Page 37 of Highest Bid

“Honestly, I think I just need a long, hot shower and a good night’s sleep.”

His eyes sharpened. “Then my shower and bed await you.”

She shook her head. “I think I’ll take a raincheck tonight.” And maybe staying away from him for a night wouldn’t be a bad thing. He’d always had women all over him. Having her back off might be a novel experience for him.

“You want to be alone?”

If she wasn’t so emotionally overwhelmed, she might have laughed at his disbelieving tone. Instead, she said coolly, “You don’t need a woman in your bed every night.”

He inhaled sharply. “Not just any woman, Layla. Only you.” He swiped a hand over his face. “But clearly you’re having second thoughts.”

She shook her head, stepped closer, and reached up on tiptoe to seal her lips over his, taking away his ability to probe further. When his lips softened, and his hand cupped the back of her head to keep her there, she almost yielded to his request for her to stay the night with him.

Withholding a moan, she drew back. She needed one night alone where she could sift things through her mind without Galan distracting her with heady sex. She’d been so caught up in their chemistry, she hadn’t thought about what might happen if that same physical attraction waned.

He’ll find another woman to warm his bed.

Galan bent low. “Talk to me, firecracker. Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”

He was far too astute for her peace of mind. “Just...give me tonight, okay. Then I’m all yours.”

His eyes glinted. “Oh, you’ll be mine, all right,” he rasped. “And you’ll never want to go home to your cold, lonely bed ever again.”

With those words ringing in her ears, she turned and walked toward the elevator that would take her to the ground-floor exit. His eyes burned into her back the whole way, and her heart screamed at her to forget her doubts and run the hell back into his arms.

Then she stepped inside the elevator and its doors slid shut, and the compulsion to return to him closed right along with it.

Chapter Fourteen

The first ray of dawn had just barely cracked through Layla’s bedroom window when she sat and rubbed her bleary eyes. She’d had the worse sleep ever, tossing and turning half the night, before dreams had plagued her sleep for the rest.

At least her subconscious had allowed her to hold her tiny brother one more time. A pity that dream had morphed into a nightmare, with her father returning to his old drinking and womanizing ways, and her mother becoming a shadow of her beautiful self.

But it wasn’t until she’d seen Galan enter his private elevator, his arm slung around a sexy, blonde woman, that Layla had jerked awake with a strangled sob.

She pushed a hand through her tangled hair. “I need to get a grip.”

She needed to learn to place her trust in a man or she’d never enjoy a long-lasting relationship. And she’d lose the one person she wanted with everything she had.

She pushed off the covers and slid out of bed. Her day off work now stretched endlessly in front of her, with only her restless thoughts to keep her company.

Stumbling into the kitchen, she half filled the kettle under the tap before proceeding to make her morning coffee. Today, of all days, she needed a caffeine hit.

She rubbed her temples. She’d wake up beside Galan with her body sore and throbbing from his possession any day over the mental ache of being without him.

So much for being just fine on my own.

She’d definitely inherited her mother’s obsessive behavior.

A knock sounded at the door, and her heart banged against her ribs even before she rushed to the door like some overeager schoolgirl at Christmas. It was probably that same schoolgirl within who drooped at opening the door partway and seeing the stranger outside when all she’d wanted was Galan.

The whiskered man smiled. “Layla Selvey?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“These are for you.”

He swept forward the huge bunch of flowers that’d been hidden behind the door. Red roses, perfect white orchids, and baby’s breath quivered amongst glossy green ferns. She opened the door wide and accepted them with a delighted gasp. “Thank you!”

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