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“Glad you like it.” He smirks, winking at me. “So, it won’t be such a hardship to spend the night with me?”

No, the hardship will begin once you aren’t in the picture anymore. I don’t say that, instead I place my empty glass on the counter in the hallway.

Lifting on my toes, I bite into his lower lip, then whisper, “Take me to the hot tub and then bring me to your bed.”

I know what I asked and so does he.

In his way, he gives me so much more than I asked for. No one could ever compare to him. I’ve met my other half and losing him will leave me wandering alone, aching to be fulfilled again.

I don’t want that but…

Time is not on my side.

Loyalty pulls me in one direction and love in another.

How cruel to know how it is to be whole, only to be torn apart.

I wake up just as I fell asleep, spooning her.

I should go to work, but instead all I want to do is stay in bed with her. I took her two more times last night, both in the hot tub and in my bed. By the time I returned from the bathroom after I cleaned her up, she was asleep.

Her scent drives me insane, her sensual smell mixes with mine heavy with the sex permeating the room.

There’s this pressing urge that I need to take advantage of every moment with her, as if someone will rip her from my arms. The thought that I will lose her and all the delight she has brought in my life debilitates me. Not liking where my thoughts head, I roll out of bed, letting her sleep longer.

Taking my phone with me into the bathroom, I quickly check my messages and emails. I text Mika that I am postponing our meeting and then instruct my assistant to cancel all my appointments for today. I can’t remember ever taking a day off,but work is the last thing on my mind. My brain floods with thoughts of her while my body burns for her.

Turning on the shower, the warm water cascades down my back. Palming the wall, my head hangs. I am in so deep with her.

A dainty hand snakes around my waist. She embraces me from behind, placing a soft kiss between my shoulder blades, her lips lingering there. This intimacy blankets me, pushing me deeper into my obsession.

Turning around, she smiles brightly at me, single-handedly becoming my personal sunshine.

She tilts her head, demanding all my attention. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“That I am screwed.”

She absentmindedly traces my chest with her hands, exploring every muscle and humming appreciatively.

“Don’t betray me, Luciana. Don’t fucking do it. I’ll lay this world at your feet. But—”

She silences me by clutching her fingers around the pendant. Dragging me down to her eye level, she plants a hard kiss on my mouth. It doesn’t escape me that she doesn’t reply and that fucks with my head.

As we wash each other, I ignore my raging hard on—eager and desperate motherfucker. Nothing compares to being inside of her. I know I am big, and considering she was a virgin a few days ago, I need to tame my desire. She is most surely sore and tending to her satisfies another part of me that loves to spoil and take care of her.

I have already decided not to work today, so I’ll just show her that my promises are not empty. I’ve earned respect through my actions but also because I always keep my word.

“Let’s test that spending affinity of yours.”

“You will regret this,” she says teasingly, sounding excited.

Impossible. I’d spend every cent to my name on her.

After the shower, we walk inside my walk-in closet, and she discovers her belongings neatly arranged on one side of the closet. I have a woman who comes to clean and cook several times a week.

“What did you do? What does this mean?” she inquires, looking at me contritely.

“You know exactly what that means.”