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She rested her hand on my arm. “She wouldn’t want you to stop living, Cortez, and that’s what you’ve done.”
I closed my eyes against the pain that settled in my head and in my heart. I could feel Celestina, but she didn’t speak. She didn’t need to.
“Go home, Cortez.”
“I’ll leave after Christmas. That’s two days.”
“Go home today. Now.”
When I shook my head, my mother leaned forward and kissed my cheek.
Later, at dinner, I gave my parents the gifts I’d planned for them to open on Christmas Eve and told them I’d left those for my brother and his family beneath the tree. When I stood, my father did too and embraced me before my mother walked me to the door where my bag already sat.
“Happy Christmas, Cortez.”
“Happy Christmas, Duchess.”
It was midnight when I approached the gates of my home. I stopped the car and pulled out my mobile.
“I’m here,” I said when Angel answered.
“I know,” she responded, yawning. “I’ve just watched you pull up to the gate.”
“You’re awake.”
“You’d see to it Z would have my job if I weren’t.”
I laughed.
“I’m glad you’re back, Rile.”
“How is she?”
“You’ll see.”
I pulled into the garage and took the lift straight up to the fifth floor. I could see a glow coming from my suite and thought perhaps Angel had raced up and lit the fire, although that made no sense nor would she have had the time.
I stepped into my bedroom, dropped my bag on the floor, and discovered why there was a roaring fire. Kensington was fast asleep in my bed.
After toeing off my shoes, I padded over, mesmerized by her beauty—awake or asleep. I put my hand on the wall when a sad feeling permeated my chest. It was her pain, and I’d been the cause of it.
I crawled into bed, behind her, powerless not to give her comfort. When I wrapped my arm around her waist, she released a soft sigh and settled her back into my front. Her troubled sleep eased, and slowly, her pain dissipated. She turned her body to mine and nestled her naked form against my clothed one. I raised her chin with my fingertips and softly brushed her lips with mine, startling her awake.
She blinked. “Cortez?”
“Shh. Go back to sleep.”
“I’m not dreaming? You’re really here?”
“I am.”
“You’re not angry I’m in your bed?”
“I wondered if perhaps I was the one dreaming.” There was only so much resisting I could do. Once again feeling powerless, I put my hand on her neck and brought my mouth to hers.
As our kiss deepened, I trailed my fingertips down her body to her breast and then pulled back to look at her. “You are magnificent,” I said before taking her hard nipple between my teeth. With that small bite of pain, Kensington’s body writhed. I put my hand on the soft flesh of her bottom and pulled her closer, pressing my hardness against her until she moaned.
I rolled her to her back and pushed her thighs apart. The scent of her arousal engulfed my senses. I leaned forward, unable to resist a taste. She grabbed the back of my shirt when I licked between her folds and thrust a finger into her heat.
