Page 104 of Misdeeds of a Billionaire

It was the intimacy I’d been craving. He gave me a taste of something amazing and then it was ripped away, leaving a gaping hole in my chest—a hollowed-out vacuum—that I knew only he could fill.

“What do you love about it?” I blinked before recalling what we’d been talking about. My job. My career. I let out a sigh, a small smile curving the corner of my lips.

“I love the chaos of the emergency room. I love performing surgeries and seeing the look on people’s faces when I let them know they’ll be all right. It—” My tone faltered for a moment, but then I continued, “It almost feels like my dad’s right there, shadowing me. Ilovedoing it, and I won’t give it up. I’ve already given up too much.”

He stilled. “What did you give up?” Goddamn it! I slipped. “Odette, answer me. What. Did. You. Give. Up?”

He was so damn demanding. I squeezed past him, scurrying to the bathroom. He followed me, his steps unhurried, his broad shoulders tense.

“I won’t stop until you tell me,” he stated dryly. His intense stare met mine through the mirror’s reflection. A memory flashed in my mind, and judging by the way his eyes heated, my husband remembered it too.

I sighed, hating and loving this intensity between us. It was so easy to let myself fall into that web and ignore everything else. God, I wanted to ignore everything else. But I also wanted… more. What my parents had, however short-lived.

“I miss home,” I murmured.

He frowned. “Youarehome.”

Gosh, he couldn’t be so dense. “The French Riviera. My dad’s place. His hospital. It was our little world. Small and modest, but cozy. It was ours.”

A blank look of confusion on his face alarmed me.

“Why did your father get rid of the hospital?” he asked. I stiffened, confusion swirling inside me. His tone seemed genuinely curious. “I would think it’d make sense for you to carry on his legacy.”

Either Byron was excessively cruel, or he didn’t even know the lengths his father went to six years ago. He might be ruthless and arrogant, but I didn’t take him to be cruel.

“I wanted to carry on his legacy,” I rasped, locking eyes with him in the mirror. “I still want to. But the bankers took the hospital.”And your father helped to speed it up.

“Bankers? He defaulted on it?”

“Yes, he was bad at finances. He just wanted to help people, not run the hospital like a business. Unfortunately, one cannot go without the other. And your father leeched onto it.”

The confusion in Byron’s gaze was evident. “My father?”

I swallowed hard. I still didn’t understand their father/son dynamic. I didn’t dare to trust Byron explicitly, despite our marriage of convenience. So I settled for a half-truth.

“Your father is a dick,” I grumbled. “And apparently, he had some connections with the bank to pull some strings.”

Fury flashed in Byron’s blue gaze. It was lethal. “Why would he do that?”

I shrugged, done with this conversation. The day started off too good to ruin it with this conversation. “Because he’s a dick. And not the good kind.”

Byron’s jaw clenched, and I watched him gather himself together as various emotions passed his expression.

“I’ll get it back,” he vowed. My heart fluttered despite knowing it was impossible. Okay, maybe not impossible, but it’d be pretty damn hard.

I gulped.

“Don’t do that.” My voice was a whisper.

Byron was flush against my back all of a sudden, his hands trailing down my thighs. It was amazing how quickly my body submitted to him. His touch seared through even my jeans, craving skin to skin. Needing him inside me.

“Do what?” His breath warmed my skin. His lips brushed against my earlobe, and I tilted my head sideways to allow him better access. His teeth dragged along my neck, nibbling at the sensitive hollow along my shoulder blade. And all the while, his eyes were locked on mine in the mirror.

“Make promises you won’t keep,” I breathed.

He stilled. “I never make promises I don’t intend to keep,” he grunted. His eyes flashed with something dark. Maybe even angry. I couldn’t pinpoint it. “All you have to do is ask, baby, and the world is yours.” His voice was deep and husky. I glanced behind me, finding his desire-filled gaze on me. His large erection pushed against my backside, and I quivered from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

“What do you mean?” I breathed.