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Maybe she’d just close her eyes for a moment...
* * *
Of all the bedrooms, why did she have to pick that one?
Trey frowned as he struggled to get all five of her suitcases up the stairs. The woman really needed to learn how to pack lighter. He didn’t think he owned enough clothes to fill five suitcases. Okay, so maybe they were planning to be here for two weeks, but there was such a thing as a laundry machine.
At the top of the steps, he paused. It was a good thing he exercised daily. He rolled the cases back along the hallway to the very familiar bedroom. The door was still ajar.
“Sage, it’s just me.” He would have knocked but his hands were full trying to keep a hold on all the luggage.
There was no response. Maybe she’d decided to explore the rest of the house. Or perhaps she was standing out on the balcony. It was one of his favorite spots to clear his head.
But two steps into the room, he stopped.
There was Sage stretched across his bed. Her long dark hair was splayed across the comforter. He knew he shouldn’t stare, but he couldn’t help himself. She was so beautiful. And the look on her face as she was sleeping was one of utter peace. It was a look he’d never noticed during her wakeful hours. If you knew her, you could see something was always weighing on her mind. And he’d hazard a guess that it went much deeper than the trouble with the magazine.
Though he hated to admit it, he was impressed with the new format that she’d rolled out for the magazine. Instead of it being a trashy rag, it now had integrity and, at times, it was a platform to promote social change for the positive.
But he wasn’t ready to back down on his campaign to close the magazine’s doors. None of it changed the fact that to hurt his father in the same manner that he’d hurt him, the magazine had to go. It had been Trey’s objective for so many years. He never thought he’d be in a position to make it happen—but now as the new CEO of QTR International, he was in the perfect position to make his father understand in some small way the pain his absence had inflicted on him.
Trey’s thoughts returned to the gorgeous woman lying on his bed sound asleep. She was the innocent party—the bystander who would get hurt—and he had no idea how to protect her. The only thing he did know was that the longer he kept up this pretense of being her assistant instead of the heir to the QTR empire—the worse it was going to be when the truth finally won out—and it would. The truth always came to light—sometimes at the most inopportune times.
The burden of his secret weighed heavy on his shoulders. He moved quietly in the room, placing the luggage in the corner. And then he turned back to Sage. It’d been a long time since he’d had a woman in his bed. And this time he wouldn’t even have the pleasure of joining her.
Although, there was no way she could sleep in that position with her feet dangling off the edge of the bed with her high heels still on. Should he wake her? He glanced at her face. She looked so contented.
He moved quietly across the floor. He knelt down next to her. His hand wrapped around her calf, enjoying the smoothness of her skin. And then realizing he was letting himself get distracted, he slipped off one shoe. She never missed a slow, steady breath. He then repeated the same process with the other leg.
Somehow he had to get her legs on the bed without waking her. Apparently she was more wiped out than he’d imagined. As he settled her comfortably on the bed, all she did was roll away from him. Her summer dress rode high up on her creamy thigh and suddenly his mouth went dry.
Turn away. Forget it. She’s off-limits.
His mind said all the right things, but the rest of him was tempted to wake her—to see if she was as attracted to him as he was to her. The devil and angel played advocates in his mind. After all, she didn’t know who he really was. But it wouldn’t be right to start things under a false premise, no matter how casual it might be.
He draped the soft fabric of the bedspread over her. And then he noticed that a few strands of hair had strayed across her face. He should just leave her be, but his fingers tingled with temptation. He reached out and ever so gently swept the hair back. And then he turned and headed for the door.
CHAPTER EIGHT
SAGE AWOKE SLOWLY.
She was warm but not too warm. And the bed was soft but not too soft.
And best of all, she was wrapped in very strong, capable arms. She opened her eyes and gazed into coffee-brown eyes. Her heart fluttered in her chest. She didn’t know that she could be this happy.
Trey smiled at her as his fingers stroked her cheek. His thumb traced over her bottom lip, sending a bolt of desire through her core. The truth was that she’d never get enough of him. Trey was everything she’d ever dreamed about—and more.
Her hand reached out to him. Her palm pressed against his bare chest. She could feel his heart. It was still pounding with need. Her fingers inched up his muscled chest until her hand wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to her.
As she scooted closer to him to press her lips to his, he disappeared. Her hand landed on the empty spot in the bed. Where had he gone? Her gaze searched the room but it was empty. Once again she was all alone.
“Trey! Trey!”
The next thing she knew she was being jostled. “Sage, wake up. It’s a dream.”
Her eyes blinked open. “Trey?”
“Yeah. It’s me.” He sent her a reassuring smile. “It was just a nightmare. Do you remember what it was about?”
