Page 58 of Hard Rock Deceit

I trailed off, knowing it was bad manners to bring up previous lovers while in the arms of yourcurrentone.

August pressed a kiss tomyhair.

"You can tell me. Ifyouwant."

I took in a heavybreath.

"You were right, what you guessed about my first boyfriend. And my second boyfriend. And the one after that. I never felt anything like that with them. Even when—" Ifaltered.

August nodded, encouraging me, letting me know he understood without me needing tosayit.

"It wasn't like they were bad at it. I just never felt anything. Emotional or physical. For anyone. I tried. I tried to force myself to feel. To like it. To like them. But Ineverdid."

I took a deep, shudderingbreath.

"For a long time, I thought there was something wrong with me," I murmured against his bare skin. "I thought I was broken. Then you camealong."

I lifted my head to meet his eyes. They were kind,patient.

"At first you were just another random guy. Someone interested in my art. I was nervous about what youthought."

"Icouldtell."

"Then you told me you saw passion in my work. You said it called to you. You saw something in me I didn't even see in myself. Even though we'd just met, things felt… intimate between us. And I didn't realize how badly I'd been craving that. Intimacy. Understanding. Acceptance. Like that's what I'd been missing this whole time. And I felt like for once, maybe, I wasn't brokenafterall."

August placed a slow, sensual kiss onmylips.

"You were neverbroken."

"I don't know why it was you," I said softly. "Why you and not anyone else. But ever since you said those words, something inside me started to come to life. Like I finally woke up. And I started to feel something. It was scary. And exciting. You made my head spin. I didn't know what to make of you. But you always seemed to know what I wasthinking."

"You're not hardtoread."

"You're the first person tosaythat."

August tilted my chin up, making me look in himtheeyes.

"I don't want you thinking that I 'fixed' you or anything like that. There was never anything wrong with you in the first place. Some people just don't feel sexual attraction until there's an emotional connection. Some people don't feel sexual attraction at all." He gave a wry smile. "And some people feel sexual attraction to anything ontwolegs."

"Damon," we both said at the same time, sharingagrin.

August sat up, stretching. I enjoyed the sight of his muscles shifting undersmoothskin.

"How about some breakfast?" he said. "I can order room service. We don't have to get moving until thisafternoon."

It only took a quick call before a tray of bacon, eggs, pancakes, and orange juice was wheeled to our door. August tipped the young attendant with a wad of cash. The kid's eyes widened at the sum as August closed the dooronhim.

He brought the food to me, so I didn't have to get up. Breakfast in bed. My heart thumped sweetly in my chest at how romantic thatsounded.

"Not bad for hotel food," I said after taking my last bite of delicious, fluffyscrambledeggs.

"We only stay at the best. We're Darkest Days,afterall."

I laughed at him, almost snorting juice upmynose.

"You should tone down on the ego or someone might end up smacking yousomeday."

"Why do I have a feeling that person is going tobeyou?"