wrong idea?”

Those twinkle lights, like the ones in the courtyard, lit up the stairs and trees flanking the grand front doors of Breckenridge House.

“I can follow through, baby. Follow all the way through.”

He took her inside and without pausing, up the stairs. The first time she arrived there, the intimidation of the place made her feel so small. When he walked in those halls, they gave him strength, power, a gravity that tugged at her need.

Like they’d done it a million times, he led her into his room and the lights came on automatically, just dim enough to be intimate.

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